The Revelation
Is the book of Revelation too hard to understand?
When I was growing up, people shunned reading the book of Revelation. They said, that the few parts that they could understand, were very scary, but most of it, was simply too hard to understand. For many of them, the book of Revelation was so hard to understand, that they believed, that nobody should even read it, because whatever they concluded, was certain to be wrong. There was a fear of somehow offending the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD), or becoming a false teacher, if anyone even tried to explain the book of Revelation. For this, some even referred to the book of Revelation, as "The Forbidden Book".
However, the book of Revelation says, the exact opposite. It is the only book in the entire Book of Truth (The Bible), that promises a blessing for reading it, and acting upon what it says. It makes this promise at the beginning of the book (Revelation 1:3). It repeats this promise at the end of the book (Revelation 22:7). It is entirely unreasonable, in the light of these blessings for reading, and acting upon, the words in the Revelation, to believe that the book of the Revelation, is too hard to understand.
The Revelation is just as much a part of the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament), as the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles. All of these sections contain prophecies about future events, even though in the Renewed Covenant, the Revelation contains the bulk of these prophecies. The Father of Truth gave the Revelation, so the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) could understand the future.
The Revelation was given, so that the Children of Truth could understand, what would come upon the Earth suddenly, in the last days (Revelation 1:1). This is particularly important, if you have had dreams and visions about a future full of terrifying things, that will come upon the Earth in rapid secession. The book of Revelation can help you understand what you saw, for it was written to be understood. It is like a bell tower, that crowns a well built house, called the Renewed Covenant, whose massive bells are sounding out its alarm: "People get ready!". The book of Revelation was meant to be understood, by the Children of Truth.
The fact is, that the book of Revelation is not too hard to understand. You can understand it correctly, by doing the same things, that you do to understand any other book in the Book of Truth. If you will apply the principles for rightly dividing the Word to the book of Revelation, then you will be able to understand what it says. It is especially important to realize, that the Revelation was never meant to stand alone, but that it consolidates, builds upon, fills in details, and sequences, many future events found in the books of the Prophets.
The Book of Revelation follows the pattern of any other prophetic writing in the Book of Truth. It starts off with the historical circumstances of when it was written. Then it gives some short term and medium term prophecies to establish reliable witnesses, that the message came from the Father of Truth. Then it gives some long term prophecies. In other words, John the Jew (Yochanon be Zebedee aka The Apostle John) wrote down the things that he saw, the things that were in his day, and the things that would come afterwards (Revelation 1:19).
The historical circumstances of when it was written are as follows. It was a message given to John the Jew, to give to seven congregations of Asia (Revelation 1:4). This message was given to John the Jew, when he was exiled on the island of Patmos, for telling people the Good News (Revelation 1:9). These seven congregations were each known by the city where they were located (Revelation 1:11).
John the Jew saw the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ), who had died, and rose again, so the Children of Truth could rule with him (Revelation 1:5-6). He was "in the Spirit" on the "Lord's Day", when this happened (Revelation 1:10).
John the Jew saw the Man of Truth, coming with clouds, as the one the Jews had pierced (Revelation 1:7). The Man of Truth was walking among seven "candlesticks", with hair like wool, and a fire that burned within him (Revelation 1:13-15). The Man of Truth held seven stars in his hands, a sword came out of his mouth, and he shined as bright as the Sun (Revelation 1:16).
Although it would take a thick book, to apply the principles for rightly dividing the Word of Truth, to the entire book of Revelation, we will apply those principles to this part, to improve our understanding of these historical circumstances, and to show how applying these principles, make the Revelation understandable.
There was a Roman providence called Asia, that existed in western central Turkey, from 133 BC to about 393 AD. The seven, mostly Gentile, congregations were each in seven actual cities in the Roman providence of Asia. So these seven congregations that he wrote to, existed in his day, similar to how most of the Epistles were written to actual congregations, in actual cities that existed, when those epistles were written.
The island of Patmos, is just off the coast of Turkey, near ancient Ephesus, the first city listed, and the Roman Emperor Domitian exiled people to this island, from the time when he started his campaign to force people into a universal Roman religion in 90 AD, until his death in 96 AD, when all were pardoned, and Patmos ceased to be an island of exile.
The Man of Truth had literally died, and rose again, to reign (Romans 14:9). This made it possible for the Children of Truth, to literally reign with him (2 Timothy 2:12).
