A Desolation
A beast in the making. What makes a beast a beast? The Temple. Don’t mess with the Temple. What is in the holy place now? The Dome of the Rock and it is preventing the third Temple. It takes a real beast to do this. The four beasts of Daniel all had something to do with the Temple. Babylon, Greece, Rome, and Islam.
A Storm and Thunder
A Russian astronomer claimed John Chrysostom wrote the Apocalypse in 395 based on astronomy. This John was in Ephesus at the beginning of 401. He could have said, “there are seven kings: five are fallen.” At the time, five of the seven dynasties of the Roman Empire had fallen. Really.
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A Beast in the Making
A beast in the mind of Daniel is different from all the rest. So what makes a beast a beast? Most agree on Antiochus of Greece. All he did was desecrate the second temple. Rome destroyed it. Babylon destroyed the first one. So what is preventing the third one? It should tell us about the fourth beast of Daniel.
A Brother on Patmos
A third John who was in Ephesus when Jerome was finishing his Vulgate that included the Apocalypse. At the time it was not clear if it would be. Jerome had to be convinced that it was written by the Apostle. John Chrysostom was in Ephesus replacing seven bishops at the beginning of the fifth century.
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A Source For Antiochus
A book not found in many bibles. Jesus mentions the abomination found in Daniel. You will not find Antiochus if your bible does not have the book Maccabees which also mentions the abomination that must be understood to identify what makes a beast a beast in the mind of Daniel.
A Prophecy Again
A little book eaten by John the Apostle who added the seven churches. He was told to prophesy again. Followers of John the Baptist were found in Ephesus by Paul in Acts 19. This is a reasonable explanation of why John uses his name three times in the first chapter of the Apocalypse. Three different Johns.
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A Recapitulation
A proven teaching technique. Victorinus employs Recapitulation to understand the Apocalypse. Visions of the Apocalypse are repeated and are not necessarily in chronological order. Do not assume the chapters of the Apocalypse are in chronological order. It can lead to significant misinterpretation.
A First Coming
A servant of God. It was John the Baptist who “bare record” of the word of God. John was preparing the way for the first coming which must shortly come to pass. He was preparing the way for the “Lamb”, a word found 27 times in the Apocalypse. John the Baptist wrote the first Apocalypse and John the Apostle wrote the second.
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A Sign of the Times
A time to watch. Keep your garments. You can’t predict the future but you can watch the past. History confirms the fulfillment of prophecy. It is the only way. You can’t trust your interpretation but you can trust the numbers to link history to prophecy. Like a thousand years. It is easy to find.
A Jewish Composition
A German scholar Vischer held that the Apocalypse was “originally a purely Jewish composition”. Taking away the seven churches and the 12 references to Jesus and you are left with the word “lamb” mentioned 27 times. John the Baptist prepared the way for The Lamb of God. He could have written the original Apocalypse.
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