A BENEFICIAL STUDY TOOL - Revelation Commentary



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A BENEFICIAL STUDY TOOL

Welcome to ! We hope this dynamic commentary is a

beneficial study tool in your devotion to the Word of God. Before beginning to go through

the content of Revelation, we recommend that you read through the introduction,

overview, and hermeneutical sections to familiarize yourself with the framework

concerning this incredible book of God.

CONTRIBUTORS

Robert Van Kampen - (1938-1999) Author of numerous eschatological books and

Founder of Sola Scriptura and The Sign Ministries, was a graduate of Wheaton College, a

leading Christian businessman, co-founder of churches and missions agencies, and was

founder of The Scriptorium. The Van Kampen Collection is the largest private collection of

manuscripts, artifacts, scrolls and early printed editions of the Bible in the world today. He

held an honorary doctoral degree in humane letters from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Rev. Bill Lee-Warner - (1946-2001) Bill was a graduate of Oregon State University,

received his M.Div. from Western Evangelical Seminary, and pastored churches for more

than twenty years. He served Sola Scriptura and The Sign Ministries as a writer, lecturer,

and editor.

Rev. Charles Cooper - Instructor, Biblical Research & Education, Sola Scriptura,

graduated from Ouachita Baptist University then went on to Dallas Theological Seminary

and received a Master of Theology degree. After graduate school, Charles taught

Homiletics and Hermeneutics at Moody Bible Institute for six and a half years. "Coop" (as

he likes to be called) is active in declaring, defining, and defending the premillennial

prewrath return of Christ. For any questions regarding this project please contact Charles

by email or phone at Sola Scriptura at 1-800-844-9930.

Gary Vaterlaus - Instructor, Biblical Research & Education, Sola Scriptura, a graduate of

Oregon State University, Gary worked at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow before attending

Western Conservative Baptist Seminary and starting a Christian publishing ministry in



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Russia. As an Instructor, Gary responds to correspondence and teaches the prewrath

position nationwide.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Overview of the Book of Revelation

Structure of the Book of Revelation

A Simple, Face Value Understanding of Prophetic Scriptures

"REVELATION BEGINS"

Chapter 1 - Prologue

Chapter 2 - The Seven Churches, Part 1

Chapter 3 - The Seven Churches, Part 2

Chapter 4 - Heaven

Chapter 5 - The Large Scroll

Chapter 6 - The First Six Seals

"PARENTHESIS I - RESCUED"

Chapter 7 - Deliverance

"THE DAY OF THE LORD"

Chapter 8 - Seventh Seal Events [Trumpet Judgments 1-4]

Chapter 9 - Completion of 70th Week [Trumpet Judgments 5-6]

"POST 70TH WEEK EVENTS"

Chapter 10 - The Little Scroll

Chapter 11 - Daniel 9:24 Completed [Trumpet Judgment 7]

"PARENTHESIS II - COSMIC CONFLICT HIGHLIGHTED"

Chapter 12 - The Beginning

Chapter 13 - The Beginning of the End

Chapter 14 - The End of the Beginning

A. Deliverance of the elect

B. Decree to the wicked

C. Destruction of the wicked

"THE DESTRUCTION OF ANTICHRIST- THE FINAL WRATH OF GOD"



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Chapter 15 - Prelude to Bowl Judgments

Chapter 16 - Bowl Judgments 1-7

"PARENTHESIS III - DESTRUCTION HIGHLIGHTED"

Chapter 17 - The Great Harlot

Chapter 18 - The Great City

Chapter 19 - The Great Army

"THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST"

Chapter 20: 1-6 - The Beginning of the Millennium

Chapter 20:7-15 - The End of the Millennium

"THE CONCLUSION"

Chapter 21 - New Heavens, New Earth, New Jerusalem

Chapter 22 - Epilogue

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Revelation Commentary : Introduction

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INTRODUCTION

With the continued growth of the prewrath position comes the need for more resources.