John the Jew was praying in tongues when he had this vision, which Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka The Apostle Paul) said, was speaking mysteries, by the power of the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost), that could only be revealed by the Father of Truth (1 Corinthians 14:2). So John was producing the sound of power when he was "in the Spirit". The "Lord's Day" was what the Sabbath was called at this time, as proven when you search out the Book of Truth and history, to find out who changed the Sabbath to Sunday.
The seven "candlesticks" were seven menorahs, seven branched candelabra, like the one prescribed in the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law). This is evident, when you dig deeper than the surface, and observe that the Greek word, "lychnia", translated as "candlestick", is the same Greek word in the Septuagint (Greek translation of The Original Covenant (Tanakh aka The Old Testament) made around 200 BC), for the Hebrew word "menorah", (the seven branch candelabrum of the Tabernacle), in the Masoretic Text (Hebrew composite text of The Original Covenant made around 1000 AD). It is worth noting that the Hebrew word "menorah", is also translated as "candlestick" in this passage. In fact, Greek word, "lychnia" is used throughout the Septuagint, for the Hebrew word "menorah". So the Man of Truth was walking among seven menorahs.
The Man of Truth had hair like wool, and fire was inside him, similar to how Daniel had seen, the Father of Truth with hair like wool, and fire issuing out from Him (Daniel 7:9-10). The Man of Truth was coming with the clouds, showing that he was the Messiah of Israel, to whom the Father of Truth would give reign over the entire Earth, forever (Daniel 7:13-14). The Man of Truth was coming as the Messiah of Israel, who was the same as the Father of Truth, that the Jews pierced (Zechariah 12:10). So the Man of Truth was being identified as the Messiah of Israel.
The Man of Truth shined like the Sun, as he had done, when he had shown John the Jew, who he really was, on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2). The Man of Truth had the Word of Truth, coming out of his mouth, that is symbolized as a sword (Ephesians 6:17).
The Man of Truth himself explained, that the seven stars represented the "angels of the seven churches", and that the seven menorahs represented the congregation in each of the seven cities (Revelation 1:20).
A little more study makes it plain, what is meant by "the angels of the seven churches".
The pastor (shepherd) responsible for orchestrating all vocalizations in a synagogue, (including the singing, the playing of music, the reading of scripture, the teaching, and the preaching) was called, "the angel of the synagogue", because the Hebrew word for "angel", literally means "messenger". There was another pastor responsible for taking care of the building, the grounds, handling the finances, and the like for the synagogue, who was called, "the chief of the synagogue". In a small congregation, a single pastor would carry out both responsibilities, so "the angel of the synagogue" referred to him in these cases. In a large synagogue, there could be multiple pastors, who carried out different aspects of each role. In these cases, "the angel of the synagogue" referred to the head pastor, who had overall responsibility for the various vocalization duties, even when he delegated most of these duties to others. The same was true of the chief of the synagogue.
This was continued by the Children of Truth at this time. In fact, the only Greek word used in the Renewed Covenant, for the building where the Children of Truth congregated, is "synagogue".
Even the word "pastor", did not originally come from a Greek word, coined by the Apostles of Truth, for the leaders of the congregations in the Renewed Covenant. The word "pastor", originally came from a Hebrew word, used by the Prophets of Truth, for the leaders of the congregations in the Original Covenant. This is verified by the same Greek word being used in the Septuagint, for the Hebrew word in the Masoretic Text, translated as "pastor".
So "the angels of seven churches" is the angel of the synagogue, who is the head pastor responsible for the message given in the synagogue, where each of these seven congregations met on the Sabbath.
So when we apply these principles, we understand this passage in this way:
John the Jew was on the island of Patmos, shortly before the death of Emperor Domitian, for preaching the Good News. While he was praying in tongues there, on the Sabbath, the Messiah of Israel appeared to him. The Messiah of Israel, who had died and rose again, came to show that all of the Children of Truth, including the Gentiles, would reign with him, forever. The Messiah of Israel then told John the Jew, that he had a message for the congregations of seven cities, in the Roman providence of Asia.
Then John the Jew saw the Messiah of Israel, was walking among seven menorahs, and holding seven stars. The Messiah of Israel then showed John the Jew, that he was the same Man of Truth, whom John the Jew had seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, by shining like the Sun, again. The Messiah of Israel also showed John the Jew, that he was the one, who spoke the Word of Truth, by a sword coming out of his mouth.
The Messiah of Israel then explained, that the seven stars were the angels of the synagogue, who were responsible for delivering messages to each of those seven congregations, and that the seven menorahs represented the mostly Gentile congregations, that met in the seven cities, of the Roman providence of Asia.
