Tag Archives: Book of Revelation

Revelation Chapters One and Two—Natan’s Commentary Notes

Posted on by
2

Revelation 1

Revelation 1:1, Must shortly take place/come to pass. John expected that the prophecies that followed were about to occur. This seems to be proof that the Book of Revelation (at least up to Rev 10:11) was written before A.D. 70. The second half of this book was John prophesying again (see Rev 10:11) and must have been written after the fall of Jerusalem at the hand of the Romans.

Revelation 1:2, Testimony. In the NT or Testimony (marturia) of Yeshua (as compared to the Old Testament, also known in the book of Revelation as the Word of Elohim), the word testimony (as found in many places) is either the Greek word marturia or marturion meaning “testimony, witness, or one who testifies.” Interestingly, our English word martyr comes from these Greek words. A martyr is one who testifies to their faith and is killed for it. These Greek words refer to both one who shares their testimony of the good news of Yeshua or the gospel message including their personal testimony. It can also refer to one who as a prophet testifies of future events, but the word is not confined to that meaning only. Consider this. One doesn’t have to be a prophet to testify to the future events that the Bible already tells us are coming such as the second coming, the establishment of Elohim’s kingdom on earth, punishment for the wicked and rewards for the righteous, the glorification of the saints as well as inclusion in the family of Elohim as his glorified and spiritual children. These are all future events and are part of the gospel message.

Marturia and marturian come from the root word martus which is “a witness in a legal or historical sense, a spectator to anything.” As born again believers in Yeshua, we are witnesses to the power of Yeshua in our lives and the validity of the gospel message. For example, Stephen was a martus or martyr (Acts 22:20) as he was preaching the gospel to those who stoned him (see also Rev 2:13 where Antipas was slain for his faith as well). In the Gospel of John, John the apostle writes (marturia) the record John the Baptist in John 1:19. In John 1:32, John the Baptist records or bears witness (martureo) of what he saw pertaining to Set-Apart Spirit coming down upon Yeshua. A little later, John the Gospel writer testifies (martureo) that Yeshua is the Son of Elohim (John 1:34). The word martureo is also used of those who viewed the miraculous resurrection of Lazaurs (John 12:17), and of John who was witness to or who bore record of (martureo) the death of Yeshua (John 19:35). Many more examples could be given, but you get the idea. Marturia and its cognates can have several meanings that include the gift of prophecy, but is not limited to that.

Revelation 1:7, Even they who pierced him. How will those who killed Yeshua see him at his second coming if they are dead? Only those alive on earth and the righteous dead will be resurrected at his second coming will see him. Perhaps, they will see him descending from the New Jerusalem in his power and glory at the end of the Millennium when he will resurrect all the unrighteous dead who then must appear before him on bent knew at the white throne judgment before being cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 1:10, The Lord’s Day. This verse is one of the cliche biblical passages that mainstream church scholars use to “prove” Sunday’s replacement of the Sabbath. The problem with this position is that there’s no clear scriptural proof that the apostles ever changed the Sabbath to Sunday. What’s more, to view this passage as referring to Sunday is to take a phrase the early church fathers used as a euphemism for Sunday when pushing for Sunday in place of Sabbath observance and to retroactively apply this meaning to John’s use of the phrase. Frankly, it is biased and dishonest scholarship to take the phrase “the Lord’s day” with its second century colloquial meaning and then to back-apply this meaning to John’s use of the phrase when there’s no reason to believe this was John’s intended meaning.

Alternatively, the phrase, “the Lord’s day, can be a reference to the biblical term “the day of the Lord’s wrath” when YHVH, in the end times, will judge the nations for their wickedness. This is a point that several biblical scholars have made (see From Sabbath to Sunday, by Samuele Bacchiochi, p. 111; E. W. Bullinger’s Companion Bible footnote on Rev 1:10; The Jewish New Testament Commentary on this verse, p. 791, by David Sterns).

