In only a few years after the death of the Apostle Paul, Jude, the brother of James who both were half-brothers of Jesus Christ, writes his epistle Jude in 70 AD to warn believers of the false teachers and apostates who were leading people astray. Vespasian was now the Roman Emperor. Jude states that believers should study Scripture and pray so they would not be deceived and can lead others to salvation and be saved from an eternal death.

At least a decade later, John writes his gospel in 85 AD from Ephesus when Domitian is the Roman Emperor. His epistle’s intent was for the readership of all believers. It is likely that the content of his gospel is different from what is in the synoptic gospels because he knew most believers had already read those, so he was adding additional information which had not yet been written. About 92% of what is in John is not in the synoptic gospels. John states that the purpose of his gospel was for the purpose to evangelize so they can believe in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life.

Let’s remind ourselves about the four gospels:

Gospel Christ Viewed As           Written To        No. Chapters   Unique Material            OT Quotes

Matthew           King                    Jews                    28                        42%                                   53

Mark                   Servant              Romans             16                          7%                                   36

Luke                    Man                    Greeks               24                        59%                                   25

John                   God                     Church               21                        92%                                   20

We can see how each successive gospel expanded its targeted audience from mostly Jews as that was the major composition of the church at the time, to Romans as befitting to whom Paul was reaching, to Greeks as that was the popular language at the time to the entire church (both Jews and Gentiles) for which the church was now composed. Do we not see God’s hand at work here? God always supplies what is needed when it is needed. And we see that Mark did not need to have unique material from Matthew as his audience was the Gentile side of Matthew’s audience. John, on the other hand, needed to have unique material because his audience, the church, had already read and knew the material from the other gospels by this time.

About the same time as John released his gospel, he wrote 1st John, his first epistle to a group of churches in Asia Minor centered around Ephesus and likely the city from which John wrote this epistle. There were emerging groups which opposed Christianity and had infiltrated the church. He wrote to give them reasons for being joyful, encouraged them not to sin, and not be deceived by false teaching so they could know they had eternal life, and that they might believe in the name of Jesus Christ.

About five years later, or less, John wrote his second epistle, 2nd John, in 90 AD, also likely from Ephesus. He wrote to “the elect lady and her children.” There is no consensus on whom this is referring. He states that the love of Christ is demonstrated by obeying his commandments and by loving others. John warned of deceivers with the spirit of the antichrist who would deny the incarnation of Christ. Both the deity and humanity of Christ are essential to a correct Biblical view of the person and nature of Christ.

John’s third epistle, 3rd John, was written about the same time as his second, also believed to be from Ephesus. This time he names the person to whom he is writing: Gaius. This was a friend of Peter’s and one who likely helped support Peter and others in their itinerant missionary work. Peter commended Gaius in his good work and contrasted his work to that of Diotrephes who wanted credit for himself and who spoke against Peter and even refused hospitality to those needing it. Demetrius was likely the bearer of the letter to Gaius.

Timothy remained in Ephesus until he was martyred in 93 AD for standing true to the faith. The details around his death are somewhat unclear but, apparently, he was standing up against a debaucherous festival and the people beat him with clubs. His friends got him away, but he died shortly thereafter from his beating.

It seems John became the leader of the church in Ephesus after Timothy. Also because of John not yielding to the commands of the emperor requiring all to bow to a statue of Domitian placed in Ephesus, John was arrested and was attempted to be killed twice, but those attempts failed. He was then exiled to the isle of Patmos for a time, at least until Domitian’s death. John then went back to Ephesus where he died of natural causes.

John wrote the book of Revelation in 95 AD while on the isle of Patmos. There is much poetic license in the imagery he chose. Many believe that those of his day would clearly understand the meaning of his imagery. It is believed by many that John was describing future events of the coming Tribulation Period when the Antichrist will reign over the Earth prior to Christ’s second coming. There are other interpretations of his letter:

Historicist View: Revelation surveys the whole of church history. However, it has been noted that it has little to say of the church development after 1500 A.D.

Preterist View: Fulfillment of Revelation is in the past, shortly after the time of its writing. Many put the date of the writing before 70 A.D. as they believe the descriptions within Revelation are describing the fall of Jerusalem.

Futurist View: Everything in Revelation after Chapter 3 awaits fulfillment in the future. This is probably the most dominant view and is linked heavily to dispensational theology.

Spiritual View: There is no single fulfillment of Revelation; it contains only transcendent principles and recurrent themes. Most with this view believe John reported the visions as he saw them, but they should be interpreted in a more spiritual sense as to be edifying to believers of any age.

