Book proposal for
Ride the Ark Through
ARMAGEDDON
A Survival Guide for Mankind
INTRODUCTION:
OVERVIEW
Many people at one point in their lives begin a search for answers to the mysteries of life. It’s only natural for people to seek spiritual answers to life’s questions. The Bible contains these answers. However, those who turn to the Bible alone are often still left with questions. Such was the case with me when I was a teenager. I spent years reading the Bible, but I just couldn’t understand it. For example: I didn’t know what a Sabbath Day was, and I wondered why Jesus was always getting in trouble for healing people on the Sabbath.
I remember gazing beyond the clouds thinking, “Is there really a God out there?” If I had a guidebook back in those days to lead me step-by-step on my journey, I may have found the understanding to life’s mysteries more easily. A book that started with foundational teachings, explaining the story of Adam and Eve, the Fall of Man, the battle between good and evil and how Satan usurped Adam’s dominion could have been so helpful. Ride the Ark Through Armageddon—A Salvation Guide for Mankind covers those topics. After a solid foundation is laid, I lead my readers to an understanding of God’s plan for them, including salvation through Jesus Christ
When I sat down to write Ride the Ark Through Armageddon, I took my own spiritual pathway into consideration, as well as working to envision what the average person needed in a spiritual guidebook. I created a balanced synopsis of God’s plan for mankind; Ann McKinney of Prep Publishing thinks I got it right. In a readers report, McKinney wrote “Kelsey demonstrates the general theme that runs through the entire Bible.”
Back to my own life:
In my mid-teens, I read a tract by Jack Chick entitled The Beast. On page 9 under the heading, “SATAN RAISES UP A LEADER THAT THE WORLD WILL LOVE” a picture shows a huge statue starting to move about, with small chunks of it falling to the ground as it begins to move. A crowd exclaims in fear, “It’s alive!” Thinking about a future time on earth when a statue would come to life left me thinking, “This is ridiculous!”
Today, I see exactly where the author of that track went wrong. Jack Chick interpreted a passage in Revelation literally and he ended up with a really bizarre message; I’m surely not the only one who was turned off by his unbelievable tract.
When I was 19 years old, a friend loaned me a book by Hal Lindsey entitled, There's a New World Coming. Lindsey’s book led this young soul on a journey to understand the Bible’s Book of Revelation. Understanding the mystery of Revelation’s meaning became my life’s quest. Lindsey did something marvelous back in the 1970s — he sparked an interest in millions of readers to understand Bible prophecy. Many people undoubtedly became Christians as a result of reading his books.
Yet, from my perspective today, I can see that Lindsey erred in his work, much in the same way that Jack Chick erred with his tract. Hal Lindsey looked at what the Apostle John recorded in Revelation and tried to explain what John saw using objects in today’s world. In his vision, John saw stars falling from the sky; Lindsey surmised that what John was actually seeing was modern weaponry.
Hal Lindsey did not take into account that men and angels are likened unto stars over and over again in scripture and that stars falling could also speak of people falling from their faith in Christ due to persecution. This is where my work differs from Lindsey’s. I compare the symbolism in Revelation to the same symbolism used in the rest of the Bible and I explain Revelation’s prophecy in the light of that symbolism.
Let me give you an example of Revelation’s symbolism. Revelation itself gives us an example of how to interpret the “waters” spoken of in its pages: “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages” (Rev. 17:15).
Many popular books about end-times on the market today still cling to the way Hal interpreted Revelation. Hal Lindsey spelled out in his books that Revelation’s waters are Earth’s oceans. But what if Revelation’s symbolism remains consistent throughout its pages— with the “waters” in one chapter symbolizing the same thing as the “waters” in another chapter? Isn’t time for a fresh perspective on Revelation; one that makes sense? One editor said about my work, “I have never read or heard a better, more intellectually acceptable interpretation of the book of Revelation.” — Judi Wu, PREP Publishing
ABOUT THE BOOK
I believe we can agree that many people on the face of the planet would benefit from reading a book that spells out a realistic prediction of Revelation’s prophecies. Revelation paints a grim picture of the future. It forewarns people of a time to come when Satan will be cast down from the heavens to Earth. Revelation’s pages tell of a day when the devil will endeavor to kill all those who will not worship his image through the Antichrist. Satan is also shown opening a pit unleashing his demon host to torment men.
A book that points out the deception to come and how to see through that deception would be most useful. Right now, there’s a huge void in the marketplace for books about Revelation’s warnings where authors actually explain Revelation’s symbolism in a manner that is believable.
What is out there right now is the same old faulty spin that began in the 1970s with Lindsey’s book, There’s a New World Coming. Hal Lindsey didn’t connect the symbols in Revelation to the same symbols in the rest of the Bible, which leads to unsound teaching.
Let me spell out an example of how I approach Revelation’s symbolism compared to the way Hal Lindsey sees it: First, let’s look at an example from my work:
In Chapter Eight of Revelation we see something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. Instead of looking at this prophecy as representing a literal object hitting Earth’s oceans, I explain the mountain’s symbolic application. Mountains elsewhere in the Bible, including Revelation, are symbolic of world government. So I teach that the mountain all ablaze is symbolizing a world government impacting the nations.
Speaking on the same subject, it is written in Jeremiah I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain (Jer. 51:25).
The mountain that God rolled off the cliffs—presumably into the sea—in time past was the Babylonian Empire. The same language used in Jeremiah illustrating how Babylon of old would be destroyed is also used in Revelation concerning modern Babylon’s coming destruction.
