A Connection With Numbers
A prophecy fit with history. Early in the fifth century five of the seven dynasties of the Roman Empire had fallen. The beast that was was not. And yet to come are the ten dynasties of Islam that attacked and destroyed Constantinople, Babylon the Great, seven heads, and ten horns.
A First Version of the Apocalypse
A conjecture that it was written by John the Baptist was first suggested by Josephine Massyngbaerde Ford. She is not the first to suggest multiple authors of the Apocalypse. Peter Vischer did suggest it was “originally a purely Jewish composition”. It has also been suggested that it was originally written in Hebrew.
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A Control Of America
A fight for freedom. The highways are the veins of America. The trucks bring you what you need and take away what you need to get rid of. Truckers put up with a lot of regulations to do this but they somehow know where to draw the line. They shut down our northern border but don’t worry. Our southern border is wide open.
A Beginning Of The Fifth Century
A connection of dots: in chapter seven of Book Twenty in “City of God” by Augustine is his first commentary on the Apocalypse of John which came after Jerome put it in his Vulgate and that came after Chrysostom replaced seven corrupt bishops in Ephesus not far from Patmos.
A History of the Church
A dog that didn’t bark. Eusebius never associates the churches with the Apocalypse. He does mention six of the seven churches but does not connect them with the Apocalypse. Since Victorinus has the same problem, it suggests that there may have been a version of the Apocalypse that didn’t have the seven churches.
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A Commentary on the Apocalypse
A dog that didn’t bark. Victorinus didn’t mention the churches. He does mention the seven churches that Paul wrote to. So why not mention the seven churches that John wrote to? It is possible that his version of the Apocalypse didn’t have the seven churches. We need to look at Eusebius to see if he has the same problem.
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A Turn Of The Fifth Century
A bible in the making. Three significant players: Augustine, Chrysostom, and Jerome. Their works have been preserved. The writings of John not so much. The Church was in good hands during this critical time. “City of God”, Ephesus, and the Vulgate are big dots that need to be connected.
A History
A witness to what no longer exists. What was Victorinus looking at when he wrote his commentary on the Apocalypse? What was Eusebius looking at when he wrote his history of the Church? We can only speculate based on what they wrote and what is reasonable. Can we make sense of it?
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A Seal Opened By The Lamb
A revelation at the end of time. “Knowledge shall be increased”. “Many shall run to and fro” according to Daniel. John was told to “Seal not the sayings” for the time is near. Listen, if you have an ear, and may your knowledge increase. Blessed is he that readeth and hears the words of this prophecy.
A Canon
A redaction at the turn of the fifth century. Jerome defined the bible when he finished the Vulgate which would become the official bible of the Church. It contains the oldest existing copy of the Apocalypse. We can only speculate on what it looked like before that time based on other older existing documents.
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