PJ Hanley… Revelation was written for our encouragement and instruction and the notion that it is impossible to understand is a lie. It is about the Tribulation period, which was known to the early church from the Hebrew prophets, as the Day of the Lord. This is clearly stated by John in Chapter 1 verse 10:
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, “Write in a book what you see….’” Rev 1:10
The “Lord’s Day” here is clearly the Day of the Lord. There is no other way to understand this verse except that John is describing how he was caught up in the Spirit into the Day of the Lord and told to write down what he saw. The notion that John was referring to the Sabbath, or Sunday, is not acceptable. If he were referring to the Sabbath, namely the last day of the week, he would have likely said, “One Sabbath I was caught up in the Spirit.” But he didn’t say “Sabbath,” which certainly wouldn’t have been Sunday, but, rather on “the Lord’s Day.” The use of the article here signifies that it was a specific time period known as “the Day of The Lord.”
Much of the symbolism in the book of Revelation is not new. It is, for the most part, repetitive of the revelations given to Isaiah, Joel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Micah, Daniel, and the other prophets. What is new is merely detail on the same events which they depicted. In order to unlock the book of Revelation, one cannot start with the Revelation itself, but with a thorough understanding of the Hebrew prophets especially their theme of the Day of the Lord. However, most scholars approach the Book in the standard Gentile, Greek minded hermeneutic which simply butchers the text. The intent is sincere but the conclusions are erroneous. This is the only result possible when the Revelation is approached from this perspective.
Western Thinking
Westerners are, by and large, Greek thinkers who approach knowledge mathematically. If they can put labels on objects and concepts they conclude that they have arrived at understanding. Nowhere is this clearer than in the field of science, especially medical science and psychology. If they don’t understand what the cause of a certain behavior is, they will simply label it. Thus it becomes a “such-and-such disorder.” Once the label is in place they now conclude they are wise and understand the cause of the problem. Unfortunately, Western Bible teachers and scholars approach the Scripture in the same manner. They exegete by inserting chapters, titles, Roman numerals, and parentheses. Once they are successful in this labeling and packaging of the text, they feel satisfied that their conclusions must be valid. However, the Bible is not a product of Greek or Roman thought. It is distinctly Hebraic including the New Testament and the book of Revelation. It was written by Jews who were schooled in Hebrew Scripture and prophecy.
The thinking of the Hebrews was very different from that of the Greeks, and their writings reflect this. They were emotive in their approach and not mathematical. They often begin a sentence with a literal meaning and switch to a parabolic one without any warning. Even when recording events chronologically, they often insert passages and digressions that are not chronological. Nowhere is this more evident than in the prophetic writings. For example, there is the messianic passage in Isaiah 61, which Jesus quoted in Luke 4:18-19, and then said it was fulfilled in the hearing of the people. However, He left out the remainder of verse 2 regarding the Day of Vengeance of our God, which we know to be the Day of the Lord. He left it out because it was not to happen for another two thousand years. Yet, there is no indication or warning in Isaiah 61:2 of a two thousand year gap between events. This sort of thing is very common in the words of the prophets. Prophecies and revelations have an emotive flow where neither time nor chronology is delineated. Often, they will start out with the current situation they are facing and what God is saying, then jump to a parallel at the end of the age. The reader is supposed to realize this flow and interpret the message appropriately. Passages often start off with a literal meaning, only to become figurative and then return to being literal again. And the reader is supposed to know what is happening without being told. This same style carries on into the New Testament and is particularly evident in the Gospels and the book of Revelation. Some of the books which were written to a Gentile audience are a bit more structured but also carry the Hebraic style since they were written by Jews. Thus, the Bible and the book of Revelation cannot be approached in a Graeco Roman manner but must be understood through the mindset of a First Century Jew! This is a most critical error made by many in the Post-Trib and Pre-Week Rapture debate.
Not A Chronological Book
One of the greatest mistakes in approaching the book of Revelation is the assumption that it is chronological. Though the events contained in the seals, trumpets, and bowls are literal events, though cloaked in imagery, they cannot happen in a chronological order. This point is not difficult to establish once the passages are put together. There is a chronology to the book but it is only in regard to the events of the seals, trumpets, and bowls and not the seals, trumpets, and bowls together in a sequential order.
The chronological order begins in chapter 6 where all six seals are opened. When we examine the events of the sixth seal it is clear that they begin with the cosmic signs spoken of by almost all the prophets and referred to by Jesus as happening at the end of the Tribulation. This passage lines up directly with Isaiah, chapter 2. It is also clear that these events can only happen once since they are so catastrophic. For example, stars (likely asteroids) are hitting the earth, the sky is rolled up like a scroll, and the earthquake is so great that every mountain and island is moved out of it’s place. Who can conceive what the earth will look like after these things? It will be virtually destroyed. Yet the chronological view has these events occurring at the beginning of the Tribulation, and the angel’s cry not to harm the earth and the trees in chapter 7 as the very next thing to happen. How can this be? Surely this is a nonsensical way to read the book. Since the earth is already destroyed why would such a proclamation be made? Thus, the “after this I saw” in Chapter 7, verse 1, cannot be a chronological “after” but merely an introduction to the next vision. The same is true of all the visions in the Revelation and each one is introduced by something like, “after this I saw,” or, “after this I looked,” etc.
As we read on, the cosmic signs of the sixth seal that occur at the end of the Tribulation, culminating in the wrath of Christ, are repeated again at the end of the Seven Trumpets and the Seven Bowls. For example, at the Sixth Trumpet the way is prepared for the kings of the East by the four angels at the Euphrates. This same event occurs again at the Sixth Bowl, unless we are to believe that the vast armies from the East invade Israel twice and are destroyed twice. Furthermore, at the Seventh Trumpet the Lord’s wrath is poured out and His reign begins, and again at the Seventh Bowl the Lord appears and destroys His enemies and ushers in His Kingdom Reign. Since these facts are clear in the text, it is impossible for the seals, trumpets and bowls to be chronological or sequential. Thus we conclude that each set of sevens gives us different detail on the Tribulation period and each ends with the same events.
This understanding of the Revelation as a series of visions about the Day of the Lord is not only the simplest way to read it, it is also the only one that harmonizes with the rest of the prophetic Scriptures. The so-called “parenthetical sections” then are not to be seen as “angelic explanations” or interludes, as suggested by some, but simply more visions that give other details or summaries of the same events. For instance, Revelation chapter 12 is not to be seen as an interlude or digression of some sort, but rather a vision of what happens in heaven and earth during the 3 ½ year Tribulation period. Also, Revelation 14 contains insight into the activities in heaven during the Tribulation when the Bride follows the Bridegroom wherever He goes. It is given in deliberate contrast to what is happening on earth with the Harlot and the Beast.
Message to the End-Time Church
There are two churches mentioned in the book of Revelation, the overcomers and those that are overcome. The message to the 7 churches in chapters 2 and 3 begins this theme. There have been many different approaches regarding the prophetic significance of these churches throughout the centuries. However, if we understand that the book is about the Tribulation period, then they represent the Church that exists just prior to that time. The message, of course, pertains to these churches at the time of its writing, but is also intended to represent the whole church at the time of the end. The number 7 is used in a symbolic manner, as are most of the other numbers. Indeed, the use of numeric symbolism throughout the book of Revelation is profound and pervasive and is intended to underscore the divine origin and completeness of the Day of the Lord.
Excerpt from The Rapture of the Bride: A Biblical Case for the Pre-Trib, Mid-Week Deliverance of a Bridal Remnant by PJ Hanley