This is the second installment of the Armchair Apocalypse series.
Once again, my goal in this series is not to do a verse-by-verse commentary or a scholarly study of Revelation, but rather to try to answer the common questions that come up about Revelation, the Apocalypse. I will try to answer those questions in simple, plain language that makes sense to everyday folks.
Let’s look at the questions and topics we will be answering and discussing in this ongoing Armchair Apocalypse series, which will appear every Wednesday here on Bible Rebel.
What Is Revelation Really About?
Who Wrote Revelation, and When Was it Written?
Can We Understand Revelation?
Literal or Symbolic?
Is Revelation Being Fulfilled Right Now?
Does Modern Israel Play a Role in Prophecy?
What do the Seven Churches Represent?
Why Does God Allow Such Terrible Judgments?
The Seven Seals
The Seven Trumpets
The Seven Bowls
The Four Horsemen
The Antichrist
The Mark of the Beast
The Great Tribulation
The Rapture Debate
The 144,000
The Two Witnesses
Armageddon
The Millennium
The Final Judgment
The New Heaven and New Earth
Why Revelation Is Ultimately a Book of Hope
We have a lot to get to, so plan on joining me every Wednesday for this exciting ride.
There are lots of novels and movies about the end of the world, and some of those stories use the images and words from the Bible’s Book of Revelation.
But let’s not get all worked up and frightened by novels, movies, or other forms of apocalypse fiction. Instead, let’s look at what Revelation actually says — and doesn’t say — rather than what others say about it.
That is what this new series, “Armchair Apocalypse,” which will appear every Wednesday on the Bible Rebel blog, is all about.
My goal in this series is not to do a verse-by-verse commentary or a scholarly study of Revelation, but rather to try to answer the common questions that come up when the last book of the Bible is considered. I will try to answer those questions in simple, plain language that makes sense to everyday folks.
I look forward to having you along for the journey.
It’s about the victory of God over evil by way of His grand plan through Jesus Christ.
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
It’s about God winning even when it looks like Satan and the wicked kingdoms of this world have all the power.
Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
It’s about God’s people staying faithful and trusting in Him – no matter how long it takes until He sets things right.
Revelation 21:3–4 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation is meant to encourage and bless God’s people – not scare them or cause them to freak out over 666 and the Antichrist.
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
The End is Really a Beginning
After Jesus was raised from the dead, he spent many days with his followers, being with them and teaching them about things to come. They asked him about the end of the world as they knew it.
Acts 1:6-7 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
And the same is true for us today, over 2,000 years later — no one knows when the end times will come. So, if you hear someone say they know the date that Jesus will return, you can be sure that they really don’t know. Only God knows.
Matthew 24:30 & 36 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory… …But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
But don’t think of it as the end of the world, because it will actually be the beginning of forever — with God and each other in a glorious new creation.
Revelation 21:2-5 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
I’m not sure who first said this, but it’s worth saying again here: “In the end, everything will be all right. And if it’s not all right, it’s not the end.”
Next, we’ll start digging into what that glorious new forever looks like.
There are lots of fiction novels and movies about the end of the world, and some of those stories use the images and words from the Bible’s Book of Revelation.
Let’s not get all worked up and frightened by novels and movies, though. Let’s look at what Revelation actually says and doesn’t say, rather than what others say about it.
It helps to get an idea of the “who” and “what” of Revelation. It is a short book written around 2,000 years ago by a man named John, describing a vision from God, and then sent out in a scroll to be read to groups of believers.
Our goal here is not to do a deep study of it, but it’s important to understand that Revelation is a vision with deeper meanings beneath what many of the words seem to be saying at first.
At times in the Bible God gave visions and dreams to people, using mysterious pictures and symbols that aren’t meant to be taken literally.
Years Not Ears
Here’s an example from the Old Testament Book of Genesis where Pharaoh tells Joseph about a dream he had and Joseph tells him what it meant:
Genesis 41:22-26 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh…God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. …the seven good ears are seven years…
See? The ears of corn weren’t meant to be understood as actual ears of corn, they were dream symbols that actually meant years.
Most of Revelation is just like that – you have to understand the symbols and how the people back in that time and place would have understood those symbols. By the way, the time was about 2,000 years ago and the place was Asia Minor, which is the modern-day country of Turkey, under the rule of the ancient Roman Empire.
Symbols in Revelation
Here’s what Jesus looked like in John’s vision in the first chapter of Revelation:
Revelation 1:13-16 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Does Jesus actually look like this? Does he have a sword coming out of his mouth and feet made of brass? No, these are symbols and images to tell us something deeper. And if we want to understand what those symbols mean we first have to understand how the people who first heard and read those words understood them.
That makes for an interesting, but much longer study. For now, let’s take a peek at the overall subject and point of the Book of Revelation. That’s coming next.
Adriana, a football fan, wrote a letter to her friend who also really liked following and watching football games. In the letter, Adriana described a high school football game she went to recently like this:
“It was raining cats and dogs as if the sky had sprung a leak, but the game marched on as if the gridiron were Noah’s front yard. The quarterback was trying to thread the needle through a secondary playing tighter than a drum. Some of the fans were hollering that the offense needed to stop shooting themselves in the foot with their false starts and do a better job of establishing the run.
By the second half, the field had turned into a mud pit worthy of a hog-calling contest, and the players were slipping and sliding like greased lightning. The defense was bringing the house with all-out blitzes on three straight downs. Finally, midway through the fourth quarter, our junior kicker split the uprights. The score held, and that missed point-after attempt in the first quarter didn’t come back to haunt our squad.”