Ancient Babylon did fall and its mountain burned out just as prophesied—God did cast its burning mountain into the sea, figuratively speaking. However, at that time, no one on earth saw a literal mountain descend into the ocean; that was not necessary to fulfill Bible prophecy back then. Likewise, I conclude that, in the days ahead, no one will see a literal mountain cast into the sea as our prophecy in Revelation is fulfilled.
Here is a passage from one of Hal Lindsey’s books, showing that he interprets Revelation’s great mountain burning as a colossal H-bomb:
“And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the see (Revelation 8:8). Notice that this verse specifies something like a great mountain burning with fire. Again John describes this phenomenon in terms of how it looked to him. This is probably either an enormous meteor or, more likely, a colossal H-bomb. A hydrogen bomb exploded in the ocean would look like a huge, flaming mountain smashing into the sea” (Lindsey, p. 118)[1]
Let’s look at this same verse in Revelation again focusing upon the term sea: The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. (Rev. 8:8, NIV).
As we consider whether this text should be taken literally or if it has a figurative meaning, let’s look at some passages depicting a sea elsewhere in the same book. The word sea is found 26 times in Revelation:
1. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short (Rev. 12:12).
2. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea (Rev. 12:18).
3. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea (Rev. 13:1).
Within prophetic Scripture the earth can represent political strongholds while the sea can be an illustration of multitudes of people, languages, and nations.[2] The expression sea creatures is used in the Bible in reference to men, as in this passage, You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler (Hab. 1:14). The terms, ships and captains can also have figurative meanings. For example, Jesus is the captain[3] of our salvation.
The devil’s fury will not be focused upon a literal sea—his woes will affect multitudes of people, of different languages, consisting of many nations. Many among us will be looking for natural plagues coming in the days ahead and will fail to notice the more subtle deception Satan will be using. What we believe and profess and to whom we hold our allegiance is what the devil and his demon host will be attacking. Their fury will be aimed at our faith in God.
Hal Lindsey’s literal interpretation of Revelation completely misses what Revelation is really about. All of Revelation’s symbolism comes from the Old Testament—the Lamb, the Lampstands, the Altar, including the Mountain in Revelation 8, as we have just seen. Similar mountains in the Old Testament books of Jeremiah and Zechariah, as well as in Revelation 17 are clearly spelled out as illustrations[4] depicting world empires.
If what I’ve recorded in Ride the Ark Through Armageddon is true then many who are looking for a literal fulfillment to Revelation’s prophecies could be deceived. If what this book says is false, then it will be obvious to everyone as Revelation’s plagues befall mankind.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rich Kelsey
I was born in Renton WA in 1955. I grew up as any normal child would, but God was never mentioned in my home.
As I look back to the period of years when I was searching for God, I can see that several different people could have led me to Christ. Some tried but they had a poor approach. Kenny, a former high school buddy who was now in Bible College came over to speak to me in the summer of 1975. He tried to get me to go to Bible College with him by telling me how good-looking the girls were at college. I thought, if I’m going to attend a Christian College it will be with better motives than that. If Kenny had explained the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ to me I would have gone to college with him.
Then, one day a friend named Jerry invited me to study the Bible with some Jehovah’s Witnesses. He had just been approached by two Jehovah’s Witness ladies and they were holding a Bible Study every Wednesday. These ladies had a more refined approach than other Christian people who had spoken to me before. I ended up getting entangled with that cult for almost two years. To make a long story short, I did eventually give my life to Jesus, but only after I ran into a person who could refute Jehovah’s Witness’ doctrine and challenge me with a solid, believable gospel.
Since my conversion from the Jehovah Witness faith, I attended Bible College for four years at Pacific School of Theology, a non-denominational born-again campus in Seattle, WA. In the last 25-plus years I have been through various Bible related courses, I have done extensive research in both theology and church history. Presently, I minister on the worship team at City View Church in Renton, WA.
The long hard struggle to find the true gospel spawned something wonderful within me. It put a desire in my heart to get a clear straightforward gospel out to the lost—a message that people can recognize as genuine. I believe I have woven such a message into the pages of Ride the Ark Through Armageddon. — a message that needs to go out to a lost and dying world.
CREATION AND TEST MARKETING
I began writing Ride the Ark Through Armageddon in 1995. During the writing process I sent the manuscript out in various stages of completion to editors about once a year. Six line-edits were done in all. I went through one edit after another, year after year, polishing the manuscript until I self published the work in 2002.
However, in 2002 I felt the published book was too thin. Also, when a pastor and friend of mine read the book, he encouraged me to spell out my understanding of the woman and male child from Revelation 12. So I did. I created a new chapter to deal with that subject entitled, The Woman and Her Offspring. I also penned two additional chapters and included them in the book as well.
My point is, even after the book was initially test-published, I continued to work on its contents. I asked several people to read the finished work, and I did two minor revisions to fine tune areas in the book after that, based on their observations. I have listened to editors who have an understanding of what is needed in the marketplace. I have listened to my readers, including people who are not Christians at this point in their lives. I have made informed decisions.
I did a third revision in 2005, which involved some relatively minor changes based upon one editor's advice. She went through the manuscript focusing on content and sentence structure. She said, “I’ve had a chance to review your book. It definitely has a good hook at the beginning to gain readers’ interest, and throughout its pages, you show a very nice gift for description. I also like how you regularly intersperse history, original word meanings, and the like. This really helps to drive home your points and makes the discussions more memorable.”
