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3 VISIONS OF HISTORY IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Pastor Mike here.
I want to talk to you about the 3 visions of history in the book of Revelation today.
These 3 visions of history include…
The 1st Vision: The 7 Seals of Revelation chapter 6 through chapter 8, verse 5,
The 2nd Vision: The 7 Trumpets of Revelation chapter 8, verse 6,
and
The 3rd Vision: The 7 Censers of Revelation chapter 15 and chapter 16.
THE 3 VISIONS OF HISTORY AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Now what you need to know about each of these 3 visions of history is this:
Contrary to Pre-tribulational (dispensational) Premillennialism which approaches the book of Revelation in chronological fashion…
- Each of the visions – the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 censers – overlap,
- Each cover the same time period from Christ’s ascension to Christ’s return on the last day,
- Each describe circumstances on earth that will exist among humankind,
and lastly, - Each vision has a particular emphasis, and from a different angle they each include what will take place at the end of the world.
THE 3 VISIONS OF HISTORY AND EACH END OF THE WORLD SCENE
And let’s just take a detour for a moment to read each end of the world scene.
First, from the vision of the 7 seals, Revelation chapter 6, verse 12-17 reads…
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,
13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,
17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Now, in the vision of the 7 trumpets, the end of the world is described in Revelation chapter 11, verse 15-19, where it reads…
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
And lastly now, in the vision of the 7 censers, the end of the world is described in Revelation chapter 16, verse 17-21, where it reads…
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl (censer) into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.
19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.
And so there are not multiple ends of the world which is one of the irreconciliable dilemmas that arises with Pre-tribulational (dispensational) Premillennialism’s chronological approach to the book of Revelation.
There is only one end of the world described from a different angle in each of the visions: the 6th seal’s wrath of the Lamb, the 7th trumpet’s triumph of the Church, and the 7th censer’s downfall of the kingdoms of the world in the greatest earthquake in human history.
DR. LOUIS BRIGHTON ON THE 3 VISIONS OF HISTORY IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION
In his popular commentary on the Book of Revelation, Dr. Louis Brighton says it this way…
“With chapter 6 the prophecy of Revelation begins. It consists of three visions of events taking place on earth (6:1-8:5; 8:6-11:19; 15:1-16:21). Each vision covers the same time period, from the ascension of Jesus up to the end of this present world upon Christ’s return.
In addition to these three visions of earthly events there is a vision of the cosmic war between God and Satan which is interspersed between the second and third visions (12:1-14:20). After these three visions, there is also a lengthy conclusion which contains visions of the End, the judgment, the resurrection, and the new heaven and earth (17:1-22:5).” (pg 106)
Dr. Brighton goes on…
“Each of the three visions of earthly events has seven scenes, makinga total of twenty-one scenes. … The first five scenes of each of the three visions (the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 censers) cover the same time period: from Christ’s ascension up to the last great battle (Armageddon, 16:16) just before the End.
The sixth scenes in the second and third visions cover this last great battle. In the first vision, the sixth scene (the 6th seal) pictures the end of this world, while in the second and third visions it is the seventh scene (the 7th trumpet and the 7th censer, respectively) that pictures the End. While the three visions cover the same time period and while each depicts events on earth, the three are not repetitious, for each vision displays its own particular events.” (pg 106)
Dr. Brighton concludes…
“The events displayed in the three visions are not given for the purpose of predicting particluar events in human history. Rather, they are presented so as to portray conditions, circumstances, situations, environments, and contexts in which people find themselves during the time period covered. While particular events in human history are to be, and must be, interpreted in view of and by these conditions, circumstances, and so on, no particular historical event or person at any given time exhausts the condition as prophetically revealed, for the conditions revealed in this prophetic message are prevalent throughout all of human history.
The end result of the prophetic message, then, is not to give a predictable view of history, but rather to give a predictable view of the human condition in suffering and defeat because of human evil and rebellion against God, and a predictable knowledge of God’s terrible judgment. The purpose is to move all people to repentance and faith before the End, which in turn serves the ultimate purpose of displaying Christ’s majestic sovereignty for the salvation and hope of those who listen, repent, and believe.” (pg 106-107)
SUMMARY OF THE 3 VISIONS OF HISTORY IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION
And so we have the 3 visions of history in the book of Revelation.
- Each overlap,
- Each cover the same time period from Christ’s ascension to Christ’s return on the last day,
- Each describe circumstances on earth that will exist among humankind,
and lastly, - Each vision has a particular emphasis, and from a different angle they each include what will take place at the end of the world.
About Pastor Mike
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