If you aren’t familiar with American football, then Adriana’s report on the game would be kind of confusing to you.
Now just try to imagine how strange and confusing that letter would sound to a young girl in a little fishing village in a faraway country who knew nothing about America, football, or the figures of speech in the English language, like “shooting themselves in the foot.” That young girl would have to see everything through the eyes of the friend Adriana wrote the letter to in order to understand its meaning.
The Book of Revelation
Have you ever heard about the Antichrist, or the mark of the beast, 666? How about stars falling from heaven, earthquakes and wars, and the four horsemen of the Apocalypse at the end of the world?
Those are all images from the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, which is full of strange language, numbers, and symbols that some say foretells what will happen at the end of the world.
Here we are in modern times reading Revelation kind of like the young girl in the faraway fishing village reading Adriana’s letter, not really understanding that “raining cats and dogs” doesn’t mean that thousands of cats and dogs are actually falling out of the sky.
So, what do all of those weird visions and scary beasts and such we hear about in stories about the end of the world actually mean? Is Revelation a play-by-play, exact preview of what’s going to happen to us at the end of the world?
Here are three common misconceptions about what the Bible says – and doesn’t say.
Singular, Not Plural
The last book of the Bible is not called ‘Revelations.’ It should be referred to as the ‘Book of Revelation’, singular.
Fruit, Not Apple
The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, is never called an apple.
Genesis 2:16–17 (KJV): “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Store Cities, Not Pyramids
In Exodus 1:11, it says the Israelites built the “store cities” of Pithom and Raamses for Pharaoh. These were supply or storage centers, not pyramids. The pyramids of Egypt were constructed many centuries earlier, during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods (roughly 2600–1800 B.C.), long before most scholars date the events of the Exodus (often placed between 1500–1200 B.C., depending on interpretation).
So, while the Israelites were enslaved and forced into construction labor, the Bible and archaeology both indicate they built cities and other works, not the pyramids.
The idea that they were building pyramids most likely comes from the Cecil B. DeMille movie, ‘The Ten Commandments‘.
Many Rapturists believe that 1 Thessalonians 1:10 must be interpreted to mean that God will not allow believers to go through a 7 or 3 1/2 year tribulation period and that the Rapture will rescue the saved who are alive at the time.
Here’s the thing – there are other ways of reading “delivered from the wrath to come” that, in my opinion, make way more sense and fit more accurately with the overall themes of the Bible in the context of judgement and salvation.
So, asked Mr. Art Intelligence to provide a summary of what it means, here’s what I got:
“The phrase “delivered from the wrath to come” refers to a key theme in Christian theology, particularly in relation to salvation, judgment, and the end times. It’s most directly found in 1 Thessalonians 1:10:
“…and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (ESV)
Here’s what it generally means:
1. “Wrath to Come” = God’s Future Judgment
In biblical context, “wrath” refers to God’s righteous anger and judgment against sin and evil.
“The wrath to come” is typically seen as a future event — often associated with the Day of the Lord, end-time judgment, or the Great Tribulation.
2. Deliverance Through Jesus Christ
Christians believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection satisfy the demands of divine justice, so those who trust in Him are not subject to God’s wrath.
To be “delivered from the wrath to come” means being spared from God’s judgment, whether that’s:
eternal separation from God (hell),
or specific apocalyptic judgment in the end times (depending on one’s eschatological view).
3. Different Theological Interpretations
There are several interpretations of how and when this “deliverance” happens:
Pre-Tribulation View (Dispensational):
Believers will be raptured before a time of tribulation and judgment on earth (Revelation-style wrath).
This is a common belief among many evangelicals and in popular media like Left Behind.
Historical View:
The “wrath” may refer to eternal condemnation, not necessarily a future earthly tribulation.
In this view, deliverance is more about salvation from hell than escape from earthly suffering.
Ongoing Deliverance:
Some theologians see this as a present spiritual reality: Jesus continually intercedes for believers, shielding them from God’s wrath (Romans 5:9; John 3:36).
Summary:
To be “delivered from the wrath to come” means that through faith in Jesus Christ, Christians are spared from God’s future judgment, whether that’s understood as eternal damnation or a specific time of tribulation. It underscores the Christian hope of salvation, security, and peace with God, even in the face of future judgment.”
End AI answer. I’ll be exploring these ideas in more detail in the next post on “Rethinking The Rapture”.
According to the standard Evangelical/Dispensational Rapture doctrine, the Rapture occurs before the apocalyptic events of the Book of Revelation begin to unfold.
So why is the Rapture not explicitly mentioned in Revelation, not even once?
Why would the most shocking, impactful, and monumental event (supposedly) in the Bible and in human history; an event that miraculously and suddenly removes millions of people from the earth triggering the beginning of a worldwide apocalypse, not be mentioned at all in the book of the Bible called the Apocalypse?
Yes, I’m aware of the interpretations of Revelation 4:1-2, where John is called up to heaven, supposedly being a symbolic reference to the Rapture. I’m not buying it though. That kind of handling of the Word is a perfect example of reading a preconceived notion into scripture rather than letting scripture speak for itself.
To speculate that Revelation 4:1, where John heard a voice that said, “Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter…” is referring to the Rapture seems to me a weak, almost desperate, argument. And the same for the ‘missing church’ argument that claims the absence of the Greek word for ‘church’, ekklesia, after Revelation chapter 3 implies a Rapture occurs somewhere between chapter 3 and 4.
The Rapture is not mentioned at all in the Book of Revelation. Why?
More to come in this ongoing series, “Rethinking The Rapture”.