There is actually more scriptural proof that the phrase “the day of the Lord” is a reference to the seventh day Sabbath than to the first the week. In Isaiah 58:13, the prophet YHVH refers to the Sabbath as “my holy day…the holy day of the Lord.” So conceivably, it could have been on the Sabbath day itself that John received his vision on the island of Patmos about that great and terrible day of YHVH’s wrath that is to come on the earth just prior to the Messiah’s second coming.

Revelation 2

Revelation 2:17, A white stone. The Romans of biblical times exchanged a token of friendship between friends that could be passed on down from one generation to another. The ritual consisted of two friends writing their names on a tile of wood or stone, which was then divided in half and each took the piece containing name of their friend. To produce the counterpart of the one of the pieces to the other friend (or his heirs) guaranteed friendship and hospitality. The white stone with a new name on it is likely a reference to this first century practice (Manners and Customs, p. 70).

Revelation 2:27, A rod of iron. Yeshua’s rod of iron is similar to the scepter of a king, which was taken from the shepherds rod, since a king was viewed as the shepherd of his people. The scepter was not only a symbol of protection, but of power and authority.

Revelation 2:28, The morning star. In the Latin Vulgate Bible (translated by Jerome in about A.D. 400 for the Roman Catholic Church) is the official Latin Bible of the Catholic Church the biblical term morning start is translated into Latin as lucifer. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, when morning star is translated as lucifer, it is not referring to the devil, but rather denotes the exalted state from which he fell. That exalted state refers to the glory of heaven or the morning star (Rev 2:28), and to Yeshua himself who Peter and John refer to as the Morning Star (2 Pet 1:19; Rev 22:16) (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09410a.htm). The name Lucifer appears in some Catholic liturgy. It would seem that this is not a reference to the devil, but to Elohim or to Yeshua.

 

Introduction to the Book of Revelation

Posted on by
7

The Koine Greek name for the Book of Revelation is apokalupsis from which our English word apocalypse derives, is a word that in the minds of most people conjures up visions of horrific and cataclysmic events in which there is war, political and environmental upheaval involving mass death and destruction. This idea is a misnomer however. Though the Book of Revelation indeed foretells of a cataclysmic end times scenario, the Greek word apokalupsis literally means “laying bear, making naked; a disclosure of truth, instruction concerning things before unknown, manifestation, appearance,” and hence our English name for this book: Revelation. This meaning is made clear in the first verse of this same book.

The Revelation of Yeshua the Messiah, which Elohim gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.

The Book of Revelation is just that—a revelation of things to come to pass, which Yeshua is making known to his servants (plural). This includes you and me. 

Although, I don’t claim to have all or even much understanding pertaining to this book, I here share with you what I enlightenment I have been given to this point on several key topic. This is simply my understanding to this point until YHVH by his Spirit gives us more understanding. Until then, may we remain as little children, pale in hand, on the seashore of the vast ocean of YHVH’s unfathomable wisdom and knowledge in faith waiting for him to fill our buckets with more of his divine revelation.

What Should Be Our Perspective on the Book of Revelation?

On another note, there are those who champion the view that events of the Book of Revelation are primarily in the past tense. That is to say, Revelation records the events leading up to and following the destruction of the Jewish temple and Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The view that the events of Revelation were mostly fulfilled in the first century is called the preterist view, and those who support this position draw our attention to verses which point to the immediacy of the prophecies of the book being fulfilled—to events which must “shortly take place” (i.e. Rev 1:1, 3; 22:6, 10). 

The problems with this view are several. To make it work, most of the prophecies of the book have to be allegorized. As such, preterists believe that little if anything Revelation says can be taken literally. The purpose of Revelation, they say, was to comfort the churches in Asia Minor in light of the persecutions they were enduring (Rev 1:4). While much in Revelation is obviously allegorical, to say that it all is, is simply applying a broad brush approach and, in my opinion, denies some of the basic rules of biblical interpretation. My approach is to take what the book says to be literal, unless the context or passages elsewhere in the Scriptures give us reason to interpret it symbolically.

