Day 2
There have been many books from many denominations written of the End
Times. The End Times are described in more than one book of the bible and are
clearly describing future events. The book of Revelations was the last of these
End Time prophesies and is generally used to “predict the future.” The writer of
the Bible Knowledge Commentary, I think, best describes the situation in his
commentary on the book of Revelations.
In
keeping with the divine outline given in 1:19,
God unfolded to John the details of the future, “what will take place later.”
This includes the stirring events leading up to the second coming of Christ
(chaps.
4-18);
then the Second Coming itself (chap.
19);
then the aftermath, the millennial kingdom (chap.
20);
and finally the New Jerusalem and the new heaven and new earth (chaps.
21-22).
It is obvious that the central truth is the second coming of Christ in
chapter
19,
just as the central feature of the four Gospels was the first coming of
Christ.
While many interpretations of the Book of
Revelation have been suggested, the only views which provide a cogent
understanding are those which consider the book, beginning with chapter 4, as
referring to future events. Any other system of interpretation gets lost in a
maze of conflicting opinions.
While the events portrayed in this futuristic
section are not necessarily all in strict chronological order, they are all yet
future. As such, they present a more graphic picture of the future, given in
more detail, than is found in any other part of the Bible. Such a revelation is
a fitting climax to all the biblical prophecies relating to human history, which
are properly centered in the person and work of Jesus
Christ.
The revelation of the future opens with a vision
of heaven (chaps.
4-5).
Beginning in chapter 6 the seven seals, as they are broken, constitute the main
chronological movement of the Great Tribulation, leading up to the second coming
of Christ. The seven trumpets give the details of events which will follow the
breaking of the seventh seal. Likewise in chapter 16 the seven bowls of the
wrath of God unfold the content of the seventh trumpet.
The order is climactic, and as the period
approaches the second coming of Christ, events occur with increasing rapidity
and greater devastation. Once Christ’s second coming is revealed, the concluding
chapters briefly summarize the wide expanse of future events—chapter
20
relating to the millennial kingdom, and chapters
21-22 describing
the new heaven and the new earth.
It is obvious that the main purpose of the Book
of Revelation is to present the second coming of Christ and accompanying events
and to alert the people of God as well as the world as a whole to the importance
of being prepared for God’s coming judgment.
The bottom line is this, God does not want us to know when the end is coming. God wants us to always be prepared for the end no matter when it comes. When God inspired the “End Time” scriptures He told us what would happen in the end, what would lead up to the end,
and
what to expect after the end. What God did not tell us and gave no hint of, was
when the end would come. It is safe therefore to assume, the end will come when
God is ready.
Yes
the End Time scriptures do apply to us today because Jesus could return
tomorrow. If we keep this in mind and always present ourselves Holy before God,
then it doesn’t matter when the end comes. We will be
ready.
Daily
Bible Readings:
Read
Revelations chapter 19
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