History Unveils The Proper Explanation Of Prophecy Fulfillment
This Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible study focuses on how history unveils the proper prophecy interpretation.
The early church father’s could not have comprehended that it would take this long for it all to be fulfilled. They expected that after the fall of Rome, the antichrist would rise to power and reign for 3 1/2 years, and then Messiah would return to destroy the beast.
They had no comprehension that the antichrist beast would reign for 1,260 years, not 1,260 days.
But as time passed, Bible scholars began to see how prophecy was being fulfilled historically.
They had seen how the Popes of Rome, the Little Horn of Daniel, the Son of Perdition of 2 Thessalonians 2, rose to power after the last Roman Emperor, who had restrained them from taking power, was removed in 476 A.D.
They had seen how the Popes of Rome changed the law and times, and persecuted and killed the saints.
They had seen how the Popes of Rome controlled all the world in the 12th century, and blasphemed by proclaiming to be God and to forgive sins.
In the 18th century, Edward Gibbon wrote the epic 6-volume “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, a series of events recorded such as seemed to me to correspond to a great extent with the series of symbols found in the Apocalypse.
The language of Mr. Gibbon was often such as he would have used, on the supposition that he had designed to prepare a commentary on the symbols employed by John.
But this historian had no belief in the divine origin of Christianity, but he brought to the performance of his work learning and talent such as few Christian scholars have possessed.
We can use it as an impartial and fair, for it was a result which he least of all contemplated, that he would ever be regarded as an expounder of the prophecies in the Bible, or be referred to as vindicating their truth.*
Today, we have an even greater viewpoint, because we can look back on all that has happened in Rome, to see how so many prophecies have been fulfilled in exacting detail.
We can look back at the Dark Ages and Inquisition when historians record that the Roman Catholic Church killed over 50 million saints, fulfilling Revelation who said she, the Harlot Church, would be drunk with the blood of the saints.
We can see the Cardinals and Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church wearing purple and scarlet, just as Revelation 17 said the Harlot Church would.
I dare say that because we have so much evidence before us, we are more accountable. We have the whole record of history which provides the explanation of the fulfillment of prophecy.
Historicism proves how most of the prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled during the last 1,900 years, since the book of Revelation was written.
Reference:
History Unveiling Prophecy by Henry Grattan Guinness
Next Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible Study: Revelation Is A Layered War Manual
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Could you please explain about the 1000 year millennium I find your information very valuable.
Thanking you
Thank you Pamela 🙂 It’s not really a topic I’ve studied a lot. There’s not much information is given about the 1000 years. At the end of this age, those who are written in the book of life will be raised up to be with Messiah. Revelation says that the Pope and False prophet will be captured and put away in torment. Satan will be put away for the 1,000 years. And many who are with the Pope and False prophet will be killed.
The saints will rule and reign with Messiah for 1,000 years. Then Satan will be released, allowed to gather an army of men to try to battle against Elohim, but end up being destroyed. Then those who are not in the Book of life will be resurrected and judged.
As far as what the 1,000 years will look like, I can’t say. I can say that I’m excited to finish the race strong in this era, as we battle against the enemy by exposed its deceptions; and I’m sure the 1,000 year reign with Messiah will be amazing 🙂
David, I think as you have explained about Revelation and its layers, that chapter 20 is also a layer; a recapitulation of the entire book from chapters 1 through 19. There are several correlations here that I think point to the millenium having already begun.
Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
When was God’s kingdom set up? “…in the days of these kings (Roman empire)…” Not afterwards. This would imply the millenium already began, right? God’s kingdom is the same as Christ’s, isn’t it?
I’m going to go through chapter 20 and identify the verses that I think correlate with previous chapters in Revelation.
Rev. 20:2 “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
NOTE: Strong’s Concordance 5507 for the word “thousand” in Greek means “chilioi”: Plural of uncertain affinity; a thousand — thousand.
It’s an indefinite number, not precisely 1,000 as the English translation seems to indicate.
Rev. 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that OLD SERPENT, called the DEVIL, and SATAN, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Rev. 20:2 has an identical description of the dragon as chapter 12. Correlation?
“20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
Same souls from the opening of the 5th seal and the Thyatira and Sardis church eras. Rev. 20:4 correlates with the beast (of the sea) and his image (beast of the earth) as far as the Revelation timeline is concerned. They reigned with Christ a thousand years. Does this mean that they were Christians giving testimony reigning with Christ spiritually while on earth, or that when they were martyred they were caught up to Heaven and the reign began then and there?
Rev. 20:7 “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”
Rev. 20:7-9 appears to correlate with Rev. 16:14 & 16:16, and Rev. 19:19
Rev 16:14 “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the EARTH and of the WHOLE WORLD, to GATHER THEM TO THE BATTLE of that great day of God Almighty.”
Rev. 16:16 “And he GATHERED THEM TOGETHER into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
Rev. 19:19 “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the EARTH, and their armies, GATHERED TOGETHER to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”
How many Armageddons will there be? One, right? “…that great day of God Almighty.” Are Gog and Magog not a part of this great day? They have to be.
We think it’s ludicrous for futurists to believe that John recorded prophecy that’s supposed to happen 1,900 years later, rendering the 50 million Christian martyrs worthless.
Therefore, it wouldn’t make sense to be given prophecy of a 1,000 year post-tribulation reign with little to no information that ultimately ends with another huge war against the dragon. After over a dozen chapters covering 1,900 years, a 1,000 year reign with Christ is relegated to only one chapter?
Similar to the church eras and how its layered, spanning all of prophecy until the return of the Messiah, that’s how I’ve come to view chapter 20 and the millenium.
Rev. 20:1-3 – Christ at the cross. The church eras begin.
Rev. 20:4-6 – All Christian persecutions from Ephesus through Sardis church eras.
Rev. 20:7-9 – Church of Laodicea may be when the dragon is loosed for a season, more specifically though, the signing of the Lateran Treaty that gave the Roman Church political power again.
In my mind it all makes sense, but I’m not sure if I laid it out coherently. Looking forward to feedback, though.
That’s an interesting perspective Tim. I read through your explanation and Revelation 20, and I’m just not seeing that it’s another layer which spans from when Revelation was written until Messiah returns.
Revelation 20 mentions the thousand years five times, so I don’t think that it is an indefinite number. And it’s been almost 2,000 years since Messiah died, so why say 1,000 years if it’s pointing to 2,000 years?
Revelation 12:9 is pointing to Satan being cast down from power over the mighty Roman Empire, as it was declining from the seal judgments; so it’s not about Satan being bound in the 1st century when Messiah died and rose again.
Revelation 20:4 is about the resurrected saints who had been beheaded. They haven’t been resurrected yet, so that thousand years hasn’t started yet.
Satan cannot have been bound since the 1st century, as we see prophecy pointing to him being active. John’s narrative in Revelation is about the historical battle between the Satan-empowered leader of the Roman beast against Messiah and His saints; so Satan cannot have been held capture since the 1st century.
Revelation 12 points to him being active in empowering the Roman Emperors to try to wipe out the early church, killing millions of saints. Revelation 13 points to him being active in empowering the Popes of Rome during their 1,260 reign, in which they banned and burned the Scriptures and the Saints. Revelation 16 points to him (the dragon) being active is causing the false prophet Jesuit General and antichrist Pope to incite three world wars, which would push the world into a One World Government.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us that devil is still on the earth after Messiah’s death and resurrection, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
Revelation 16:4 seems to match up with Revelation 19:19; as Satan, the false prophet Jesuit General and antichrist Pope, gather their armies against Messiah when He returns.
Granted Revelation 20 doesn’t give us a lot of details about what the 1,000 years will be like; and it seems odd that the saints rule for 1,000 years and then Satan is released again, only to be captured. I’ll keep researching and hope that you will too. David
Indeed, I will keep researching. Thanks for the reply. And thank you for this site! Finally, someone that shares the same historical view of prophecy as me!
Hello David
Thank your for answering. I am still confused does this mean that there are two resurrections, one for the saints who live with the Messiah for 1,000 years while Satan, the Pope and the false prophet are put away for the 1,000 years and those with them will be killed. Is that not like the rapture. Then Satan is let out and raises an army of men to battle against God, who are these men were they dead then raised up again. Then those who are not in the book will be raised and judged. Thank you for your help.
Pamela
Hello Pamela. Your explanations seems right. Not all people will be killed when Messiah returns to capture the false prophet Jesuit General and antichrist Pope, so they will remain on earth. Messiah will rule and reign with His saints for 1,000 years. And then Satan is released to gather an army against Elohim, and Satan will be captured and the army killed. And then all of the unsaved dead will rise up for their judgment.
My Revelation Timeline Decoded has more information on it. http://revelationtimelinedecoded.com
Here’s a one-page graphic that shows the layers of Revelation, so that you can see how they interact. http://revelationtimelinedecoded.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/rev-layers-850.jpg
Yes, it’s a blessing to connect with people who share the same historical view, as most believers are deceived by the false, futurist explanation.
Keep learning and growing in The Way!
David