The second major objection I have to the preterist view is that since most scholars agree that John wrote this book in the last decade of the first century, this view would make John’s Book of Revelation a record of history, as opposed to a prophecy “of things which must shortly come to pass,” which is contrary to the book’s purpose as the first verse of the book clearly states. The preterist view cannot accommodate this reality unless scholars can prove that John wrote all of his book before A.D. 70, a date which is at odds with the records of the early church fathers, which place the date of the books writing in the 90s. 

Why I’m Not a Preterist

Preterism is the Christian eschatological (understanding of end time events) concept that all Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled including Yeshua’s Matthew 24 Olivet Discourse and those prophecies in the book of Revelation.

Continue reading →
 

Australia: Babylon the Great/NWO Testing Ground For a Controlled Society?

Posted on by
5
The Babylon the Great New World Order is on the march!

The Bible is as relevant today as it was when it was written. Prove this, you may say. Go read Revelation chapters 13, 17 and 18 which were written 2,000 years ago. These ancient prophecies predict what the world will be like just before the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). What it predicts is a Satanic global government that will dictatorially control the people of the earth through a tyrannical, fascistic system involving economic, religious, mass media drug enslavement run by a cabal of business and government leaders. Go read these chapters in Revelation and discover these truths for yourself; it is all there!

The Bible only gives us the end results of this global takeover by the forces of Antichrist and not the complete details as to how exactly these Satanic elements will impose this end times system upon the people of the earth. It is only common sense that they will do so incrementally so as not to provoke alarm among the masses resulting in a major revolt which they would be powerless to stop. The leftist globalists know that people have to be slowly indoctrinated with the ideology of Antichristism (another term for Leftism and Luciferianism ). This has been occurring in most of our countries for many decades through gradual mass indoctrination via our educational systems, the mass media, entertainment, many liberal churches and government policies and legal actions action at all levels as they imposes their leftist and globalistic ideologies and laws upon the masses slowly enslaving their minds. Once men’s minds are enslaved, then the globalists can begin to impose engineered societal changes upon the duped masses until we have the system in place that the book of Revelation describes.

This one world system that the globalist “elites” (or more accurately Luciferian scumbags) call the New World Order or which the book of Revelation refers to as Babylon the Great is the very system that will persecute the saints resulting in many martyrs in the end times. Yeshua the Messiah will destroy this system and avenge the blood of his saints when he returns to set upon his millennial rule.

Again, the book of Revelation predicts this all to occur. Sorry folks, but there is no pre-tribulation rapture. The “We’re Outa Here Doctrine When YOU Know What Hits the Fan” is an unbiblical lie and a myth. This lie and doctrine of men that has been promoted by those who are ignorant of Scripture, and by those who have something to sell because they do not understand the order of end times events that have been prophetically laid out by YHVH’s seven annual biblical feasts or holidays.

The following article is but one example that could be given of how the globalists are endeavoring to impose their one-world system upon you and me. To accomplish this, they must have a compliant and subservient citizenry. Those who resist them and refuse to comply will be made an example of and the government will persecute or destroy them into silence.This is how leftist totalitarians systems have always operated. Nothing has changed. Go read your history book; it is all there. Read the following article prayerfully and go check out the prophecies of the book of Revelation chapters 13, 17 and 18 and see what I’m talking about.

From Lockdown to Police State: The “Great Reset” Rolls Out

From https://www.citizensjournal.us/from-lockdown-to-police-state-the-great-reset-rolls-out/

by Ellen Brown

Mayhem in Melbourne

On August 2, lockdown measures were implemented in Melbourne, Australia, that were so draconian that Australian news commentator Alan Jones said on Sky News: “People are entitled to think there is an ‘agenda to destroy western society.’”

The gist of an August 13th article on the Melbourne lockdown is captured in the title: “Australian Police Go FULL NAZI, Smashing in Windows of Civilian Cars Just Because Passengers Wouldn’t Give Details About Where They Were Going.”