So we could say that this passage shows very much, that it's a Jewish thing to be following the Man of Truth. It also includes messages for the Gentile Children of Truth as well, because it has always been about the Gentiles. So the book of Revelation is not too hard to understand, it just takes more effort, than skimming over the surface.
While it is not practical, to go into this kind of detail, in applying these principles to the remaining 21 chapters of the book of Revelation, we will give a brief overview of the rest of the Revelation, to establish a framework, to provide a basic understanding.
Next, the book of Revelation gives some messages that were short term prophecies, about the congregations, that came to pass shortly after John the Jew left Patmos, and delivered the message to each congregation. These messages were also parallel medium term prophecies, that came to pass in less than three hundred years time, where something similar happened to each city, where the congregation was located.
For example, in the congregation of Thyatira, there really was a woman, who the Man of Truth called "Jezebel", who he was going to kill, along with her children, both her literal children, and her spiritual children, who followed her false doctrine, for teaching people to have sex outside of marriage, and eating things offered to idols, unless she repented (Revelation 2:18-23). This obviously happened, or else John the Jew would have been shown to be a false prophet, and the Revelation would not have been preserved in a book in the Book of Truth.
For example, the city of Philadelphia was destroyed by earthquakes numerous times, prior to the delivery of this message, but has not suffered a single earthquake, after the Man of Truth promised, to make the congregation there into a pillar (source of stability), even until this day, almost two thousand years later (Revelation 3:7-12).
There is another application to all of these messages to these congregations, for every congregation of the Children of Truth, is usually in a state similar to one of these seven congregations. The collected congregation of a nation can be thought of as being in the state, that the majority of the congregations in that nation are in.
For example, the church of China is seeking, to send more than a million missionaries across the Muslim area, between China and Jerusalem, with the expectation, that at least one hundred thousand of them will be killed, just so Muslims will have a chance to hear the Good News, and come into the House of Truth. They are obviously, in the "church of Philadelphia" phase, because that is brotherly love. It should be equally obvious, that the church in America is in the "church of Laodicea" phase, where the Children of Truth are more concerned about getting bigger, better, newer stuff, than carrying out the Great Commission, commanded by the Man of Truth (Revelation 3:14-17).
So these messages to these seven congregations, are about more than just these seven congregations, that really existed in seven literal cities, in the Roman providence of Asia. Consistent with the pattern of the Prophets of Truth, this section covers the entire age, from the time of John the Jew until the start of the time of the long-term prophecies, that make up the rest of the Revelation. These prophecies that start with the Tribulation, begin to unfold, after John the Jew being is called up to Heaven, to meet the Man of Truth in the air (Revelation 4:1-2). This fits the often repeated pattern throughout the Book of Truth, where the Father of Truth lifts people above the area of judgment, before beginning the judgment, because He does not take collateral damage.
It probably would take a year of blog posts, to over all of the details that are given in the Revelation, about the Tribulation. In the Revelation, this period of time called the Tribulation, starts after John the Jew was caught up in the air, to be with the Man of Truth, and continues until the Man of Truth returns to the Earth, with the Children of Truth (Revelation 19:11-19). About three quarters of the Revelation is concerned about the events of the Tribulation.
I will however, touch upon a few things, to demonstrate how applying the principles for rightly dividing the Word of Truth, can make any part of the Revelation understandable.
The Revelation of the Tribulation begins with a vision of four horsemen, that people sometimes call the four housemen of the Apocalypse. (Apocalypse is another name for the Revelation.)
These four horsemen are not hard to understand at all, because the Revelation tells you exactly what the judgment associated with each horseman. The first horseman is the Man of Lies (The Antichrist aka The Beast) going out to conquer the world (Revelation 6:2). The second horseman is a world wide war (Revelation 6:4). The third horseman is a global famine, that is so terrible, that it takes all that someone earns in a day, just to buy enough food to feed that person, for that day (Revelation 6:5-6). The fourth horseman is death, followed immediately by Hell, that will come upon one fourth of the human race, as a result of war and famine (Revelation 6:8).
So if you put these together, in the order that they appear, using the interpretation of each horseman given in the Revelation, then these judgments are logical and obvious. The Man of Lies goes out to conquer the world, resulting in a world-wide war. The world-wide war, brings about a world-wide famine. One fourth of the human race, dies as a result of the war and famine, and goes to Hell, because they are not part of the Children of Truth.
This is so easy to understand, if you simply go with the interpretation, that the Revelation gives. It takes a religious professional to make this vision hard to understand, by either trying to "spiritualize" the entire vision, or by applying some sort of other interpretation, like one from a "Hebraic perspective", or some sort of private "Holy Spirit revelation".