But, it turned out that the new chapters that I had just added needed to be brought up to the same level of quality as the rest of the book. This editor also suggested that some chapters needed to be re-ordered. So, after I made some of the changes that she suggested, I asked more people to read the work. I found out from my readers what chapter order would be best to make the work easier to follow. This final revision was completed on 10-15-06. I’ve already seen how much better the work flows with the chapter reordering.
My goal from the start was to make my work easy to follow for people who had never even read one page from the Bible. Now there isn’t one chapter that has too much depth for the novice until they have already read almost to the end of the book. By that time, my readers will have a grasp of the symbolism I use throughout the work which will make the few more difficult chapters at the end easier for them to comprehend.
After 10 years of refining, my manuscript may not be perfect, but it’s polished to a better standard than many books in this field. It also has a solid gospel message with a positive slant that has been proven to hold a reader’s interest. I have a manuscript in my hand that is ready to be published in paperback, hopefully for a cross-over market, or easily for a Christian market, by a full royalty publisher.
OTHER BOOKS ABOUT ARMAGEDDON— THE COMPETITION
The best-selling book series loosely based on Revelation today is The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind also known as the Left Behind Series. The first ten books in the series have sold in excess of 35 million copies.
Tim LaHaye and his writer Jerry Jenkins have taken the same stand as many other popular books about Revelation on the market today— they have interpreted Revelation’s plagues literally. For example, the Prologue of Armageddon speaks of a time on Earth when the lights went out Literally (LaHaye & Jenkins, p. xiii). They do not interpret Revelation’s darkness as spiritual like my book does. Their book Armageddon goes on to say, “Everything went dark. Not just the sun, but the moon also, the stars, street lamps, electric lights, car lights.”
Although this book is popular, I find it to be poorly written. Look closely at these two sentences for example, Everything went dark. Not just the sun, but the moon also… The moon reflects light from the sun. Obviously, if the sun went dark, the moon acting as a reflector would not show forth the sun’s light. Were the authors thinking the moon could have stayed lit without light from the sun? Instead of answering questions, this work has left me scratching my head.
To say that LaHaye and Jenkins’ were careless with their words is an understatement. In their rush to get the next book in the series to the publisher they simply did not take the time to make sure their ideas were accurate. This begs the question, “If these men can’t get a matter right that is easily documented, then how can they be trusted with the Book of Revelation?” Talk about insulting their readers’ intelligence.
These authors have lost all credibility with me and I’m not alone here. A colleague of mine lost interest in the series after reading one book. Laurin said, “I was told it was written on a fifth grade level, but it seemed the reading level was a lot lower than that.” The reviews on Amazon.com tell the same story. People who read these books do so not because the books are well-written, or well-researched. The readers are simply putting up with all the poor writing in these books because the concept of how people will live their lives when Revelation’s pages become front page news is so thrilling to them. This same audience could be more satisfied by reading a well-written book on Revelation, such as mine!
Even though the Left Behind Series is sold as fiction, people are buying and reading the books thinking they are a likely scenario of what the future holds. So, just because people’s lives in the books are fictional, the conditions of the world to come are supposed to be somewhat realistic. This is such an irony. Because, the premise of The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind is that Christians reading the books will not be on Earth to witness the events contained in the books. In the readers’ minds they are reading about things that will happen after they are gone.
My book, on the other hand, explains that we will be on Earth for most of Revelation’s Tribulation Period. So, instead of readers just pondering over the fictional lives of other people, my readers are cast as characters within Ride the Ark Through Armageddon’s pages. One Amazon.com reviewer after reading my work wrote, “I found myself right in the middle of future events, increasing my faith on every page” (Gordy Case of Reno Nevada).
I have read several books about Revelation and one that has a similar viewpoint is The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church by Marvin J. Rosenthal. Rosenthal goes over the timing of the Rapture from the book of Revelation. This work is considered a ground-breaking achievement by many, including Rosenthal himself, who claims that a person in his church discovered the truth of a pre-wrath Rapture, as opposed to the pre-tribulation position. There is certainly room in the market for another book on the subject. My book fine-tunes Rosenthal’s position; I believe it also tells a better story.
INTRODUCTION
Because this introduction is so short, I am including it here in its entirety,
This creation was marred by the transgression of angelic spirits who helped plunge mankind into the darkness of sin. Looking at the world with this understanding explains many things, like why evil is all around us and why the Creator seems so hard to find. The Almighty has allowed us this rare display of lawlessness both to teach us and as a tool to ensnare and separate the disobedient. Before His eternal kingdom comes, the dross must be removed.
This introduction not only sets the stage for Chapter One, it encapsulates the message of this book, and the Bible as well.
CHAPTER ONE — THE MORTGAGE OF THE EARTH TO SATAN
Ride the Ark Through Armageddon is about explaining the Book of Revelation. Revelation is about Jesus redeeming the dominion Satan took from Adam when he got Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden. The first chapter starts off where every good book should start, at the beginning. It lays a solid foundation for this work by looking into the fall of man and Satan’s role in that fall. This foundational chapter allows readers to understand Jesus Christ’s role of redemption and battle with Satan later in the book as Revelation’s pages come into view. The reader is not bored with a dull account of Adam and Eve’s story. The account is played out in a very interesting and logical manner. Here is a just small portion of text on this subject:
Envision Eve with the fruit still in her hand, the juice dripping down her chin, waiting to become like God, closing her eyes in anxious expectation only to hear the serpent’s mocking laughter. Envision Eve falling to the ground, weeping, shivering in terror as the full impact of the situation hit her. Think about the grief Eve was suffering. Consider the magnitude of anguish her soul was going through. She was scared and became desperate. She knew the moment her eyes were opened that she was now different from her husband. She had a full understanding of the mess she was in.
