Revelation Chapters 4-7
You know how we read the book of Revelation and try to piece the last 7 years of history together? Well, this is the same thing the Jews did with the Old Testament when they were looking for the Messiah to come the first time. They would read it and try to figure out the timing of the coming of the LORD.
So you know how we have books that are written about what people think those last 7 years will be like? Well, the Jews did the same thing. Only they did this during the 400 years between the closing of the Old Testament and the opening of the New. In fact, John the Baptist would fit in that category, kinda.
Though we call those 400 years the “silent years” they are NOT silent. Those years prepared the people for the coming of Jesus the first time.
With that, there were many writings done over those 400 years. And some of those writings were all about the “last days” and “end times.” Jews made new prophecies based on the prophecies and Psalms in the Old Testament. And some of them got it right or atleast half right.
Now back to the book of Revelation.
When we read the book of Revelation from a Gentile perspective instead of a Jewish first century perspective, and one that had all kinds of prophetic images, visions, and ideas based on the previous 400 years of Jewish history, we end up interpreting it wrongly.
For instance, take Revelation chapter 4 where John is called up to heaven. According to my chronological study Bible, the language John uses to explain being called up to heaven was something common in Jewish history regarding a Jew having a heavenly vision. Now some believe this experience that John is describing is the rapture. Maybe it is. But I believe that it is simply John being given a vision of heaven. Then after John is caught up in this vision, he sees the throne of God, 4 living creatures, then 24 Elders. Some believe that these 24 Elders are the Church. Now if I believed that the KJV Bible was the “only correct Bible” on the entire planet, then I would have to agree that the 24 Elders are the Church. Because according to the KJV, these Elders say “we” will reign on the earth. Making it appear that by saying “we” they mean us, the Church. But anyone who has done their homework and knows Biblical history will discover that the KJV Bible has had all kinds of errors in it since its arrival in 1611. The good news is that those errors are well documented, and many have been corrected over the centuries. But because the KJV Bible is based on manuscripts from 1000 years after the death of Christ, it is much wiser to use a Bible like the ESV, NASB, NIV, or the NLT that uses manuscripts based on a time period much closer to the time of Christ’s death. With that, I want to argue that the 24 Elders are pictured in the Old Testament and therefore cannot be the Church. God has always had Elders around His throne, as far as I understand. God has His “divine council” around his throne, as the Psalms tell us. These Elders seem to fit God’s divine council. Also, in the book of Exodus, Moses ascends Mt. Sinai and some Elders go with him. Now according to the Old Testament and the Psalms, the top of Mt. Sinai was basically a type of heaven, since God was there meeting Moses. Also, it is very important to point out that the Jews understood that their physical temple on earth was an exact replica of God’s Temple in heaven. So just as the Temple in Jerusalem had 24 orders of the Levitical priesthood, so too in the heavenly Temple in the heavenly Jerusalem, except these Elders are divine.
So according to my research and understanding of Jewish thought, I believe that these 24 Elders are God’s divine council around His throne in heaven. Plus, according to the Bible translations other than the KJV, these 24 Elders say that “they” (meaning us, the Church) will reign on earth, instead of saying “we” (meaning the 24 Elders) will reign on earth. Also in the book of Daniel it appears these 24 Elders are around God’s throne being represented by those who are there when the court is seated and the books are open, if you’re familiar with that passage.
So then, where is the raptured Church in the book of Revelation? I see the Church in Revelation as those who are being described in a way that the Church should be described.
First, in Revelation chapter 7 the 144,000 of the 12 tribes of Israel get sealed. THIS is key. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 11 that after all the Gentile Christians come to Christ, that God will return to finish His work with Israel. So first in chapter 7, these 144,000 are sealed BUT remain on earth. Then right after that, John looks and sees a number that cannot be counted. These are people from every tribe and language of the world. They are dressed in white and proclaim that Jesus is their Savior. And I should note that the Elders “ask John” who these people are. Remember that the Church was a “mystery” in the Old Testament, as Paul tells us. Also, it is interesting that these Elders explain “various things” to John while he’s there in heaven. In other words, these 24 Elders who instruct John on heavenly information do not fit the role of the Church in heaven.
Also, we need to remember that “the Great Tribulation” is not 7 years long. It is 3.5 years long. The anti-Christ (Beast) doesn’t arrive as the evil anti-Christ until 3.5 years into the Tribulation. The “Tribulation” is 3.5 years, and the “Great Tribulation” is 3.5 years, equaling 7 years total.
So I believe that based on a consistent hermeneutic (a consistent interpretation of scripture) that “John alone” is caught up to heaven and given this Revelation. Otherwise, John would have said something like the “Bride of Christ” or “the Church” was caught up to heaven, instead of just himself being caught up in chapter 4. And the 24 Elders seem to be actually 24 Elders, instead of representing the Church. And the countless numbers of humanity that John sees in chapter 7 seem to fit the Church. So once the Church is raptured in chapter 7, God begins to work on earth with the sealed 144,000 of the 12 Tribes of Israel.
The end.
Aletheia: Truth in the Darkness 