Another article with an arresting title was by Guy Burchell in the August 7th Australian National Review: “Melbourne Cops May Now Enter Homes Without a Warrant, After 11 People Die of COVID — Australia, This Is Madness, Not Democracy.” Burchell wrote that only 147 people had lost their lives to coronavirus in Victoria (the Australian state of which Melbourne is the capital), a very low death rate compared to other countries. The ramped up lockdown measures were triggered by an uptick in cases due to ramped up testing and 11 additional deaths, all of them in nursing homes (where lockdown measures would actually have little effect). The new rules include a six week curfew from 8 PM to 5 AM, with residents allowed to leave home outside those curfew hours only to shop for food and essential items (one household member only), and for caregiving, work and exercise (limited to one hour).

Continue reading →
 

Was the Book of Revelation written in two parts? — An early and a latter section?

Posted on by
Reply

Revelation 10:10, You must prophesy again. It appears that the Book of Revelation was written in two parts. Part one was likely written before A.D. 70 when the apostles, based on prophecies in Yeshua’s Olivette discourse, expected the end of the age to occur followed by the second coming.

Part two was likely written toward the end of John’s life at the end of the first century. If these conjectures are correct, then Revelation part one ends at the Rev 10:11 and Revelation part two begins at Rev 11:1.

Part two is the fulfillment of Yeashua’s prophecy to John that he must prophesy again. (For more info on this subject, see Restoring the Original Bible, pp. 327–330 by Ernest L. Martin and Beyond Acts, pp. 294–299, by Paul R. Finch).

 

Revelation Chapter Nine: Insights and Reflections

Posted on by
3

Revelation 9:1, A star fall from heaven. Likely this is referring to Satan when he is finally, once and for all, cast out of heaven.

Key to the bottomless pit. In the end times just prior to the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah, Elohim will give Satan the freedom to release evil spirits imprisoned in the abyss who will go forth to torment men as part of YHVH’s wrath against rebellious men. Perhaps this relates to the perennially enigmatic and troubling passage found in Jude 6 (cp. 1 Pet 3:18–20; 2 Pet 2:4). It seems that the evil, locust-like spirits may be the fallen angels that either rebelled with Lucifer and or were the ones who interacted with humans in the antediluvian world (Gen 6:4–6; Jude 6; 1 Pet 3:18–20; 2 Pet 2:4).

Revelation 9:1, Bottomless pit. (See notes at Deut 32:22; 2 Pet 2:4.) This Greek term (abussos phrear) indicates a large, cavernous hole, pit or abyss with a small opening or orifice like a well and is found several other places in the book of Revelation (Rev 9:2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3). The bottomless pit is analogous to the deepest sheol in the Tanakh (Deut 32:22; Ps 86:13; Isa 14:15) or tartaroo (2 Pet 2:4), and is the place where the angels who rebelled in the time of Satan’s rebellion are being held in chains of restraint awaiting their judgment day (see 2 Pet 2:4). This is also where Satan will be cast at the beginning of the Millennium (Rev 20:1–3), and is to be distinguished from the lake of fire where Satan (and presumably his demons) will be cast at the end of the Millennium to be tormented forever (Rev 20:10).

This passage indicates that YHVH will open the bottomless pit and allow the evil spirits imprisoned therein to torment men for a period of time as part of his judgments against wicked men.

Revelation 9:2, Smoke. Wherever this pit is, it appears to be a place of fire, heat and smoke. The opening of the pit by Satan first releases so much smoke that it darkens the sun and air, if the terminology here is to be taken literally rather than figuratively. If the latter, then the smoke reference cold refer to the global spiritual obfuscation that will occur. This phenomenon is the first sign that the demons of the pit are about to be released. After this follows their release and their tormenting of unredeemed humans. This is the wrath of Satan against humanity that precedes the wrath of Elohim. Since Elohim is permitting these demons to torment humans, it is, in reality, an extension of his judgment or wrath against the wicked. Since unsaved humans have rejected Elohim, and more and more are becoming enamored with and turning to outright Satan worship, Elohim his turning them over to the powerful forces of darkness they are seeking over him. These humans will discover what it’s like to live in a hellish world where those they wish to serve have full reign to torment them—a world devoid of the protective grace of a merciful Creator. 

