CHAPTER ONE, PROLOGUE.
My prologue explains why I wrote my book. I compare my book to many
widely-read interpretations available to English speaking readers. I describe the
various schools of interpretation and opine that one can guess the school of
interpretation once one knows the author's faith. I discuss modern interpretations
depicting the European Economic Union (and Mussolini before the war) as the
revived Roman Empire. I explain why I do not believe these interpretations.
CHAPTER TWO, A VISION OF THE MESSIAH WHO IS COMING.
I describe John's vision of the throne and twenty-four kings. I interpret it as a
vision of God that explains God's nature. The vision includes a lamb that
represents the Son's human incarnation. I can easily believe that this came from
John the Baptist who could have used the vision to explain the lamb's relationship
with God. The lamb is Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER THREE, SEPARATION OF BELIEVERS FROM NON-BLIEEVERS.
There are two intermediary visions in Apocalypse seven, one showing the elect
being marked, the second showing the elect with others. I interpret the elect as
first and second century Judeans who respond to the Messiah's call and accept
baptism during the years A.D. 27 to 42. I interpret the others as first and second
Gentiles who also accept baptism during the years A.D. 35 to 67. Both groups join
to form a new group, the Church. I support this by citing sufficient historical
events to show how the early Church grew, first from Judeans, then from Gentiles.
CHAPTER FOUR, THE FOUR WINDS: THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION FOR JUDEA.
I interpret the first four trumpets (the four winds) as Judea's tribulation now that
the Church is firmly established. This tribulation stems from four sources that
develop as the Judeans decide whether they can believe the apostle's testimony
that Christ rose, and, if they cannot believe, what will they do with the Judeans
who do believe. The winds blow with greater and greater intensity until Judea
decides to withdraw all privileges from Christians, thereby exposing Christians to
the necessity of complying with the Imperial Cult. Then the Judeans stumble into
war with Rome.
In this chapter, I describe the careers of Caligula and Herod Agrippa I. I also describe the revolt of A.D. 46, the riots of A.D. 50, and the activity of the Sicarri. Herod Agrippa tries to avert war, but fails. I describe the final spark that led to war, the Sicarri storming Masada, the defeat of the Roman occupying army by Simon bar Giora, and the formation of the Jewish independent government. Now the four winds give way to the three woes, which will bring disaster and the utter inability of Judea to hinder the work of the Church.
CHAPTER FIVE, THE FIRST WOE: CIVIL WAR IN JUDEA.
The first woe starts in A.D. 66 with the terror imposed by the Zealots during the
initial break with Rome. I quote Josephus to provide an eyewitness account of the
progress of this struggle. The non-Zealots revolt against the Zealots, who then
invite the Idumeans to subdue the non-Zealots. I describe John of Gischala's climb
to power. While Vespacian, with a new Roman army, conquered most of Judea
except Jerusalem, Gischala fought a Judean civil war inside Jerusalem.
I describe the halt of the Roman offensive when Nero died and the political turmoil that followed. The Judeans, instead of driving the Romans out, continued their civil war as Simon Bar Giora tries to overthrow Gischala. Both sides burn all the grain in Jerusalem to starve the other side. Rome stabilizes when the army makes Vespasian emperor. Jerusalem is now out of food. What the Judeans did to themselves can compare to ravaging locusts. In John's vision, locusts tormented, but did not kill, those not marked with the Lord's sign.
CHAPTER SIX, THE SECOND WOE: WAR WITH ROME.
Apocalypse nine describes an army camped outside Jerusalem. I compare this to
the reorganized Roman army's siege of Jerusalem, providing many historical
details. When the city falls, the Romans torch the Temple. Many Judeans die
during the assault. Many survivors are sold as slaves. The Roman army
demolishes the city. Jerusalem will remain uninhabited for seventy years. The
Temple will never be rebuilt. This siege is the historical fulfilment of the army
unleashed against the unbelievers.
CHAPTER SEVEN, GLIMPSES IN THE HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE SITE.
I change my pace now that I have brought the reader to the Temple's destruction.
God told John to measure the Temple. I now explain the Temple's importance to
the Jewish people. I also give the reader a "bird's eye" view of Jerusalem. This
will help clarify the strategies of the siege and war I just described. I did this using a literary structure similar to the structure of the Apocalypse. I describe seven grand views of the Temple site, each at different times. However,
instead of visions in the sky seen by a person on the ground, the reader sees views
of the ground from a vantage point in the sky.