Resources that explain how the whole of Scripture supports the prewrath timing of the

Lord's return. The request for commentaries on the Revelation that explain it from the

prewrath perspective has gone largely unanswered. We, therefore, offer this dynamic

commentary as a temporary stopgap until more exhaustive works can be done.

This commentary is dynamic in nature because we will be adding to it as time goes by.

While we are fairly confident that we understand the big picture, we recognize the need for

an on-going study of the many details contained in the Revelation. The more we study the

pages of this New Testament book, the more we learn. As you work through this

commentary, please send us your comments and corrective suggestions. We are

committed to an accurate teaching of the Word of God, and as such, we recognize that we

do not have all the answers. Therefore, if you have an insight that can be biblically

verified, please pass it along to us.

We offer no defense of our belief that the recipient of the Revelation was John the

Apostle; that the date of writing falls near AD 96; that the Revelation has epistolary,

prophetic, and apocalyptic features, which must influence its interpretation; and that the

book is progressive in nature with parenthetical details added for clarification. Where

necessary we will comment on the structure of the book to understand the meaning of the

text. For those who are interested in matters of background, please consult the first

volume of David E. Aune's commentary on Revelation in the Word Biblical Commentary

series. He does a very thorough job on these matters.

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Next Section: Overview of the Book of Revelation

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Revelation Commentary : Overview of the Book of Revelation

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Previous Section: Introduction

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OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION

The book of Revelation primarily concerns the Second Coming of Christ. His Second

Coming will be as judge of the world, unlike the first time when He came to die for

mankind's sin. Several hundred years before the Lord came to earth to die on the cross,

He communicated through an angelic messenger to Daniel, the prophet, essential

information about the end times. The Lord, Himself, as recorded in the Olivet Discourse in

the New Testament, taught His disciples more truth about the sequence of events that

would lead to the end times and His return. Fifty plus years after the teaching of the Olivet

Discourse, Christ, through an angelic messenger, revealed yet more end-time truth to

John, information vital for the understanding of the last days. Ultimately, the prophetic

truths contained in the book of Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, and the Revelation can be

traced to our Lord. It is the Revelation about Jesus Christ as ultimate Judge, which gives

us a synthetic view of both Daniel and the Olivet Discourse.

In the first verse of Revelation, chapter one, we are told that the contents of the book are

written for the bondservants of Christ, i.e. the living elect of God who, by definition, must

be the true church. In addition, Christ tells John that it is imperative that believers read

and heed the message of the book because what will occur in the future is critically

important for every child of God going into the last days. John is also instructed to record

warnings to seven local churches existing at the time the book of Revelation was written.

The warnings have both immediate consequences as well as consequences at Christ's

Second Coming. Thus, in the last days described in the book of Revelation, Christ weaves

together three different programs for three different groups of people representing the

entirety of mankind in the last days. Obedient and disobedient members of the church,

unbelieving Israel, and the world in general compose these three groups.

Five of the warnings to the seven churches have direct, end-time consequences. It is

possible that one of the questions on the mind of John, in light of these warnings,

concerned what would happen in the last days to those who continued in disobedience or

unbelief. Beginning in chapter four, John is taken up into heaven where we, the reader, as

is John, are given a marvelous view of the throne of God and the activities that will occur

in the last days of human history as we know it. Other than the incredible glory of heaven

itself, the focal point is an unopened scroll in the hand of Him who sits on a throne, sealed

with seven seals. The question then arises as to who is able to break the seals, and thus

permit the conditions necessary to effect the contents of the scroll. Pointing to the Lamb of

God, one of the twenty-four elders told John that only the "Lion that is from the tribe of

Judah" is worthy to open the scroll. This fact is supported earlier in the New Testament

(cf. Acts 17:31). Only Christ has the right to judge the world in the last days because of His

death and resurrection as the perfect Lamb of God at His first coming.

Revelation then begins to chronicle the events that will occur, beginning with the breaking

of the seven seals. The seals represent conditions that must first occur before God brings

His final judgment upon the world. Christ had already taught His disciples and Daniel that



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