Continue reading →
 

The Book of Revelation: Can We Understand End Times Bible Prophecy Before It Happens?

Posted on by
5

We all have our hunches about how Bible prophecy along with the book of Revelation will play out, but we’re all wrong. Some of us may have parts and pieces of the truth, but most Bible prophecy will not be fully understood until after it happens. 

For the most part, those prophecy pundits and Bible students who formulate timelines, charts and write commentaries on the book of Revelation and other end time Bible prophecies in an attempt to explain the exact meaning of the metaphorical symbols and to predict how these prophecies will be fulfilled, by whom and when are engaging in folly. No one knows these things exactly, and know will know, again, in most cases, until after they have come to pass, and even then, most people will not even understand the prophecies at that time.

Here is a case in point: Even Yeshua’s disciples didn’t understand what his role was to be or how he was to fulfill the many Old Testament Messianic prophecies about him until after his resurrection. Do we really think that our biblical understanding and spiritual perspicacity is greater than theirs? If so, than this is not only folly on our part, but extreme arrogance and hubris! Perhaps we need to explore the biblical meaning of humility and faith. Let me explain what I mean.

Regarding faith, if we were to know the exact details concerning the fulfillment of biblical prophecy including the book Revelation, then our spiritual walk would no longer be a faith walk as per the biblical definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1, would it?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

We’d now be walking by sight, not by faith, which is the opposite of what Scripture enjoins us to do (2 Cor 5:7).

No, the main purpose of Bible prophecy isn’t to provide us with a sort of crystal ball to know what’s going to happen in the future. It’s purpose is only to raise our hope by providing us with a shadowy understanding of future events, like looking through a glass darkly (1 Cor 13:12), even as the ancient Jews had a shadowy understanding about the coming of Messiah, but they didn’t know the full or exact details of how biblical prophecies concerning him would play out. The exact fulfillment of those prophecies was hidden from the majority of Jews, which is why they killed him. YHVH divinely revealed only to a few of Yeshua’s closest associates how he perfectly fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies concerning him.

Now this brings us to the main purpose of Bible prophecy, as I see it. It’s not so that humans can use the Bible as a sort of crystal ball or as a means to divine or augur the exact details of the future, but so that after the prophecies have been fulfilled, and the understanding of them is divinely revealed to YHVH’s faithful saints (as occurred to Yeshua’s disciples after his resurrection) that the omniscience and glory of YHVH Elohim will be manifested causing humans to glorify, praise and worship him. Please not: Even an understanding of the fulfillment of the prophecies is by divine revelation and will not be understood by the vast majority of people. For example, what majority of the Jewish population understood that Yeshua the Messiah was who he was in his day…or even today? 

What, therefore, should be the main focus of our spiritual walk as Bible believers? Namely this: We need to pursue holiness and righteousness through a spiritual relationship with Yeshua as we love him by obeying his Word. Our future is in his hands, and the just shall walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 11:1). In his hands, we are safe and secure no matter how the prophecies of the Bible play out.

What is the bottom line here? Keep your eyes on Yeshua and have faith in him, and not on how you think Bible prophecy is going to play out, because no one knows these things. Make no mistake about it, the vast majority of those people who “understand” Bible prophecy are those who have something to sell you; they want to make a name for themselves for the purpose of human pride, control and mammon. Beware!

 

Can We Ever Fully Understand End-Time Bible Prophecy?