My first scene is the morning Jesus was born. I describe the Temple's location relative to the city's walls, valleys, the high hills, and the main buildings. I then describe the sacrifice that morning, pointing out its prophetic relationship to the career of Jesus Christ.
The scene changes. Now the reader views the Temple site during King David's time. David recently offended God by taking a census. God gave David a choice of punishments for his arrogance. David chose a contagious disease. As we look down on the city, David, looking up, sees an angel with sword unsheathed. David then hears God tell the angel to halt the punishment. David never forgot the spot where God showed mercy. His son later built the Temple there.
The scene changes again. We watch Abraham approach to make the sacrifice God asked. We watch him place Isaac upon the rock. At the last minute, God provides a substitute. The substitute is a symbol of Jesus Christ, God's own Son, the son whose sacrifice God really will accept.
The scene changes again, this time A.D. 638. I trace Abraham's offspring to show that eventually they all worshiped the God Abraham worshiped, not only the Jews, but the Arabs as well. I describe Islam. I compare Islam to Judaism and Christianity. They are different religions, but all three worship the God Abraham worshiped. One hundred years after Islam's inception, the Moslems conquered two empires that were too strong to conquer each other. They then take control of Jerusalem and the Temple site.
The scene changes again. It is now December 17, 1917. The world is at war. The Ottoman Turks control the city. As we look down, they look up at British war planes flying over the Temple site. The Turks realize that if they resist the British they risk damage to the holy shrines. They decide to let the city fall peacefully. This marks the end of Moslem control of the Holy Land. I quote Scriptures concerning the fifty-year jubilee. Moses told the twelve tribes they were not to lose possession of their land. Every fifty years, all land shall revert to the original owners. I then cite historical events of the next fifty years starting in 1917 when Britain promised to help the Jews regain their ancestral homeland. I end in 1967 when the Jews, against incredible odds, regain the Temple site and most of Palestine during the Six-day War.
The scene changes again. It is now centuries earlier, the day Jesus died. We can see him on the cross, hear what he is saying, watch people react to him. I again describe the relationship the Messiah has with God. I also describe the Church, the Eucharist, and Christ's Mystical Body.
CHAPTER EIGHT, THE THIRD WOE DEVELOPING: PREPARATIONS FOR THE FINAL WAR WITH ROME.
I propose that the third woe predicts the defeat of Bar Kochba and the mass exile
of Judeans in A.D. 131-4. This defeat destroys Judea's ability to oppose the
Church.
CHAPTER NINE, THE WOMAN WITH CHILD: JUDEA GIVING BIRTH TO THE
CHURCH.
While the unbelieving tread the fatal path toward war, the believing Judeans see
who Christ is and accept baptism. Israel is the Lord's spouse. This vision of the
woman with child is Israel (or its remnant, Judea) giving birth to the Church. The
dragon represents Satan trying to destroy the newly-formed Church. I describe the
Israelites, their relationship to the Church, and the role Satan and the fallen angels
play in our human lives. Satan intends to destroy the woman and all her children.
To seek help, Satan goes to the Mediterranean and summons the sea beast.
CHAPTER TEN, THE BEAST FROM THE SEA: THE EMPIRE AGAINST THE CHILD
BORN OF JUDEA.
The sea beast is the Roman Empire. The vision describes it as a living beast with
seven heads, showing the seven divine caesars that have ruled the Empire. I then
describe the pagan god Roma and the "divine" Nero and much of Roman history,
quoting Suetonius and Tacitus.
CHAPTER ELEVEN, THE BEAST FROM THE LAND: A NEW CAESAR AGAINST THE
CHILD BORN OF JUDEA.
The sea beast is the Empire, the land beast is the man who will become the next
divine head, the eighth head, of the sea beast. The same spirit that motivates the
sea beast will motivate this man, and this man will speak like the dragon. This
man is Domitian, Vespasian's second son. Domitian will exercise all the first
beast's power. He will use that power to force people within the Empire to again
worship the first beast.
CHAPTER TWELVE, THE LAMB WITH THE ELECT: JESUS WITH THE JUDEANS
WHO FOLLOW HIM.
