The Book of Revelation Revealed

By Michael Dale

The Book of Revelation Revealed is an in-depth journey into the Book of Revelations extraordinary prophecies. Author Michael B. Dale applies tools of wisdom, divine revelation and personal insight, studious reflection, a historical perspective, and guidance from the Holy Spirit to tackle this task. This is another addition to the 'Revealed Series' from which every student of prophecy and scripture can gain some amount of insight.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9781387575435

Book preview

The Book of Revelation Revealed

by Michael B. Dale.

Copyright © 2018

by Michael B. Dale

ISBN 978-1-387-565689

Third Edition

EshaMyaKiShemua Enterprises

Contact Info:[e-mail]

(Your feedback is encouraged)

Introduction

I, author Michael Dale, have studied for many years with the hope of arriving at a cohesive interpretation of the book of Revelation. It has been one of my deepest desires to have God reveal the meaning behind this awesomely divine work of literature to me. Years of prayer, study, and reflection has finally brought me to a point where I am ready, or at least as ready as I ever will be, to finally confront this elaborate matter.

This is a task that no one person can ever truly come to fully accomplish on their own. All that any one person can do is to provide the parts of this mystery that God has prepared them to understand. They must then share what they have learned with the rest of the Body of Christ, whether they deem that the Body is ready for it or not. Each of us can only perform our assigned part of the task. This must be done despite the intense opposition, from without and from within, that will surely arise.

When I was eighteen years old God revealed to me that He would give me understanding and that I would write books. I did not know what He meant at that particular time. Years later after God had set me apart from my old ways and behaviors and had given me a time of rest, He began to talk to me in a most profound way. It was during this period in my life that the Lord gave me the gift of understanding that He had previously prophesied to me about. My current insights rests primarily on these personal experiences and interactions.

I had one of my first intense and memorable experiences with God when I was eight teen years old. God spoke to my heart while I was staring out of the window with a heightened awareness of the void deep down in my soul. His Spirit was so heavily upon me that every word was crystal clear. Although it was a Spirit to spirit communication, His voice was so loud in my mind that it felt as if it was audibly in my ear. He began by revealing some of my core issues at that time and by causing me to remember some things that were long forgotten. He comforted me with a covering of Love as I stared out of the window crying. I heard His Spirit speak, I’m your Father now as He dried my tears with His loving presence.

Immediately after the patch up period God began to prophesy over my life and reveal the purpose that He put in me. He prophesied about my desire for knowledge and interest in the field of psychology, none of which was apparent to me before. Although I did not understand it at the time, the prophecy that was most relevant to our present discussion was, I will give you understanding… And you will write books. I grappled to grasp its meaning and asked Him questions like, Oh I’ll write books to help children avoid my pitfalls in life? No He answered. Like a child I continuingly questioned, Oh, I’ll write books based on what I learn when I go to school for Psychology. No, He again answered patiently. Despite leaving me puzzled about the meaning, He then said, You will fall away from me and gave me insight into how. I said, I will never do that, how could I? Ignoring my child like comprehension, He then said, It will be hard to find your way back to me, but you will.

Four years later, after falling back into old my ways, I found myself in a place of forced stillness. I began rediscovering myself again and discovering other parts of myself for the very first time. I began thirsting for truth or what I call true truth, a personal truth, and not just a truth that is given to you by somebody else. This personal journey led me in search for the mysteries of God. True to His form and faithfulness, God eventually revealed His true truths to me.

The very first piece of guiding wisdom that God gave me in this journey was to forget about all that I was taught and told, and to let Him teach me anew. He told me to forget about what people have believed certain Bible scriptures to mean for so many centuries and to allow Him to teach me His truths mouth to ear. I know this may sound fantastic and maybe even unbelievable to some of you, but this was my experience into the entry of this journey into the mysteries of God. The most intimate aspect of this part of the journey was in how God would reveal His truths to me.

God did not solely use scripture to reveal His marvelous truths to me. While I constantly studied scripture during this period, the Spirit led me to all types of reading, both fictional and non-fictional. It also made me aware of my personal interactions with other people. It was as if every interaction, every book I read, and everything that I learned through others, was a part of God guiding me. He expanded my imagination and used it to relay to me concepts and precepts that I would otherwise never, ever consider. Then He would constantly guide me back to certain scriptures just to ensure and prove to me that it was the God of the Bible and the Spirit that worked through the Bible that was interacting with me. He would oftentimes reveal to me a thing and then show me it in the Bible, and not the other way around. He taught me tools of wisdom and how to apply them and then gave me evidential scriptural support to back up whatever I learnt from applying these tools of wisdom.

