Sid: Now I have a question for you the book of Revelation if I was to ask you do you understand it what would there answer be? And yet so many their answer is “No.” And some even worse I’ve given up; I just can’t understand it. I’m too practical; I’m too pragmatic. And then others even say “It’s already finished it’s already happened” so these are people that are called preterits and that it’s in the past. The book actually says there is a horrific curse with those that tamper with this book and every… I mean your name will be taken out of the book of life if you remove words from this. And then, this book of Revelation actually says “There is a blessing in reading and hearing the words of the book of Revelation.” And so I have my good friend Perry Stone on the phone. Perry says that he has invested listen to this it’s really mind blowing to me 80,000 hours in researching the Bible. I want to get some answers because I believe what the Bible says Perry. I believe that this book, that there’s a blessing attached to understanding it; what is your understanding?
Perry: Sid first of all thank you for having me on the program I’m looking forward to this I believe it’s going to really help the people. The book of Revelation as you said has a blessing placed upon it for those that read in here. But the difficulty that people have in dealing with the book is the symbolism that’s used. For example there’s a woman travailing in Heaven with a child. In chapter 12 there’s this dragon in in the heavens, a great red dragon in chapter 12. There’s a lamb with 7 eyes and 7 horns. And so in what is called apocalyptic literature and apocalyptic literature is in our case Biblical literature that predicts the future through symbolism. It uses what we call Biblical symbols. The book of Daniel they say chapter 7 uses it; the metallic image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Each metal in Daniel Chapter 2 of that image represents a prophetic empire. So one of the first things I’ve learned is that Bible always interprets itself when it comes to symbolism. For example, we know that when Satan came into the garden he used a serpent. So throughout the Bible a serpent represents either sin or it represents Satan; it represents disobedience or evil. A lamb for example the first example of the lamb in a major sense was the word was the Passover where the lamb’s blood was offered. So throughout the Bible we come to the New Testament Jesus is introduced to John the Baptist as the Lamb of God. And then in the book of Revelation the word Lamb is mentioned 27 times. And all but one time it has reference to Jesus Christ. Throughout the book it makes that clear. So the reason people doesn’t study it many times is because the symbolism is a little difficult. But however the Bible itself interprets its own symbolism. And so I would call it the basic 101 understanding of the book of Revelation. But the biggest thing that we encounter when we talk about the book of Revelation is the various interpretations that have come down from history as to…
Sid: Yeah, yeah I pick up some Bibles and they have 4 different views, and I’m saying if these experts don’t know “How can I possibly know?”
Perry: That is such a good question it really is. Well, let me just run through this real quick for people’s knowledge; and that is that some of the beliefs. First of all there is the preterist that believe that the end-time prophecies were all fulfilled in the first century. There’s some very good people that believe the historical interpretation that believe that from the first century until the return of Christ the book of Revelation has gradually been fulfilled. A few people talk about the allegorical interpretation simply saying “Well the Book of Revelation is just an allegory between the Heavenly Jerusalem; the earthly battle for the earthly Jerusalem; good evil God and Satan.” My staff will tell you I have studied this every angle. I’ve studied the preterist, historical, allegorical, the all millennialist, and the best…
Sid: Perry, I watch you on television, that’s number 1, and number 2 if you didn’t tell me that you studied 80,000 hours I would know that you did just by listening to you but go ahead. (Laughing)
Perry: Well, the reason I’m saying that is because I just don’t study what I believe which is the book of Revelation from Chapter 4 to 22 is future. I don’t just don’t say that off the top of my head. I say it because I have delved into all of the other beliefs. And honestly if you don’t interpret the book of Revelation from chapter 4 to 22 as a future event all the other theories start falling apart. Whether it’s historical, the preterist, the allegorical interpretations inside the book. Let me give you an example here. The book of Revelation alludes to in the judgments and in certain passages it alludes to in the Old Testament so many sometimes it’s even difficult to count. So the Old Testament prophets that predicted how the sun would be darkened; how they predicted how the rivers would dry up. You see that prophetic statement that the prophet made in the Old Testament being fulfilled in the book of Revelation.
Sid: Yes, but many would say “But it was fulfilled way before and it’s not a future event.”
Perry: Let’s talk about one group here.
Sid: Alright.