Picture loving Adam coming back to the garden after exploring the surrounding terrain only to find Eve in an emotional fit. Think about the grief that Adam faced when he realized God would separate the two of them. When Eve tearfully looked Adam in the face, asking him not to abandon her to God’s judgment, giving him the fruit, and begging him to eat it, Adam was faced with a decision. Adam chose to side with the one he loved the most. Unfortunately, Adam loved Eve more than God.
However, as mentioned, Chapter One goes beyond Adam and Eve’s fall, to cover Satan’s rebellion and the biblical understanding that Satan received dominion over the Earth through unjust means.
CHAPTER TWO — MY PEOPLE, ENTER YOUR ROOMS
This chapter is the story of Noah’s Ark and how God did not bring Tribulation upon the world of old until He had warned people and provided them a means of escape. It parallels Noah’s natural wooden ark with the coming spiritual ark— one made without hands.
The chapter starts off with a singing cry of judgment which sets a good mood for what follows. I go onto explain that a time of great distress is coming— an abominable space of time— a time of judgment upon earth. Even as Noah and those who went into the ark with him were sheltered from harm, so shall it be in our generation. I draw from scripture verses in both the New and Old Testament to back up this teaching.
The reader is admonished to achieve spiritual goals in this life. He or she is also promised that God has a spiritual refuge prepared for His children. In this chapter and at the end of my book, a message of hope is woven into the text. Christian author Sally Stuart said it well when she penned in her review on Amazon.com, “Kelsey does conclude his book by leading his readers to a place of comfort at the Throne of Grace…”
CHAPTER THREE — THE INVITATION TO THE GREAT BANQUET
This chapter covers the heavenly marriage feast that Jesus spoke of in the gospels. It is a very encouraging work that is meant to uplift the spirit. Here’s a small portion from the actual chapter:
Envision a bride-to-be having a dream about her wedding day, yearning to be swept away from her ho-hum existence; suddenly a shining prince on a white horse sweeps her into his arms and takes her into a paradise land with crystal-clear waters and wondrous surroundings. She dreams on. In this wonderland they will live forever young with a depth of love that has no bounds. This bride’s dream shadows the actual paradise waiting on the horizon for the ones Christ loves. A man and woman in wedded bliss is a natural model that has a supernatural counterpart.
This chapter not only brings hope and a drive to live for Christ, it explains deep biblical truths with everyday language and in a logical manner.
CHAPTER FOUR — SEALS AND HORSES
Near the beginning of Seals and Horses I pose this question: Many, after reading Revelation, come away from the experience with questions: Will the plagues be literal, with the oceans turning to blood and the sun scorching men with great heat, or could these illustrations be figurative, having a different meaning entirely? Surely literal fire will not be coming out of the mouths of Revelations Two Witnesses.
This is where I start offering possible models of Revelation’s plagues, explaining what we might expect to see in the future. This chapter speaks of Christ breaking open each of Revelation’s seven wax seals. The first four seals send four horsemen riding through the earth, bringing in famine and death and quickly establishing Antichrist’s regime.
I explain the symbolic representation of each of the Apocalypse’s four horses, tying them to the same horses viewed from Old Testament prophecy, rounding out the understanding of these apocalyptic horses in the reader’s mind.
The opening of Revelation’s fifth seal sets up the killing machine Antichrist will use upon Christians. The sixth seal denotes great apostasy from the faith. The seventh seal contains seven trumpets, followed by a series of seven trumpet blasts. This is symbolic of heaven’s battle and intended victory, with each blast having an impact on earth. The last three trumpet blasts are called woes, with the seventh trumpet, or final woe, containing Revelation’s bowl judgments. As the final bowl is poured out, Armageddon takes place.
I end this chapter with these words: Even during the time of trumpets, when demonic activity will reach its peak, much of the world won’t realize they are standing at the crossroads of annihilation. The light of the gospel was ignored in the day when laborers were working hard, bringing in the harvest; now the night is come when no man can work. This is the perfect ending because the following chapter is entitled The Midnight Hour.
CHAPTER FIVE — THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
The Midnight Hour is a synopsis of Roman history from the time of Christ through the Fourth Century. It parallels the days to come under Emperor Antichrist, with the days of old, under Roman rule. To see what the devil will do in the future I look at what Satan did in the past. I did extensive research while writing this chapter, studying both Roman and church history.
The Midnight Hour is inserted at the perfect place in this manuscript. It breaks up the explanation of Revelation’s symbolism with an interesting tale. Part of the story is about corrupt Roman emperors beginning with Emperor Augustus, who held the title of pontifex maximus. This is noteworthy because that title is also bestowed on modern popes. But back in Augustus’ day the term pontifex maximus was only bestowed on the chief priest over the pagan mysteries of Rome. Rome had a state religion back then and it was pagan. Under Augustus, laws were instituted to promote pagan worship. It was taught that the powerful gods of nature had to be appeased to keep calamities such as earthquakes, drought, and famine from afflicting the people.
One of the most notorious emperors I document is Caius Caligula. Merely for his own pleasure, Caligula often had innocent people tortured while he was entertaining. He was also the first emperor to insist he was a god while still alive. Before Caligula, emperors were only made gods after death.