This vision, the lamb with the elect, shows Jesus, the lamb, with 144,000 souls
who have followed him. These are the first ones redeemed, the Judeans who
recognized Christ. They were faithful to him unto death and have entered his
heavenly gathering. The identification of the 144,000 is a prominent feature of the more popular non-
Catholic interpretations. Hal Linsey, for example, holds them to be Jews who will
convert during the future tribulation. Many non-Catholic interpretations still do. I
think this is not true and leads to cults and sects.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN, THE VIALS: WARNINGS TO UNBELIEVERS.
Time has run out for Judea. The Lord is already there. He had been knocking at
the door. Those Judeans who respond will become the Lord's betrothed, the
Lord's spouse. Those who fail to respond, who do not recognize their day of
visitation, will live the warnings John predicted. I discuss historical events between the years 70 through 131. I cover Trajan's
offer to rebuild the Temple, the war under Trajan, and Hadrian's attempt to bring
peace. I then cover Bar Kochba's rise to power, gathering information from many
sources. I describe how this final war took shape. I carry the historical account to
Bar Kochba's last stand at Bethar.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN, THE THIRD WOE COMPLETED: THE DEMISE OF JUDEA.
When the Romans stormed Bethar, they killed most of the city's population. I then
cover the survivor's retreat to the Wadi Murabbaat caves and Hadrian's rebuilding
of Jerusalem into a pagan city. The Judean nation was then dismantled; the
survivors exiled. So effective was this final conquest and dispersal that even as
late as the nineteenth century only thirty-thousand Jews resided in their ancestral
homeland.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN, THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM: THE CHURCH ACTIVE UPON
THE EARTH.
This concludes Judea's downfall and the start of the end-times, which is really the
times of the Gentiles. I describe the early Church's persecution by Rome, then its
acceptance by Rome. Christianity (really Catholicism) becomes the officially
recognized religion of the Empire. All pagan religions are outlawed. This is the
beginning of the Christian Political Empire. It was made up of human beings in this
life. Naturally, it was not perfect. The Catholic Roman Empire, and the Holy
Roman Empire that succeeded it, lasted approximately one thousand years until the
Reformation. I discuss the Reformation. The political Empire dissolved, but,
contrary to the expectations of the early reformers, the Catholic Church, headed by
the Papacy, remains to this day.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN, OVERVIEW OF PREVIOUS INTERPRETATIONS.
Now that I have told my reader what I think, it is only fair to tell my reader what
others have thought before me. In this chapter, I review many interpretations and
many cults and sects that have derived from various interpretations of the
Apocalypse.
I start out with Victorinus, Tyconius, and Saint Augustine. Saint Augustine interpreted the Apocalypse in his City of God. I go on to Joachim of Fiore and to Martin Luther, who wrote two interpretations of the Apocalypse. I continue with a review of 19th century interpretations: Adam Clarke, J. G. Wetstein, and Fr. Leo G. Heydock. I also describe 19th century millennial movements like the Mormons, the Millerites, the Seventh Day Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. I reviewed Babylon the Great has Fallen, an interpretation by Jehovah's Witnesses.
I continue with 20th century interpretations by Catholic and non-Catholic authors: Robert Baldwin, William Barclay, Adela Collins, Billy Graham, Richard Jeske, Alan Johnson, Tim LeHaye, Hal Linsey, H. M. Morris, Robert Mounce, Pheme Perkims, Patrick K. Sena, and Fr. John Tickle, to name a few. I finished researching my manuscript in the mid-seventies. I have noticed that, in the 1990's, at least forty more commentaries have been published. This shown the enormous interest of the average reader in this subject. It also shows that, after so many "definitive" rehashed interpretations, no one has come up with a believable idea of what might have been the original intent of the Apocalypse. I also reviewed the interpretation of David Chilton and an interpretation of the signs contained in Fr. Stefano Gobbi's book about locutions he claims to have received from the Mother of Jesus. I have started to review the newer interpretations so I can add some comments on how they compare to the earlier commentaries.
I also comment on an Islamic interpretation and secular interpretations by D. H. Lawrence, Carl G. Jung, and Edgar Casey. I believe I give a scholarly and fair- minded overview of all these interpretations. Many references show my source materials. I make my observations in an unbiased fashion.