Past Revelation

The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him so that his servants might have knowledge of the things which will quickly take place:and he sent and made it clear by his angel to his servant John. Rev 1:1

Obviously, God has a totally different understanding of quickly than I do. The word used here is tachos, translated shortly, speedily, quickly. It is where we get tachometer from.

Sure, God’s thoughts are higher than ours, and living outside of time he thinks in different time frames – if at all. But still: two thousand years do not compute in my mind as speedily.

But what if. What if all this already happened?

Scholars today tell us that Revelation was most probably written in about 95 AD. That view has been held for less than 200 years now. Before that, most people would have dated the book to the years 64/65 AD.

Facts rather favor this early date. Just one example. We are told by extra biblical sources that John, after being released from Patmos, extensively travelled Asia Minor. But when he was old, and in 95 he would have been anywhere between 75 and 95 years old, he was carried to church and only repeated one sentence over and over again: love each other.

The postponing of the book’s creation was done by the same people – and during the same time period – that founded dispensationalism and futurism, including a new explanation and interpretation of the book of Revelation as future events.

Why is it important to postpone the book for this? If the book was written in the sixties, there are events that happened quickly after this that align themselves wonderfully with the story. Postponed, there are none, and a new interpretation has to be found, postponing all events to the future.

Remember, I am asking what if. All I want to do is broaden your mind. So please, don’t be offended, but take this as an opportunity to test your believe system against some alternative thoughts. Maybe it will come out even stronger.

There are two systems at war. The world system, and the Kingdom of God. Old nature versus new creation. Old age versus new covenant. Old world versus new world and new heaven. The first Adam versus the last Adam, Jesus Christ.

Maybe, the end of the world is the end of the world system. Thus. the last days are the last days of the old system.

When Jesus died, the last days of the old covenant had come. God gave the Jews another 40 year time period to make the shift from the old into the new, accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Then, he destroyed the old Jerusalem, replacing it with the new coming down from heaven. He destroyed the elements of the old covenant – the temple and the sacrifices – and replaced them with the elements of the new – his blood and his body. His sacrifice and the church, he the head and we the body.

Revelation starts with letters to seven churches in Asia Minor, challenging them to renew their thinking, to leave the old ways and accept the new. The old ways being Hebraic or Greek, the new being Kingdom. And then he warned them of what would happen to those not making the shift.

I mentioned the old and new Jerusalem. In Revelation, the old Jerusalem is called Babylon. Let the bible interpret itself: throughout the bible, the harlot is either Israel or Jerusalem. The wife of God that was unfaithful and betrayed him with the kings of this world. Spiritually, Rome could not have been the harlot, because Rome did not know the covenant in the first place.

But the new Jerusalem is called the bride of Christ. It clearly stands for the church. It is the city Abraham was looking for but never found during his lifetime. It is the church that was founded when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places, and we bring the Kingdom to earth. It started when Jesus was born – that is why he said that the Kingdom is here – and continues until all enemies are made into his footstool – that is why he said that the Kingdom is coming. The new Jerusalem is here and it is coming.

Nero was Caesar in 64. He turned against the church when he burned down Rome and needed a scapegoat. And he tormented the church for 42 months, before committing suicide.

I just pointed to some facts here which I leave to your judgement. And just bear in mind that prophecy can have immediate and future fulfillment. But what if Revelation has been fulfilled, and we can draw from its principles instead of fearing future events?

One conclusion that I draw from this: it opens a door for a glorious future instead of one based on fear. Yes, darkness will be darker. But light will be brighter as well. And the future will bring the furthering of the Kingdom.

Jesus will come back when all his enemies are made into his footstool, the last one being death. He will not come back to overcome his enemies, but when his enemies have been overcome.

What do you think?

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