The Revelation of the Tribulation ends with the judgment of the two Babylons.
The first Babylon is the mystery religion system, that had its origin in Babylon under Nimrod, that gave birth to all other idolatrous religions, as plainly indicated in the Revelation (Revelation 17:1-5). This religious system is responsible for killing the Children of Truth, both before the Man of Truth came to the Earth, and after the Man of Truth came to the Earth (Revelation 17:6). This religious system is headquartered in a city, that sits on seven hills (Revelation 17:9). This religious system is headquartered in the city, that ruled over the greatest empire on Earth, when John the Jew saw the vision (Revelation 17:18).
The first Babylon is destroyed by the Man of Lies and his allies (Revelation 17:16).
The second Babylon is a literal city named Babylon, where the mystery religious system, that caused people to commit spiritual fornication through idol worship, was started by Nimrod (Revelation 18:2-3). The allies of the Man of Lies will be in anguish over the destruction of this great city (Revelation 18:9-10). This great city will be the greatest commercial center on Earth (Revelation 18:11-19). This city will be wiped off the face of the Earth, because it is place where the chain of events, that lead to every act of violence in the name of religion, and for gaining wealth, throughout the history of the human race, started (Revelation 18:21-24).
The second Babylon is destroyed by the Father of Truth (Revelation 18:5-8).
It is obvious, to anyone who looks at the facts given, that these are two different Babylons, that are located in two different places, that are centers of two different things, and are destroyed by two different sources.
The first Babylon is a religious system, started in Babylon, that had moved its headquarters to Rome, the city of seven hills, that ruled over the greatest empire on Earth, when John the Jew saw the Revelation. The Romans got their religion from Mithraic Mysteries, which came to them from Babylon, via the Persians. The False Church of Rome has continued these practices through things like Ash Wednesday, and the Satan Clause, to this day. The False Church of Rome is headquartered. on one of the famous seven hills of Rome, to this day. Anyone who looks at this passage objectively, can see that the Man of Lies and his allies, are going to destroy the False Church of Rome, towards the end of the Tribulation.
The second Babylon is a literal city, that will occupy the same place as the city, that Nimrod built, to turn the human race away from the Father of Truth, after the flood (Genesis 10:8-10). This city will be the capital city of the kingdom of the Man of Lies, which is why he is called, "The King of Babylon" (Isaiah 14:4-6). The massive walls of ancient Babylon, that Saddam Hussein spent billions rebuilding, so that a great city can arise there overnight, that stand to this day, will be completely destroyed, and never seen again (Revelation 18:20-21). Anyone who looks at this passage objectively, can see that the Man of Lies is going to cause the ancient city of Babylon, to again become the greatest city on Earth, and the Father of Truth is going to destroy it completely, towards the end of the Tribulation.
The Tribulation ends, when the Man of Truth cast the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil) into the Abyss for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3). The Jewish people will finally submit to the Man of Truth in total surrender.
Then the Man of Truth, and the Children of Truth, will rule over the Earth during those thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6). The entire world will experience peace, and prosperity, in the aftermath of the Tribulation.
At the end of those thousand years, the Father of Lies will be released from the bottomless pit, so he can expose everyone, who resents living under the rule of the Man of Truth (Revelation 20:7-8). Everyone of them will be destroyed from the face of the Earth, and everyone who did not come into the House of Truth, will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:9-15). It will be the end of all trouble!
Finally, those who came into the House of Truth, will live with the Father of Truth forever, in a New Heaven and a New Earth (Revelation 21:1-7). The New Jerusalem will be the city, where they live with Him, and the Man of Truth (Revelation 21:9-23). The Children of Truth will rule with the Father of Truth, and the Man of Truth, forever (Revelation 22:1-5). It will be the day of new beginnings!
No wonder, John the Jew ends the Revelation, by saying, "Bring it on!", and admonishing the readers, to stay in the House of Truth (Revelation 22:20-21)!
So the book of Revelation is not too hard to understand. In particular, it is not too hard to understand, the main message of the Revelation, that everyone should come into the House of Truth, and stay in the house!
The Revelation is not scary to those, who have come into the House of Truth (Luke 21:26-28)! You come into the House of Truth, when you surrender to the Man of Truth, because you believe that the Father of Truth, raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). You will then understand, that the Revelation tells you about the blessed hope, of those who come into the House of Truth (Titus 2:11-14)!
Come into the House of Truth!