Then we look into Domitian. He demanded that his officers and staff call him dominus et dues, which in English translates as “Lord and God.” Domitian arrested some Christians who would not revere his divinity. They were condemned to death and subsequently executed.
Constantine is our next subject. When Constantine and his army invaded Rome, killing the old emperor, he found his new empire in a state of conflict. Rome was torn apart because of Christian persecution. So, in an effort to stabilize Rome, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity legal. Standing as chief priest over the pagan cults, Constantine then brought pagan priests into the church, giving them high administrative offices. The worship services of the Roman church became filled with mysticism.
I eventually draw parallels to the coming Antichrist from these early emperors and the popes that followed. In this chapter I show an honest history of Rome; the readers can draw from it what they will. Some people may be offended, in that I did not sugarcoat this Roman history; I make no apologies.
CHAPTER SIX — TRUMPETS — SOUNDING OF JUDGMENT
In this chapter we look into Revelation’s scroll, explaining that, Back in the time when Revelation was penned, there were no printing presses. Documents were handwritten on papyrus and rolled up as scrolls. Revelation’s scroll represents a mortgage agreement. I explain the custom of sealing the scroll of the mortgaged property so that no one could tamper with the deed. I explain how another scroll would accompany the sealed scroll, and people would refer to it concerning the contents of the sealed scroll.
Back in the day, the sealed scroll would be opened only at the time the property was transferred. The new owner would then inspect the real deed and make sure everything was in order. I go on to explain that, The scroll in Revelation 5 represents the deed to the earth. Whoever holds it has the right to rule. When the last seal is loosed and the scroll is opened, the new owner will take possession of his property.
Jesus Christ, shown symbolically as a slain sacrificial lamb in Revelation, is found worthy to take the scroll from the Father’s hand and open it. As I explained in the last chapter, Jesus is about to reclaim the domain Adam forfeited to Satan. Jesus is redeeming the earth with all the souls that have faith in his atonement. As the new owner, Christ is opening the deed to make sure everything is in order. But everything is not in order! The whole earth is filled with wickedness, and this shall not stand.
This is what I do in this chapter: I take the symbols from Revelation and explain what they mean using the customs from the day and Old Testament parallel texts. After explaining what Revelation’s seals signify, I go on and explain what the trumpets represent. Then I give an informed forecast of what we may expect to see as Revelation’s judgments affect our world.
CHAPTER SEVEN — AN INVASION OF LOCUSTS
This chapter begins with a powerful reading from the Old Testament Book of Joel:
Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten. Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips. A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness... (Joel 1:2-6, NIV)
That is classic Old Testament symbolism: The Bible is not talking about actual locusts here, or even what might look like locusts in the Apostle John’s eyes —which is what Hal Lindsey teaches. Throughout Scripture there are illustrations in nature to teach us. Wheat and corn in the natural fields of this earth depict people throughout their formative years as they develop spiritually. Locusts are physical representations of a spiritual design, too—an evil design. Figuratively speaking, they devour men: this is exactly what we see the locusts of Revelation do. We see them pushing through the spiritual veil into our physical realm to torment men.
In this chapter I ask my readers to, Envision a farmer’s wife looking out the window into the wheat fields, seeing a cloud of locusts approaching, and then crying out to her husband, “Honey, the locusts are coming, and there’s millions of them.” Do you think her husband would reply, “That’s nice, dear”? I answer the question, “Not in a million years!”
The plague of Revelation that we deal with in this chapter involves locusts coming out of a smoke-filled pit with a king over them named Satan. I do not tell my readers that these are helicopters armed with missiles like Hal Lindsey did in There's a New World Coming. These locusts are symbolic of demon spirits. Christians will not be dodging missiles at the time of Revelation’s first woe. Building hardened bunkers is not what will protect men from the woes in this prophecy. This plague has to do with a spiritual, invisible battle involving an enemy rarely seen.
Once again I appeal to the Old Testament and compare its symbolism to the symbolism in Revelation. I also take the time to explain what Revelation’s altar is all about, because much of the events in Revelation have to do with voices heard coming from that altar.
CHAPTER EIGHT — THE FINAL WOE
In the last days the torment from the underworld and the judgment from God will transcend spiritual bounds—and will cross over into our physical realm. There’s little doubt people will be stricken with boils and see the welts rise up as the locusts are stinging them. However, the most oppressive torment which man will endure is torment of the mind. Spiritual torment is coming. Like in a nightmare which one suffers, not understanding they are dreaming, people will suffer greatly with unknown forces haunting their imagination.
In The Final Woe I deal with the last of Revelation’s three woes. But, instead of spiritualizing all of the events within Revelation that encompass this woe, I make it clear that, as stated above, I believe the judgment from God will transcend spiritual bounds—and will cross over into our physical realm.
I give good arguments for this view and I make the story interesting. Yet much of this chapter is about hope. It builds faith. It is a very encouraging work, because I teach here that those who have faith in Christ will be kept from this hour:
As the seventh angel raises his trumpet to his lips and sounds it, a great voice from heaven cries out the command, “Come up here.” Out of the dust, millions of souls are raised and begin to ascend; then we who are still alive become as light as a feather. As we take on the wings of eagles, we fly to our heavenly nests. As we are transformed from this earthbound body into a glorified form, instantly we understand where we’re going, our thoughts are focused, our senses are sharp; as we stream through space, we’re overjoyed. We are standing on the threshold of eternity. There’s no oppression in this realm—we’re encompassed with love from all sides. The victory is ours. The curse is far behind. Death no longer reigns. We are free. As we finish up the inaugural feasts and celebrations, our attention shifts back to earth, where Satan and his entourage have been stirring up trouble.
