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 Christian Empire –
A time when they reigned with Christ. The Byzantine Empire was the only Christian empire to last a thousand years. Its capital, Constantinople, has all the characteristics of Babylon the Great. No other city has them and can be found no more at all. It is a mystery and likely to remain so.
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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 History –
A fulfillment of prophecy verified with numbers that don’t require interpretation. There are over 50 English translations of the bible that agree on numbers. Big numbers like a thousand is the place to start. There is only one Christian empire that lasted a thousand years and it fits.
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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 Dynasty –
A horn will make war with the saints and take peace from the earth. The Umayyad dynasty, the second dynasty of Islam, attacked Constantinople three times. The Ottoman dynasty, the tenth dynasty of Islam, also attacked three times and ended the thousand years when the saints reigned with Christ. Only history can confirm the fulfillment of prophecy.
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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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A Record of What Wasn’t –
A problem with Eusebius and Victorinus. They don’t seem to be aware of the seven churches of the Apocalypse. Eusebius mentions six of the seven churches but never associates them with the Apocalypse. Victorinus mentions the seven churches that Paul wrote to but not the seven churches of the Apocalypse. Was there a version of the Apocalypse that did not have the seven churches?
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A Great City –
A beast that was, is not, and is yet to come. Constantinople can be found no more at all. It comes with two beasts. It started with the Roman Empire and ended with the Ottoman Empire a thousand years later. This is the mystery and it will likely remain so. Go figure.
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A Temple –
A beast in the making. Babylon and Rome destroyed the first and second Temples. They are beasts. Greece is also a beast based on the desecration of the second Temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. What is in the holy place now preventing the third Temple? The Dome of the Rock makes Islam the fourth beast.
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apocalypse 