When I was growing up, people shunned reading the book of Revelation. They said, that the few parts that they could understand, were very scary, but most of it, was simply too hard to understand. For many of them, the book of Revelation was so hard to understand, that they believed, that nobody should even read it, because whatever they concluded, was certain to be wrong. There was a fear of somehow offending the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD), or becoming a false teacher, if anyone even tried to explain the book of Revelation. For this, some even referred to the book of Revelation, as "The Forbidden Book".
However, the book of Revelation says, the exact opposite. It is the only book in the entire Book of Truth (The Bible), that promises a blessing for reading it, and acting upon what it says. It makes this promise at the beginning of the book (Revelation 1:3). It repeats this promise at the end of the book (Revelation 22:7). It is entirely unreasonable, in the light of these blessings for reading, and acting upon, the words in the Revelation, to believe that the book of the Revelation, is too hard to understand.
The Revelation is just as much a part of the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament), as the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles. All of these sections contain prophecies about future events, even though in the Renewed Covenant, the Revelation contains the bulk of these prophecies. The Father of Truth gave the Revelation, so the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) could understand the future.
The Revelation was given, so that the Children of Truth could understand, what would come upon the Earth suddenly, in the last days (Revelation 1:1). This is particularly important, if you have had dreams and visions about a future full of terrifying things, that will come upon the Earth in rapid secession. The book of Revelation can help you understand what you saw, for it was written to be understood. It is like a bell tower, that crowns a well built house, called the Renewed Covenant, whose massive bells are sounding out its alarm: "People get ready!". The book of Revelation was meant to be understood, by the Children of Truth.
The fact is, that the book of Revelation is not too hard to understand. You can understand it correctly, by doing the same things, that you do to understand any other book in the Book of Truth. If you will apply the principles for rightly dividing the Word to the book of Revelation, then you will be able to understand what it says. It is especially important to realize, that the Revelation was never meant to stand alone, but that it consolidates, builds upon, fills in details, and sequences, many future events found in the books of the Prophets.
The Book of Revelation follows the pattern of any other prophetic writing in the Book of Truth. It starts off with the historical circumstances of when it was written. Then it gives some short term and medium term prophecies to establish reliable witnesses, that the message came from the Father of Truth. Then it gives some long term prophecies. In other words, John the Jew (Yochanon be Zebedee aka The Apostle John) wrote down the things that he saw, the things that were in his day, and the things that would come afterwards (Revelation 1:19).
The historical circumstances of when it was written are as follows. It was a message given to John the Jew, to give to seven congregations of Asia (Revelation 1:4). This message was given to John the Jew, when he was exiled on the island of Patmos, for telling people the Good News (Revelation 1:9). These seven congregations were each known by the city where they were located (Revelation 1:11).
John the Jew saw the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ), who had died, and rose again, so the Children of Truth could rule with him (Revelation 1:5-6). He was "in the Spirit" on the "Lord's Day", when this happened (Revelation 1:10).
John the Jew saw the Man of Truth, coming with clouds, as the one the Jews had pierced (Revelation 1:7). The Man of Truth was walking among seven "candlesticks", with hair like wool, and a fire that burned within him (Revelation 1:13-15). The Man of Truth held seven stars in his hands, a sword came out of his mouth, and he shined as bright as the Sun (Revelation 1:16).
Although it would take a thick book, to apply the principles for rightly dividing the Word of Truth, to the entire book of Revelation, we will apply those principles to this part, to improve our understanding of these historical circumstances, and to show how applying these principles, make the Revelation understandable.
There was a Roman providence called Asia, that existed in western central Turkey, from 133 BC to about 393 AD. The seven, mostly Gentile, congregations were each in seven actual cities in the Roman providence of Asia. So these seven congregations that he wrote to, existed in his day, similar to how most of the Epistles were written to actual congregations, in actual cities that existed, when those epistles were written.
The island of Patmos, is just off the coast of Turkey, near ancient Ephesus, the first city listed, and the Roman Emperor Domitian exiled people to this island, from the time when he started his campaign to force people into a universal Roman religion in 90 AD, until his death in 96 AD, when all were pardoned, and Patmos ceased to be an island of exile.
The Man of Truth had literally died, and rose again, to reign (Romans 14:9). This made it possible for the Children of Truth, to literally reign with him (2 Timothy 2:12).
John the Jew was praying in tongues when he had this vision, which Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka The Apostle Paul) said, was speaking mysteries, by the power of the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost), that could only be revealed by the Father of Truth (1 Corinthians 14:2). So John was producing the sound of power when he was "in the Spirit". The "Lord's Day" was what the Sabbath was called at this time, as proven when you search out the Book of Truth and history, to find out who changed the Sabbath to Sunday.