Posted on by
14
A couple of days ago, someone emailed me a commentary on the book of Revelation and asked me to review it. I began reading it, and realized that it was nothing more than one man’s speculations about what he thought that this enigmatic book means. 
That same day I went to the post office to get my mail, and I picked up a cardboard tube sent to me by an admiring follower of our ministry. Inside the tube was a kind and complimentary letter along with a paper chart when unrolled was more than five feet long! It was basically another man’s interpretation—a timeline chart—of how he thought the events of the book of Revelation would play out in the last days. It contained ideas cobbled together from many sources including a number of well-known Christian prophecy pundits who have little or no idea about the Torah or Hebraic biblical understandings, meaning their biblical understanding—including their interpretations on the book of Revelation—is incomplete and not to be trusted. The man asked me to critique his work. After looking at this chart for a couple of minutes, I rolled it back up, stuck it back in the tube and shelved it.
To the kind gentleman  who had emailed me the pdf commentary on the book of Revelation requesting my opinion, I wrote the following:

We all have our hunches about how Bible prophecy along with the book of Revelation will play out, but we’re all wrong. Some of us may have parts and pieces of the truth, but most Bible prophecy will not be fully understood until after it happens. 

For the most part, those prophecy pundits and Bible students who formulate timelines, charts and write commentaries on the book of Revelation and other end time Bible prophecies in an attempt to explain the exact meaning of the metaphorical symbols and to predict how these prophecies will be fulfilled, by whom and when are engaging in folly. No one knows these things exactly, and know will know, again, in most cases, until after they have come to pass, and even then, most people will not even understand the prophecies at that time.

Here is a case in point: Even Yeshua’s disciples didn’t understand what his role was to be or how he was to fulfill the many Old Testament Messianic prophecies about him until after his resurrection. Do we really think that our biblical understanding and spiritual perspicacity is greater than theirs? If so, than this is not only folly on our part, but extreme arrogance and hubris! Perhaps we need to explore the biblical meaning of humility and faith. Let me explain what I mean.

Regarding faith, if we were to know the exact details concerning the fulfillment of biblical prophecy including the book Revelation, then our spiritual walk would no longer be a faith walk as per the biblical definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1, would it?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

We’d now be walking by sight, not by faith, which is the opposite of what Scripture enjoins us to do (2 Cor 5:7).

No, the main purpose of Bible prophecy isn’t to provide us with a sort of crystal ball to know what’s going to happen in the future. It’s purpose is only to raise our hope by providing us with a shadowy understanding of future events, like looking through a glass darkly (1 Cor 13:12), even as the ancient Jews had a shadowy understanding about the coming of Messiah, but they didn’t know the full or exact details of how biblical prophecies concerning him would play out. The exact fulfillment of those prophecies was hidden from the majority of Jews, which is why they killed him. YHVH divinely revealed only to a few of Yeshua’s closest associates how he perfectly fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies concerning him.

Now this brings us to the main purpose of Bible prophecy, as I see it. It’s not so that humans can use the Bible as a sort of crystal ball or as a means to divine or augur the exact details of the future, but so that after the prophecies have been fulfilled, and the understanding of them is divinely revealed to YHVH’s faithful saints (as occurred to Yeshua’s disciples after his resurrection) that the omniscience and glory of YHVH Elohim will be manifested causing humans to glorify, praise and worship him. Please not: Even an understanding of the fulfillment of the prophecies is by divine revelation and will not be understood by the vast majority of people. For example, what majority of the Jewish population understood that Yeshua the Messiah was who he was in his day…or even today? 

What, therefore, should be the main focus of our spiritual walk as Bible believers? Namely this: We need to pursue holiness and righteousness through a spiritual relationship with Yeshua as we love him by obeying his Word. Our future is in his hands, and the just shall walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 11:1). In his hands, we are safe and secure no matter how the prophecies of the Bible play out.

What is the bottom line here? Keep your eyes on Yeshua and have faith in him, and not on how you think Bible prophecy is going to play out, because no one knows these things. Make no mistake about it, the vast majority of those people who “understand” Bible prophecy are those who have something to sell you; they want to make a name for themselves for the purpose of human pride, control and mammon. Beware!