CHAPTER NINE — DECEPTION IS ON THE HORIZON
Deception Is On the Horizon is a groundbreaking work that challenges the concept of the Christian Church being taken up to heaven in the Rapture seven years before Armageddon. We look at the proof for a seven-year-pre-tribulation-Rapture teaching. It is based mostly on this Bible verse: For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed (2 Thess. 7–8).
The one who holds it back is said to be all of the Christians world-wide who make up Christ’s Church. I explain that, several assumptions must be held in order to maintain that this passage in 2 Thessalonians is speaking of the Rapture of the church. I ask: “Is there any possibility that Paul was not speaking solely of the church in his discourse?” After all, the words “he” and “one” do not demand that the church is the principal subject matter.
Throughout the book of Revelation, we see that God has a restraining force in place to keep Satan in check; we also see this force lifted over and over again as the various events of Revelation transpire. As the Lamb breaks each seal of Revelation’s seven-sealed scroll, demon spirits are released to go forth upon Earth. Here is a good example of this force being released: And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind (Rev. 9:15).
I make a good argument in this chapter disputing the popular interpretation of that 2 Thessalonians’ text. Whether or not people buy into what I sell here isn’t what makes this chapter good. Sally Stuart may have been thinking of this one chapter when she penned, “this book does what every worthwhile book should do—forces you to weigh and evaluate not just his contentions, but your own long-held beliefs and come to some conclusions concerning the end times that you can both believe and understand well enough to defend.”
On top of sound teaching skills, what makes this chapter wonderful is its overall message. It doesn’t only have a message of gloom. There is a lot of hope woven into the pages of this chapter. The chapter ends with these words: “The most consequential theme Revelation holds is that we, as a unified body, have a ministry to fulfill in these last days. Keeping this vision fresh in our hearts will keep us open to the moving of God’s Spirit. The Spirit will lead us. The Spirit will teach us. The Spirit will give us words to speak as we bring forth our testimony. Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
CHAPTER 10 — THE OVERCOMING CHURCH IN PROPHECY
In The Overcoming Church in Prophecy, many readers will not only find answers, they will also find divine purpose for their lives. This chapter, like many other chapters in this manuscript, takes the reader one step beyond the series of thoughts that were laid down in the previous chapter. At this point, however, in this very chapter, the reader is led beyond a position of merely accepting this work’s teachings intellectually. Within this chapter a line is crossed over from where the mind is only contemplating words, to a place where the heart is becoming deeply affected.
From Genesis to Revelation the church is seen as a woman bringing forth offspring. It is this theme that we cover here.
Here is an example of my writing in this work:
“As a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, O LORD. We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth; we have not given birth to people of the world.” (Isa. 26:17-18)
It’s obvious that this is not “a woman” in a natural sense. The word “we” is found in the passage six times. The word usage itself suggests a figurative interpretation: “so were we in your presence”. “We were with child.” “We writhed in pain.” “We gave birth to wind.” “We have not brought salvation to the earth.” “We have not given birth to people of the world.” The “we” in this prophecy is a reference to God’s people. God’s people are shown going through the pains of labor, figurative speaking, with the anticipated result of bringing salvation to the earth. This prophecy gives the impression that the church is suffering as a woman in labor. She is in pain trying to bring forth offspring...
After rounding out the chapter with prophecies of a woman and child from Revelation, I end this chapter on an upbeat note: What we see throughout Revelation is a victorious church. We see a church that is turning the world upside down for Jesus Christ. A church composed of believers that will not back down to the edicts of Satan. A church that stands strong and fights the good fight of faith, and when the battle is over reigns with Christ in the Promised Land.
CHAPTER ELEVEN — CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES CAREFULLY
This chapter builds on the heartfelt message of the last chapter by giving the reader a goal to focus on and a battle to win. It likens Satan to a terrorist:
An enemy is coming to our shore. A vicious, bitter attack will soon be launched. Mankind will be subjected to the edicts of a detestable being whose goal is to enslave, injure and kill. This monster will not be satisfied with only forcing his opponents to die. His plan is to bring death to even his most devoted followers.
Rebellion is the cause of the coming conflict. Vengeance will be the motive behind the slaughter. Deception is the means by which the battle will be fought. Even now the stage is being set for the war. One day we’ll have to choose sides. Will we submit to the adversary when he comes to our homeland? Will we bow down and worship his image? Will we follow his edicts? When the greatest terrorist who has ever lived endeavors to take away our freedom; will we surrender our will to him, or will we fight?
I do not resort to a comic-book-like rendition of the Antichrist in my manuscript like the authors of the Left Behind Series have fashioned in their books: The image of the indefatigable Nicolae Carpathia, freshly risen from three days dead, filled the screen and crackled with energy. David believed if he was within reach of the man he could be electrocuted by some demonic charge. (Book Eight of the Left Behind Series, The Mark, p.1)
An image of a man crackling on a TV screen with enough electric-like energy to kill a person is about as far-fetched as the statue that came to life in the old tract entitled The Beast by Jack Chick. I’m sorry to mention this, but that’s what is out there right now.
Instead of bad theatrics, once again I tell a believable story. I speak of an Antichrist based upon sound biblical understanding, yet I still make the narrative interesting: Rising up from among his peers this wicked one will sell his soul to do Satan’s bidding. “Lucifer” who deceived a host of angels and plunged humanity into the darkness of sin will take on human form. The devil will manifest himself through his christ and walk and talk among the children of men.
CHAPTER TWELVE — PARADISE RESTORED
I start this chapter by saying,
In the beginning of this book, we envisioned Paradise. Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden. There were no bugs to bite them, no thorns to hurt them, and the curse man now suffers was not in effect. Eden was the most beautiful place on the face of the planet. Every tree was pleasant to behold. There was an abundance of water. God had put it in the hearts of the animals to revere man. Nothing was to be hurt in God’s holy mountain. Death had yet to leave its stain. The Lord God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, fellowshipping with His children. This natural earthly scene represents the future paradise God has for us in heaven. However, before we all go over yonder, the kingdom Christ spoke of must first come to earth. Once again this earth will blossom. “No longer will there be any curse.”
Here we cover a few Old Testament prophecies that speak of a Paradise Earth and link them to a similar account in Revelation. This is a heart-warming chapter that is rich in sound teaching. Blind faith is not needed in order for my readers to set their hearts on promises contained within these pages.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN — THE FEAST DAYS NOW AND THEN
In this chapter I explain that,
The material things used in old-covenant rituals—the lampstands, the curtain in the Temple, even the Temple itself—represent spiritual designs in the New Testament. Also, every old-+-covenant ordinance represents a new-covenant model in this dispensation. The lamb sacrifice represents Jesus Christ in his role as Savior—his blood atonement is the true ransom for man’s sins! The Old Testament lamb sacrifice was a mere shadow of the real design, whose substance is Christ, and the same holds true with the Jewish feast days. The Passover feasts are rituals that point to the Messiah; they also transcend the singular Christ and center on his collective body (the church) at the end of time.
From here I go step by step through the Jewish Feasts spelling out what the symbolism means.
When the true Day of Atonement comes, we will be cleansed experientially. On that day, something wonderful will happen—we will step into the true Tabernacle. The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths was an Old Covenant observance that lasted seven days. At the end of the summer, when all the fruit from the harvest of the land was brought into the barns, the Hebrew tribes of Israel would offer various sacrifices unto God from the harvest. This feast started on the fifteenth of October and was a time of thanksgiving to celebrate and praise God for the abundance of the summer harvest. God also had the people gather tree boughs and erect booths to dwell in during this celebration. These booths represented the booths in which the Israelites dwelled while in the wilderness when God delivered them from Egypt.
Surely the Old Testament booths constructed of palm boughs were used for protection from the blazing sun. This Old Covenant ritual depicting protection from harm’s way is showing us another ordinance with a New Covenant design: the church will rejoice in God at the end of the spiritual harvest in the hot summer season that lies ahead …
This chapter is an important addition to this work and fits right in with the manuscripts theme because the symbolism of the Feast Days speaks of end-time events.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN — LAMPSTANDS OLIVE TREES AND WITNESSES
In this chapter I go into more detail about Bible prophecy that we only touched upon in previous chapters. Now is the time to look into Revelation’s hidden mystery and see it appear as clear as water:
“But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished” (Rev. 10:7).
Please note, a mystery was mentioned. This mystery has to do with what God promised his servants through the prophets—an early resurrection from among the dead and eternal life for the faithful. We see this same mystery mentioned in a well-known and accepted Rapture text: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51–52).
Understanding Revelation’s mystery is simple. Just connect the two mysteries in our texts, then add the qualifying factor that puts it all together: “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet” (Rev. 11:15). Now let’s go back a few verses and see what happened right before that seventh trumpet sounded. The very thing God promised his servants came to pass with the words “Come up here,” that’s what a loud voice from heaven cried out as “they went up to heaven in a cloud” (Rev. 11:12).
People have missed the significance of this passage for years because they have failed to understand who Revelation’s two witnesses are…
I go on to give compelling arguments which demonstrate that Revelations Two Witnesses are an illustration of the Church composed of Jewish and Gentile believers.
Revelation itself tells us who the two witnesses are, “These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth” (Rev. 11:4). Earlier in the same book, Jesus was seen standing in the middle of seven golden lampstands. Was Christ standing among seven men? Not according to Scripture, where it reads, “The seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Rev. 1:20).
Understanding that in Revelation 1 Jesus was seen standing among lampstands, which represent churches, in chapter 11 of the same book, it’s only reasonable to surmise that lampstands would still represent churches.
The two witnesses of Revelation 11 are also called two olive trees. The Apostle Paul explained in a letter to the Romans that the descendants of Israel, which are likened to a natural olive tree in Scripture, have now had a wild olive shoot spliced in—which represents the Gentile or non-Jewish believers. Paul was no doubt addressing this subject because many of the faithful in Rome were of non-Jewish heritage. Paul wrote, “Some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root” (Rom. 11:17).
That tree represented the nation of Israel. In this dispensation, all nations have been grafted into the symbolic tree that God planted and Christ cultivated. Olive trees throughout Scripture represent God’s people. Churches contain people from both the original lineage of Israel and also from less noble descendants.
