The Only True Understanding of Revelation.
The only true understanding of Revelation and last-day events comes from the glowing magnificence of the cross. The cross is like a kaleidoscope of diamonds that brings both the Old and New testaments into a glorious spectrum of colour.
There is 0ne last introductory note to the next section we will focus on. The entire content of scripture proceeds in an elliptical orbit around the two focal points of the first and Second Advents. The only true understanding of Revelation and last-day events comes from the glowing magnificence of the cross, where we see that what happened to the Head, will happen to the body. Revelation is repeatedly overlaid with the events of the cross. This is one reason why the Sanctuary; with its ceremonies and calendar, is used throughout the book. It all pointed to the Lamb that was slain. We will have no fear if our case is in the hands of our heavenly lawyer, the omnipotent, omniscient High Priest of Heaven! All the major stories of the Old Testament are applied by typology through the prism of the cross and then become types of stories that refer to the people of God through the ages, climaxing in the ‘last days.’
The diagram above explains how firstly, the Old Testament is applied to Jesus then to His body, the church. There is also a personal application whereby the Bible speaks specifically to us personally. Finally, the events, stories and characters of the Old Testament often have an end time application such as we find in the book of Revelation.
Notice, for example, how the story of Elijah moves through the life of Christ and then into the church before reaching its climax in the book of Revelation. Have you ever wondered why the 3 ½ years of Elijah’s wilderness experience correlates to the 3 ½ years of Jesus’ public ministry and then the 1260 days (3 ½ prophetic years) of Revelation’s prophecies that applied to what we call the dark ages? The parallels are many. (too many for this space.)
This is the body reliving the life of its Head. Wasn’t Jesus condemned for His reverence and obedience to God, like the 3 Hebrews of Daniel 3? For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the death decree, via the fiery furnace, was the result. As it was for Jesus, so will it be for God’s people, condemned down through the ages for reverence and obedience; until, in Revelation 13 we have the final scene for the Body of Christ. Notice how the church and state united to bring about the death of Jesus and how this is exactly what Revelation 13 describes.
Keep these things in mind as we begin the second half of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. What happened to the head (Christ) will happen to His body – the church,