The seven "candlesticks" were seven menorahs, seven branched candelabra, like the one prescribed in the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law). This is evident, when you dig deeper than the surface, and observe that the Greek word, "lychnia", translated as "candlestick", is the same Greek word in the Septuagint (Greek translation of The Original Covenant (Tanakh aka The Old Testament) made around 200 BC), for the Hebrew word "menorah", (the seven branch candelabrum of the Tabernacle), in the Masoretic Text (Hebrew composite text of The Original Covenant made around 1000 AD). It is worth noting that the Hebrew word "menorah", is also translated as "candlestick" in this passage. In fact, Greek word, "lychnia" is used throughout the Septuagint, for the Hebrew word "menorah". So the Man of Truth was walking among seven menorahs.
The Man of Truth had hair like wool, and fire was inside him, similar to how Daniel had seen, the Father of Truth with hair like wool, and fire issuing out from Him (Daniel 7:9-10). The Man of Truth was coming with the clouds, showing that he was the Messiah of Israel, to whom the Father of Truth would give reign over the entire Earth, forever (Daniel 7:13-14). The Man of Truth was coming as the Messiah of Israel, who was the same as the Father of Truth, that the Jews pierced (Zechariah 12:10). So the Man of Truth was being identified as the Messiah of Israel.
The Man of Truth shined like the Sun, as he had done, when he had shown John the Jew, who he really was, on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2). The Man of Truth had the Word of Truth, coming out of his mouth, that is symbolized as a sword (Ephesians 6:17).
The Man of Truth himself explained, that the seven stars represented the "angels of the seven churches", and that the seven menorahs represented the congregation in each of the seven cities (Revelation 1:20).
A little more study makes it plain, what is meant by "the angels of the seven churches".
The pastor (shepherd) responsible for orchestrating all vocalizations in a synagogue, (including the singing, the playing of music, the reading of scripture, the teaching, and the preaching) was called, "the angel of the synagogue", because the Hebrew word for "angel", literally means "messenger". There was another pastor responsible for taking care of the building, the grounds, handling the finances, and the like for the synagogue, who was called, "the chief of the synagogue". In a small congregation, a single pastor would carry out both responsibilities, so "the angel of the synagogue" referred to him in these cases. In a large synagogue, there could be multiple pastors, who carried out different aspects of each role. In these cases, "the angel of the synagogue" referred to the head pastor, who had overall responsibility for the various vocalization duties, even when he delegated most of these duties to others. The same was true of the chief of the synagogue.
This was continued by the Children of Truth at this time. In fact, the only Greek word used in the Renewed Covenant, for the building where the Children of Truth congregated, is "synagogue".
Even the word "pastor", did not originally come from a Greek word, coined by the Apostles of Truth, for the leaders of the congregations in the Renewed Covenant. The word "pastor", originally came from a Hebrew word, used by the Prophets of Truth, for the leaders of the congregations in the Original Covenant. This is verified by the same Greek word being used in the Septuagint, for the Hebrew word in the Masoretic Text, translated as "pastor".
So "the angels of seven churches" is the angel of the synagogue, who is the head pastor responsible for the message given in the synagogue, where each of these seven congregations met on the Sabbath.
So when we apply these principles, we understand this passage in this way:
John the Jew was on the island of Patmos, shortly before the death of Emperor Domitian, for preaching the Good News. While he was praying in tongues there, on the Sabbath, the Messiah of Israel appeared to him. The Messiah of Israel, who had died and rose again, came to show that all of the Children of Truth, including the Gentiles, would reign with him, forever. The Messiah of Israel then told John the Jew, that he had a message for the congregations of seven cities, in the Roman providence of Asia.
Then John the Jew saw the Messiah of Israel, was walking among seven menorahs, and holding seven stars. The Messiah of Israel then showed John the Jew, that he was the same Man of Truth, whom John the Jew had seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, by shining like the Sun, again. The Messiah of Israel also showed John the Jew, that he was the one, who spoke the Word of Truth, by a sword coming out of his mouth.
The Messiah of Israel then explained, that the seven stars were the angels of the synagogue, who were responsible for delivering messages to each of those seven congregations, and that the seven menorahs represented the mostly Gentile congregations, that met in the seven cities, of the Roman providence of Asia.
So we could say that this passage shows very much, that it's a Jewish thing to be following the Man of Truth. It also includes messages for the Gentile Children of Truth as well, because it has always been about the Gentiles. So the book of Revelation is not too hard to understand, it just takes more effort, than skimming over the surface.