Because chapter 20 refers to an event called the Millennium, the interpretation changes to different views of this topic:

Premillennial View: The binding of Satan is still future and occurs upon Christ’s earthly return when he sets up an earthly reign lasting for a literal 1,000 years. At the end of this reign, Satan is loosed for a time and then all the wicked are judged at the Great White Throne, after which the new heavens and earth are created.

Amillennial View: The binding of Satan occurred with Christ’s victory over sin on the cross and the 1,000 years are symbolic of the current church age. At the end of the current age, Satan will be allowed to persecute the church just before Christ’s coming when a judgment of the evil and good will occur. Then the new heavens and earth will be created.

Postmillennial View: Some have a view similar to that of the Amillennialists, while others see the binding of Satan as a future time when the effect of the gospel has reduced his effect to nothing which will bring in a glorious age just before Christ’s return that is symbolic of the 1,000 years. A final attempt of Satan will go nowhere and then there will be a general resurrection and judgment when Christ returns.

The last two chapters deal with a new heaven and earth and thereby have two views of interpretation about this subject:

Literalist: The descriptions in these chapters are taken to be literal and the New Jerusalem will be the eternal home of the redeemed.

Non-Literalist: The whole account is spiritualized with no literal interpretation. Many link these descriptions to the condition of those who are now in a new covenant with God and Christ with the New Jerusalem representing the church itself in its present earthly existence.

It would seem the futurists’ approach, along with the premillennial view and the literal view, to interpreting Revelation is more in line with the prophecy of the Old Testament. One example is with the memorial feasts of Israel. There were seven feasts that God told Israel to keep yearly (Lv 23). Scripture supports that the first four have been literally fulfilled with Christ’s first coming, so it would stand to reason that the next three will be fulfilled in Christ’s second coming.

Passover (Pesach) represents Christ’s crucifixion (Lv 23:5; 1Co 5:7).

Unleavened Bread (Matzah) represents being freed from sin (Lv 23:6-8; 1Pt 2:24).

Firstfruit (Bikkurim) represents Christ’s resurrection (Lv 23:9-14; 1Co 15:20).

Pentecost (Shavuot) represents uniting Jewish and Gentile believers through the Holy Spirit (Lv 23:15-22; Ac 2).

Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) represents the beginning of the tribulation because God remembers his covenant with Israel once the Church, his Bride, is removed (Lv 23:23-25; Dt 30:3-5).

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) represents Christ Second Coming as Israel is restored to God (Lv 16; 23:26-32; Zc 13:1).

Tabernacles (Sukkot) represents Christ’s Millennial reign as he now dwells with his people (Lv 23:33-44; Zc 14:9).

Jubilee represents the future Eternal State (Lv 25; Rv 21-22).

After Domitian’s death, John was allowed to return to Ephesus where it is believed he died of natural causes in 100 A.D. under the reign of the Emperor Trajan.

We see that the New Testament covers almost 100 years and has had a profound impact for several thousand years and will continue to do so until the end of time. I think it is amazing how the Lord works throughout history to bring people to himself and will use any an all who are willing to be used by him and be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Before we talk and contract Jews and Gentiles in the future, we need to understand some of the differences in futuristic views held by many. The next era following our present time on this earth has been termed the Tribulation Period. There are four main world views of apocalyptic literature, like the book of Revelation, and then there are three main theological views of the future concerning the Millennium (or the earthly reign of Christ), although there are minor variations of these as well.

There are some who view the content of Revelation strictly from a historical perspective: all, or most, of the prophecies in the book have been completely fulfilled in the past. Proponents of this tenant believe all the descriptions in Revelation are referring to the downfall of the Roman Empire during and after the time of the apostle John, the book’s author.

Others are known as preterists and also believe that all, or most, of the prophecies in Revelation have occurred in the past but that they were prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem. Therefore, all the prophecies had to be fulfilled by the end of 70 AD.

Then, there are others who believe the majority of the prophecies within the book of Revelation should be interpreted more from an allegorical perspective. The prophecies and visions which John wrote about were not literal but communicate a moral or theological lesson about God and how he works in the lives of Christians and non-Christians in all phases of earth’s history. This is what makes the book relevant for each and every person no matter in which period of earth’s history they live.

The fourth category is known as the futurist view. People with this view believe that all the events from chapter four onward are in the future, describe events that will occur after the Rapture of the Church and during the Tribulation and Great Tribulation Periods, and beyond. The prophecies and visions the apostle John saw and spoke about are to be taken literally as much as possible, except where it is evident that the apostle is speaking metaphorically. For example, when John states that Satan was bound in the Abyss for one-thousand years with chains so he could not escape, the futurists’ view is that the removal of Satan from the earth for one-thousand years would be literal but the chain would be metaphorical in that God will prevent Satan from being released. He is chained in the sense he cannot escape but not in the sense that God was using a physical chain that would restrain him for this prescribed period of earth’s history. Or, at least, this is not literal in our view of a chain as we know that could not hold a spiritual being; yet, God was using something which John interpreted as a chain or the concept of such.

There are three major views of the one-thousand-year reign of Christ on earth in the future, known as the Millennium: Premillennialism, Amillennialism, and Postmillennialism. The reason for the Millennium determines one’s main view of its importance and if it will be literal and actually occur. I believe the Premillennial viewpoint is the more accurate one for the following three reasons:

1. The Premillennial view allows the Bible to be broken into dispensations or periods of time where God deals with mankind for a specific purpose. Most of these dispensations have been about Israel as prophesied by the Feasts of Israel; yet, only four of these feasts have been fulfilled (Pesach or Passover – death of Christ; Matzah or Feast of Unleavened Bread – Christ’s sinless death and burial; Feast of Bikkurim or First Fruits – Christ’s resurrection; Shavuot or Pentacost – Holy Spirit uniting all believers, both Jew and Gentile, into his fold).  Since the current age is about God bringing Gentiles into his fold, there must be a time when He works with Israel as a nation again to fulfill the remaining feasts (Rosh Hashanah or Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement, and Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles).  The Tribulation is a time when He can begin doing that once all current Christians have been taken out of the picture. God can then remember his covenant, which is the theme of the original Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets): to ask God to remember His covenant with Israel. These points would speak against the view of Amillennialism which does not even believe in the existence of a Millennium or in a special period of time that is any different from the current time in which one lives.

2. The Rapture is an event that allows all current Christians to be removed from the earth to allow God to focus on Israel, as well as the remaining Gentiles on earth. This event also fits well into an analogy of a Jewish bridegroom coming for his bride: she did not know when he was coming so she had to be prepared at all times; he went to where she was and brought her back to his home. A shout or call (e.g. by shofar) would be made to alert the bride and her attendants (SS 3:11). Christ’s church has been equated to, or alluded to, the bride of Christ who has been set apart for Him (2Co 11:2, Ep 5:22-23; Hb 10:10; Ja 4:4; Rv 19:14). These points would speak against both Amillennialism and Postmillennialism as both do not believe in a Rapture or not one that occurs before the Tribulation starts. If the Tribulation is about God remembering His covenant with Israel, then the Rapture could not occur after the Tribulation begins.

3. Because Satan took the world from mankind and is currently the ruler of it (Mt 4:8-9), Christ must take the current world back, re-establish his theocratic kingdom and reverse the curse that resulted from Adam’s rebellion so Christ can show He alone is sovereign. Therefore, the Millennium is a key period of future history that must occur. This point would also speak against Amillennialism since a literal Millennium would be necessary to prove Christ’s sovereignty over Satan. It also speaks against Postmillennialism as it would be necessary for Christ to reign on the earth with its curse removed to prove His sovereignty.

The time in which everyone currently lives will continue until the full number of Gentiles have accepted Christ as their Savior (Ro 11:25). That time will end at what is known as the Rapture or being “caught up” where believers receive a glorified body (Jn 14:1-3; 1Co 15:51-53; Pp 3:20-21; 1Th 4:17; 1Jn 3:1-2). This will occur before the Antichrist appears and the Tribulation Period begins (2Th 2:2-3). It appears the time shortly before the Antichrist comes on the scene will be marked by teachers teaching false doctrine that will lead many astray (2Pt 2:1-3); however, it seems that the beginning of false teachings will occur even prior to the Rapture – even in the present day (Ju 1:4). These “teachers” will have no scruples (Ju 1:8), and their ungodly acts will only escalate after the Rapture and prior to Christ’s second coming (Ju 1:15). Any of these peddlers of false information could be labeled “antichrist” (1Jn 2:22; 2Jn 1:7) because their teachings are against Christ. However, scriptures indicate that there will be one individual who will culminate the spirit of deceit and lead the world in rebellion against God (2Th 2:9-10; 1Jn 2:18). Once the Rapture occurs, there will no longer be any Christians on the earth for a time. Even the restraint of the Holy Spirit will be removed (2Th 2:7).

These events sets Israel up for God to work with them as a nation again and for every nation to be evangelized and make a final decision of their relationship with Christ. You don’t have to wait to do that. You can do that now. Have you? Do you want to? Just talk to him. He’s waiting – always waiting – just for you.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens