I realized today that I have not updated my blog in over a month. Good grief, time flies when you're having fun! And while some may not think what I have been doing is fun, I assure you... it is fun to me! Over the past month I have engrossed myself in a different outlook on the book of Revelation. I have studied the futurist view, that we are yet awaiting all of this to happen and am familiar with what to expect should Revelation take on this interpretation of prophecy. So if the futurists are correct - I am ready! I have studied the preterist view, that the majority of this has already occurred and we await the final step of a resurrection. If preterists are correct - I am ready! But then I began to think - oh boy, here it comes - what if they are both right?! What if, the events of Revelation are a heavenly perspective on the history of the earth from its origins to its end? Since the earth is still ticking then one may assume that the film rolling through Revelation of course is not over but what if events were so gradual to progress that we cannot see its development unless we step back and gaze at the world from a holistic point of view? And so this is what I have been busy doing the past month and it has been amazing.
Why am I doing this, one may ask? First of all... because I can and I have all the time in the world to do it. Secondly, because even if I am way off base I am still becoming intimately involved in the story of Revelation and familiar with its contents. Did you know there is a blessing for just reading the book? How many of us could use more blessing in our lives? Can I hear an AMEN?! And the last reason is this: the more I investigated the possibility of this outlook the more I realized its feasibility.
So the point behind the development of this idea is not to proclaim that this is the absolute truth but to prepare individuals if perchance Revelation takes on yet another form. I want to be ready and able to identify what is going on in the world, and if I am locked into a preconceived notion of what will be then I may miss it all together. And for those who do not think that possible just look at what happened at Jesus' first coming. Everyone around Jesus had a preconceived notion of what the Messiah was going to accomplish when he came into the world. This preconceived notion blinded them to who he was until he had fulfilled and completed his purpose. And THEN Jesus opened their eyes to what and who he truly was. I do not want preconceived notions of prophecy to cloud my ability to see what is really going on either!
I do not want to prematurely spill the beans on all the details but the rough overview of what I am doing is this:
7 Seals = the development and enactment of God's plan for redemption that was necessary for man following the Fall. This plan is accompanied by the consequences of sin and death that must beset a world ruled by sin.
7 Trumpets = the announcement and strategic/tactical/psychological implementation of bringing the Word into Flesh beginning with the covenant of the Law. While the Law provided a level of redemption and sealed God's people it was not the fulfillment. This step is accompanied by not only the consequences of sin (opened in the seals) but the consequences of breaking God's Law.
7 Bowls = the execution of God's final judgment on the earth due to the combination of the consequences of sin (opened in the seals), the consequences of breaking God's Law (announced in the trumpets) and ending in the consequences of rejecting God's only begotten Son - the only true chance we have at life.
And that sums up what I am doing - combining past, present, and future ("what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later" - Rev 1:19) for a bigger look at Revelation. Fun fun!
Call me crazy... I might just be by the time I get done with this whole study.