While it is not practical, to go into this kind of detail, in applying these principles to the remaining 21 chapters of the book of Revelation, we will give a brief overview of the rest of the Revelation, to establish a framework, to provide a basic understanding.
Next, the book of Revelation gives some messages that were short term prophecies, about the congregations, that came to pass shortly after John the Jew left Patmos, and delivered the message to each congregation. These messages were also parallel medium term prophecies, that came to pass in less than three hundred years time, where something similar happened to each city, where the congregation was located.
For example, in the congregation of Thyatira, there really was a woman, who the Man of Truth called "Jezebel", who he was going to kill, along with her children, both her literal children, and her spiritual children, who followed her false doctrine, for teaching people to have sex outside of marriage, and eating things offered to idols, unless she repented (Revelation 2:18-23). This obviously happened, or else John the Jew would have been shown to be a false prophet, and the Revelation would not have been preserved in a book in the Book of Truth.
For example, the city of Philadelphia was destroyed by earthquakes numerous times, prior to the delivery of this message, but has not suffered a single earthquake, after the Man of Truth promised, to make the congregation there into a pillar (source of stability), even until this day, almost two thousand years later (Revelation 3:7-12).
There is another application to all of these messages to these congregations, for every congregation of the Children of Truth, is usually in a state similar to one of these seven congregations. The collected congregation of a nation can be thought of as being in the state, that the majority of the congregations in that nation are in.
For example, the church of China is seeking, to send more than a million missionaries across the Muslim area, between China and Jerusalem, with the expectation, that at least one hundred thousand of them will be killed, just so Muslims will have a chance to hear the Good News, and come into the House of Truth. They are obviously, in the "church of Philadelphia" phase, because that is brotherly love. It should be equally obvious, that the church in America is in the "church of Laodicea" phase, where the Children of Truth are more concerned about getting bigger, better, newer stuff, than carrying out the Great Commission, commanded by the Man of Truth (Revelation 3:14-17).
So these messages to these seven congregations, are about more than just these seven congregations, that really existed in seven literal cities, in the Roman providence of Asia. Consistent with the pattern of the Prophets of Truth, this section covers the entire age, from the time of John the Jew until the start of the time of the long-term prophecies, that make up the rest of the Revelation. These prophecies that start with the Tribulation, begin to unfold, after John the Jew being is called up to Heaven, to meet the Man of Truth in the air (Revelation 4:1-2). This fits the often repeated pattern throughout the Book of Truth, where the Father of Truth lifts people above the area of judgment, before beginning the judgment, because He does not take collateral damage.
It probably would take a year of blog posts, to over all of the details that are given in the Revelation, about the Tribulation. In the Revelation, this period of time called the Tribulation, starts after John the Jew was caught up in the air, to be with the Man of Truth, and continues until the Man of Truth returns to the Earth, with the Children of Truth (Revelation 19:11-19). About three quarters of the Revelation is concerned about the events of the Tribulation.
I will however, touch upon a few things, to demonstrate how applying the principles for rightly dividing the Word of Truth, can make any part of the Revelation understandable.
The Revelation of the Tribulation begins with a vision of four horsemen, that people sometimes call the four housemen of the Apocalypse. (Apocalypse is another name for the Revelation.)
These four horsemen are not hard to understand at all, because the Revelation tells you exactly what the judgment associated with each horseman. The first horseman is the Man of Lies (The Antichrist aka The Beast) going out to conquer the world (Revelation 6:2). The second horseman is a world wide war (Revelation 6:4). The third horseman is a global famine, that is so terrible, that it takes all that someone earns in a day, just to buy enough food to feed that person, for that day (Revelation 6:5-6). The fourth horseman is death, followed immediately by Hell, that will come upon one fourth of the human race, as a result of war and famine (Revelation 6:8).
So if you put these together, in the order that they appear, using the interpretation of each horseman given in the Revelation, then these judgments are logical and obvious. The Man of Lies goes out to conquer the world, resulting in a world-wide war. The world-wide war, brings about a world-wide famine. One fourth of the human race, dies as a result of the war and famine, and goes to Hell, because they are not part of the Children of Truth.
This is so easy to understand, if you simply go with the interpretation, that the Revelation gives. It takes a religious professional to make this vision hard to understand, by either trying to "spiritualize" the entire vision, or by applying some sort of other interpretation, like one from a "Hebraic perspective", or some sort of private "Holy Spirit revelation".