Perry: I think this group needs to be talked about, they’re called the Preterist. Now here is the basic teaching of a preterist. The preterist teaches that the book of Revelation has already been fulfilled, and Matthew 24 all those signs mentioned there up to the sign of the Son of Man appearing has already been fulfilled. And it was fulfilled around the year 70 AD at the destruction of the temple. First of all let’s talk about where they get the idea from of the fulfillment. Jesus made 1 statement in which He said to His disciples “There are some of you standing here that shall not taste death until you Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.” Well, you read after the resurrection of Jesus in John 21 that they were at the Sea of Galilee at Tiberias. And Jesus predicts to Peter that he’s going to be an old man and Peter says “Well, what about John?” And Jesus said concerning John in our Bible “What is it to you Peter if He’s still alive when I come?” And the next verse says “When this saying went about among the disciples that that disciple should not die.” And Jesus did not say “He would not die; what it He tarries until I come.” Now it is clear from that verse that the early church considered John the Apostle a link to the return of the Lord. So here’s what the preterist have done, they have said “Okay according to Jesus the Kingdom will come when John is still living.” John died in about 96 to 100 AD therefore Jesus had to return before the death of Apostle John. They used those 2 verses; now here’s what Jesus in reality was saying Sid it’s very simple. John the author of the book of Revelation he did not die he was the last of twelve original apostles he outlived all of them. Most of the apostles were dead by 70 AD with the exception of possibly two and John was one of them. John lived up until 95 AD and on the Isle of Patmos he wrote the book of Revelation. He saw the New Jerusalem that nobody in the Old Testament saw; he saw the white throne of judgment and the details of it that nobody else in the Old Testament saw. He saw the Lord coming back as King of kings and Lord of Lords on a white horse that nobody in the Old Testament saw. He saw the kingdom; he did not die until he saw the Kingdom. And so when Jesus was saying this he was alluding to John not dying until he saw the vision of revelation. But John did not know that was going to happen and that was the fulfillment of that verse. He did not die until he saw the kingdom but the preterist take that verse to say “John was still living in 70 AD therefore the book of Revelation had to be written before the year 70 AD. Thus Matthew 24 all of those signs of the coming of the Lord had to be fulfilled by 70 AD. Thus the book of Revelation had to be fulfilled by 70 AD. Now here’s how you totally destroy the preterist doctrine. They admit this; if they will admit it they will admit this. And that is when the book of Revelation was written. Every preterist that I’ve studied after says the book of Revelation was written between 66 to 70 AD before the destruction of the Temple. That way they force this fulfillment of Matthew about there’s earthquakes, famines and pestilence and they will talk about the great famine that hit Judea. They’ll talk about a earthquake that hit Israel; they’ll talk about the pestilence that broke out with the famine; they’ll talk about Josephus when he talked about the cosmic signs that occurred in the Heavens. The star appeared like a sword and comet was seen for one year. Josephus talks about that happening before the year 70; so they take all these things combining them together. And they tell people this is already fulfilled. Why are you looking for a rapture there is not going to be one. Why are you looking for God to restore Israel Israel has no significance because the church has replaced Israel. And they get into all this false teaching; and it is false teaching, because they put the book of Revelation as being written in the year 66 to year 69 – 70 AD. Here’s the problem, the emperor, and history bears this out. The early fathers bear this out that the mission was the Emperor at the time that John was arrested. The Emperor of the mission is the one that arrested John put him in Rome to boil him in oil. John did not die; an early father wrote about that. They then sent John to Isle of Patmos where they thought he was going to die there; he didn’t die. On the Isle of Patmos in approximately 95 AD, 25 years after, the year of destruction the temple is when John saw the book of Revelation and the vision of the Apocalypse. Now what happens is when that historical fact and it is not a speculation it can be proven in historical writings but when John writes this vision in 95 AD. He did not die until he saw the Kingdom number 1. And number 2 it blows away the preterist doctrine say everything has already been fulfilled in 70 AD.
Sid: Perry we’re out of time we’ll pick up here on tomorrow’s broadcast. But if God Himself says there is a blessing for hearing the words in the book of Revelation. And you would lose your very salvation if you tamper with this book. It’s an end time book; and I want you to have the best teacher I know who will totally demystify the book of Revelation I promise you.
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth