“Apocalypse” has come to be used popularly as a synonym for catastrophe, but the Greek word apokálypsis, from which it is derived, means a revelation.” – Definition from Wikipedia. In older Bibles, the last Book of the Bible is called The Apocalypse rather than Revelation. It means the same thing.

This is the continuation of the series, Antichrist And His Ten Kingdoms – By Albert Close and the previous post in the series, Rome’s Attack on the British Empire and the United States.

This short article is one of the best explanations for why the Book of Revelation is so hard to understand! It was purposely written in code. It’s a prophecy that spans from the time of the Apostle John all the way to the description of the “holy city, new Jerusalem” that has come out of Heaven to the New Earth! That school of interpretation of Revelation is called the Historicist view. That was the standard view of the Protestants from the 16th to the 19th century. It was only in the 20th century that the Futurist view became popular. The Futurist view says most of prophecies of the Book of Revelation have yet to be fulfilled. Why do people who hold to the Futurist view think that? It’s because they have been led astray by John Nelson Darby and the Scofield Reference Bible which espouses the Futurist view – a doctrine cooked up by a Jesuit priest, Francesco Ribera in the 16th century to stop the Protestants from calling the Popes of Rome the Antichrist and the Man of Sin of Second Thessalonians chapter 2. Talk about a great deception! I won’t get into this subject further in this article because I already wrote about it extensively on this website over the years.

From the Gospels we now turn to the final detailed revelation of God’s purposes and plans in working out the redemption of man and bringing about the establishment of His Kingdom in this world, as revealed in the Book of Revelation. Christ said to His disciples: “I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. -John 16:12″ He revealed these things, 63 years later in vision, in cipher to St. John in the Isle of Patmos in A.D. 96.

According to the Reformers and their successors as interpreters today, the Books of Daniel and Revelation have now been almost completely fulfilled in past centuries and in the present, as far as Revelation chapters 16, 17 and 18-22, they refer to the future of our World.

The Book of Revelation in this Age takes the place of Prophets in Old Prophets in the Old Testament times. As the centuries roll on, it is a Prophet speaking in all Ages as the events foretold arrive. It has kept abreast of every century since the visions were revealed to St. John in A.D. 96. The words THE TIME IS AT HAND is mentioned in the first chapter verse 3, and again in chapter 22 verse 10. Here we have the beginning and end of THE DIVINE PROGRAM OF WORLD HISTORY.

The Revelation is a book written in signs so that God could reveal the future to His own children and yet not disclose to His enemies His over-ruling providence in the world. In the Army and Navy, and R.A.F. a secret symbol is worn by soldiers or sailors on the shoulders of their various uniforms, instead of the names of their regiments, or ships; the purpose is to conceal their identity from enemies. Their own Officers recognize them at once. So with the Book of Revelation, it reveals God’s fore-knowledge to His people, but conceals it from His enemies.

The Books of Daniel and Revelation have been unfolding the Divine Plan as the Ages have rolled on.

We must keep clearly in view the symbolic language in which Daniel and Revelation are written, or we shall utterly fail to understand their meaning, or where we are today in their wonderful program.

(Continued in Who are the Kings of the East Mentioned in Revelation 16:12?)

All sections of Antichrist And His Ten Kingdoms by Albert Close

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