The Revelation of the Tribulation ends with the judgment of the two Babylons.
The first Babylon is the mystery religion system, that had its origin in Babylon under Nimrod, that gave birth to all other idolatrous religions, as plainly indicated in the Revelation (Revelation 17:1-5). This religious system is responsible for killing the Children of Truth, both before the Man of Truth came to the Earth, and after the Man of Truth came to the Earth (Revelation 17:6). This religious system is headquartered in a city, that sits on seven hills (Revelation 17:9). This religious system is headquartered in the city, that ruled over the greatest empire on Earth, when John the Jew saw the vision (Revelation 17:18).
The first Babylon is destroyed by the Man of Lies and his allies (Revelation 17:16).
The second Babylon is a literal city named Babylon, where the mystery religious system, that caused people to commit spiritual fornication through idol worship, was started by Nimrod (Revelation 18:2-3). The allies of the Man of Lies will be in anguish over the destruction of this great city (Revelation 18:9-10). This great city will be the greatest commercial center on Earth (Revelation 18:11-19). This city will be wiped off the face of the Earth, because it is place where the chain of events, that lead to every act of violence in the name of religion, and for gaining wealth, throughout the history of the human race, started (Revelation 18:21-24).
The second Babylon is destroyed by the Father of Truth (Revelation 18:5-8).
It is obvious, to anyone who looks at the facts given, that these are two different Babylons, that are located in two different places, that are centers of two different things, and are destroyed by two different sources.
The first Babylon is a religious system, started in Babylon, that had moved its headquarters to Rome, the city of seven hills, that ruled over the greatest empire on Earth, when John the Jew saw the Revelation. The Romans got their religion from Mithraic Mysteries, which came to them from Babylon, via the Persians. The False Church of Rome has continued these practices through things like Ash Wednesday, and the Satan Clause, to this day. The False Church of Rome is headquartered. on one of the famous seven hills of Rome, to this day. Anyone who looks at this passage objectively, can see that the Man of Lies and his allies, are going to destroy the False Church of Rome, towards the end of the Tribulation.
The second Babylon is a literal city, that will occupy the same place as the city, that Nimrod built, to turn the human race away from the Father of Truth, after the flood (Genesis 10:8-10). This city will be the capital city of the kingdom of the Man of Lies, which is why he is called, "The King of Babylon" (Isaiah 14:4-6). The massive walls of ancient Babylon, that Saddam Hussein spent billions rebuilding, so that a great city can arise there overnight, that stand to this day, will be completely destroyed, and never seen again (Revelation 18:20-21). Anyone who looks at this passage objectively, can see that the Man of Lies is going to cause the ancient city of Babylon, to again become the greatest city on Earth, and the Father of Truth is going to destroy it completely, towards the end of the Tribulation.
The Tribulation ends, when the Man of Truth cast the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil) into the Abyss for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3). The Jewish people will finally submit to the Man of Truth in total surrender.
Then the Man of Truth, and the Children of Truth, will rule over the Earth during those thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6). The entire world will experience peace, and prosperity, in the aftermath of the Tribulation.
At the end of those thousand years, the Father of Lies will be released from the bottomless pit, so he can expose everyone, who resents living under the rule of the Man of Truth (Revelation 20:7-8). Everyone of them will be destroyed from the face of the Earth, and everyone who did not come into the House of Truth, will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:9-15). It will be the end of all trouble!
Finally, those who came into the House of Truth, will live with the Father of Truth forever, in a New Heaven and a New Earth (Revelation 21:1-7). The New Jerusalem will be the city, where they live with Him, and the Man of Truth (Revelation 21:9-23). The Children of Truth will rule with the Father of Truth, and the Man of Truth, forever (Revelation 22:1-5). It will be the day of new beginnings!
No wonder, John the Jew ends the Revelation, by saying, "Bring it on!", and admonishing the readers, to stay in the House of Truth (Revelation 22:20-21)!
So the book of Revelation is not too hard to understand. In particular, it is not too hard to understand, the main message of the Revelation, that everyone should come into the House of Truth, and stay in the house!
The Revelation is not scary to those, who have come into the House of Truth (Luke 21:26-28)! You come into the House of Truth, when you surrender to the Man of Truth, because you believe that the Father of Truth, raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). You will then understand, that the Revelation tells you about the blessed hope, of those who come into the House of Truth (Titus 2:11-14)!
Come into the House of Truth!
Labels: Apocalypse, Bible Interpretation, History, Prophecy, Revelations, Tribulation
posted by The House Of Truth @ February 15, 2016
<< Home