Millions of people still living at the end of time who answer the call of God to abstain from Antichrist’s mark and become witnesses for Christ may fit Revelation’s illustration of prophets/witnesses. Speaking of the nation of Israel, God stated, “You are my witnesses” (Isa. 43:12). In the New Testament, Jesus said, “And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Understanding that Revelation’s two witnesses may represent a worldwide assembly of men, women, and children of both Jewish and non-Jewish descent who profess Jesus to be the Christ is the key to unlocking Revelation’s mystery—because it’s the two witnesses/prophets who ascend up to heaven in a cloud, when the angel speaks the command, “Come up here.” (Rev. 11:12)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN — THE WOMAN AND HER OFFSPRING
In this chapter I do what I did in the last chapter: I go into more detail about a subject that was briefly covered earlier in the work. I do it here for the same reason as in the previous chapter — so people who are interested can see solid proof texts put together into compelling arguments. I am offering my readers a bit more depth here, so they can defend the positions that this work holds. I do this in an uplifting manner:
After reading a verse from Revelation 12, I say, The word “desert” in this passage comes from the Greek eremos, meaning lonesome; it can be properly translated “desert,” “desolate,” “solitary,” or “wilderness.” Some authors and teachers believe this desert is speaking figuratively of the United States of America and that Christians from all over the world will come to the United States for safety in this time of trouble.
Others claim Revelation’s desert is a literal desert on earth located “in Petra” and that Jewish people who have found Christ will go there to hide from Antichrist’s rage during the tribulation.
However, Revelation’s twelfth chapter is highly symbolic—it speaks of a woman, which is an illustration of something other than a literal woman. The sun in that chapter does not represent our literal sun. The moon, stars, and serpent point to things other than a literal moon, stars, or serpent. So we wouldn’t necessarily violate sound methods of Bible interpretation to look for a figurative meaning for the desert in the same chapter…
What I am dealing with in this chapter is Revelation 12: The popular but simplistic explanation that the desert mentioned in Revelation 12 is Petra, and that the Jews will hide there in the coming Antichrist regime is a teaching that I do not buy into. Once again I go to the Bible and look for answers. I give a reasonable explanation for all the symbols in Revelation 12, and I sum up the overall message that Revelation 12 contains.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN — 144,000 OF THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL
Once again I appeal to the Bible to see if the Tribes of Israel might be symbolic of something other than literal tribes. Jesus is viewed as a “lamb” in Revelation and no one thinks the “lamb” from those pages is actually a lamb — everyone knows that Revelation’s lamb represents Christ. Revelation’s “lamb” is an Old Testament symbol representing something other than a literal lamb, as are Revelation’s Tribes of Israel.
In Revelation the word “Lamb” is used twenty-seven times in reference to Jesus Christ: “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads . . . They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb” (Rev. 14:1,4). When the Lamb and the 144,000 of the tribes of Israel are observed in the same verse, wouldn’t this demonstrate that both the Lamb and Israel are Old Testament representations of a New Testament design? If teachers of Bible prophecy would be consistent in their theology and use this text as a model to build upon, they would understand that the Lamb Jesus Christ is illustrated in Revelation with Old Testament symbolism and so is the end-time church. Don’t let the symbolism confuse you.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN — THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT
Because this manuscript is about end-times, including the Return of Jesus Christ, I thought that I would throw in a tangent chapter that tells a story of the recent history of two men who set dates for Christ’s Return:
In the nineteen-sixties, the hippie movement swept throughout America, waving the banner of free love, drugs, and rock and roll. Timothy Leary was high on LSD, preaching his psychedelic message, “Tune in, turn on, and drop out,” to our youth. Evolution had replaced the need for a Creator in our classrooms; science was replacing the need for religion in our minds. A headline in The New York Times read, “God Is Dead.”
As we entered the nineteen-seventies, many “baby-boomers” began looking for spiritual answers. The apocalyptic message in a book entitled The Vision by David Wilkerson was selling in record numbers. Wilkerson had a vision in 1973 and he was determined to tell the world about it. His book forecasted a time in which “nature will go wild” with “drastic weather changes and earthquakes” unleashing their fury upon earth. By 1978 the Jesus Movement was in full swing; many were sure the end was imminent. In a 1983 New Year’s Eve TV special, the well-known evangelist Oral Roberts predicted the Rapture of the church before 1990. But 1990 came and went; God’s people did not ascend. Now we have entered the next millennium, and for many, the return of Jesus Christ is overdue.
From here I slip back in time to the mid-1800s and look into the interesting story of William Miller and how he went about proclaiming that Jesus would return and that the world would immediately be destroyed by fire in either 1843 or 1844. I heard a historian talking about this movement while watching an educational channel on TV and it thrilled me.
I spent three years researching this subject. What I’ve penned is both accurate and intriguing. The Jehovah’s Witnesses were eventually born out of this movement. I look into their history here as well; Charles Russell, the man whom the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim is their founder, predicted Christ’s return several times over the years.
It is my hope that people might learn from this historical record.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN — THROUGH THE DOOR AND INTO HIS IMAGE
In the book of Revelation, Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). In this chapter I basically bring forth what is called in church services an “altar call.” I invite people to kneel at the cross and accept Jesus as their savior. Many could find their lives transformed as a result of following the simple admonition that is laid out within these pages.
I do go into some Old Testament symbolism concerning the Passover Lamb here, to make sure this chapter fits right in with this manuscript’s overall theme. I believe I’ve made this final chapter a worthwhile read.
BOOK ENDNOTES
This work has 237 endnotes. It is extremely well-researched and well-documented. I back up every important point I make and I use sources that are reliable.
PROPOSAL ENDNOTES:
[1] (There’s A New World Coming — An In-Depth Analysis Of the Book Of Revelation, Hal Lindsey, Harvest House)
[2] Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.” (Rev. 17:15 NIV)
[3] Heb. 2:10 KJV “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”
[4] “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, (Revelation 17:9, NAS).