I was acutely aware that I was learning these things from outside of myself during this period. I knew for sure that these things were not from me and were from a higher source; therefore, I felt that this knowledge did not belong to me. For that reason, I asked God, is it alright to write some of this down? In a very at eased way, I heard the Spirit say Yes, as if saying ‘yes of course’. I began to write down what I thought would be a page, or two at most, of my thoughts. As the number of pages increased, and with me realizing that not even a tidbit of what I had to say was yet expressed, it suddenly dawned on me. I got a book inside of me! It was then that the meaning of the prophecy that God spoke over my life more than four years prior came to mind; I will give you understanding. And you will write books. I would have never imagined that this was what God meant; but it was now so very clear.

Today I am so far from where I was those many years ago. The knowledge that this gift of understanding has given me, a knowledge that was previously so alienated from my natural way of thinking, is now so much a part of me that I can no longer discern between it and I. It is I. Now, while I know and believe without a shadow of a doubt that this gift was infallibly given to me by God, I also know with the same surety that I am fallible and that part of the purpose is to manifest this gift through my imperfect experience. With that said, I pray that this gift in me is found be to edifying to the body as much as it can be through a mere man, while at the same time fulfilling the will and purpose of God that was placed in me.

In applying wisdom’s tools of letters, I will be utilizing insight that I have gained over the years from understanding my gift tongue of Shaka. It forms the foundation and initial precepts for my understanding of letters. Shaka, interpreted ‘voice of my spirit’, is the language and interpretation that I have learned through the Spirit while praying in tongues. I have come to find that great mysteries lie within this spiritual language. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. (1Cor.14:2)

I built my interpretation of my gift tongue from praying in the Spirit, or speaking in tongues, and praying with the mind at the same time. I quickly became aware that I was simultaneously interpreting what I was saying without even knowing it. While I instinctively done this on my own, I later found out that this is exactly how Paul said that it was to be done.

Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?  For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. (1Cor.14:13-17)

Like many times in my journey of the mysteries of God, I was first revealed a thing and then later shown proof of its correctness through biblical scripture. In this same manner, God revealed to me the knowledge of the symbolic meaning of numbers and then later allowed me to find biblical scriptures to support it. It was through this way that God proved to me that it was Him, the God behind the spirit of the Bible, that was communicating with me. By applying these revealed tools of wisdom, while also employing years of reflective study on the subject, personal revelations, and the application of some pertinent rules, I believe that we will move one step closer to a fuller understanding of the book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation is one of the most mysterious books in the entire Holy Bible. Throughout the two thousand plus yearlong Church age, countless scholars, Christian and non-Christian alike, have set out to interpret its meaning. Some view it as a historical account of the Roman Empire’s oppression of early Christians. These believe that this book can only be interpreted through the lens of its writer and the time period wherein it was written. In this secular, conflict analysis perspective, the book of Revelation is simply a social commentary written in code to protect its writers and readers from the very government that it was so horribly depicting. In a more traditionally Christian view, the book of Revelation is the inspired Word of God. It is a divine prophecy foretelling the return of Christ and the events of past, present, and future that are intertwined with it. My interpretation of the book of Revelation will be based on this latter viewpoint.

We are presently living in a very exciting time, for we are living in the end times and in the prelude days of the ultimate End Time. I truly believe that it is God’s intention to fully reveal the book of Revelation to His people and that this will be done in these last generations. It will be accomplished through divine guidance from the Holy Spirit and through a concerted effort from His enlightened ones of past, present, and future generations. We will also build on the building blocks of past insights, thus furthering our understanding of this revelation, until we arrive at the fullness of this matter. It is in this light that I humbly and thoughtfully submit my contribution to this edifice of truth; the revelation of the book of Revelation.

Some of the things that I talk about in this book will be totally new to most. You may feel that you cannot accept some of these concepts in full at that time or even at some future time either. If that is the case then I urge you to skip that particular matter and pray for God to guide you on how to receive or not to receive it. But, do not let any temporary stumbling cause you to put this book down for good or reject all that is in it altogether. While you may not agree with everything that you are about to read, I can assure you that there are truly some precepts in this book that will drastically add to your understanding of the book of Revelation and other biblical scriptures. With that said, I humbly and thoughtfully submit my contribution to this edifice of truth; the Revelation of the Book of Revelation.

Introduction and Insight

The word ‘Revelation’ is the English approximation of the Greek word ‘Apocalypse’. The word apocalypse currently carries a negative connotation. It readily stirs up visions of gloom, doom, and unparalleled end of the world destruction. Originally, it simply meant ‘apo-calypse’, to take away the cover, to remove the veil, or to reveal. A similar meaning of ‘calypse’ can be seen in the word ‘eclipse’, as in the covering of a celestial body such as the moon or sun (as in a solar or lunar eclipse).

In 1 Corinthians 1:7, Paul used the term ‘apokalupsin’ to refer to the coming of Jesus Christ. Saint John distinctly tells us that the book of Revelation is the prophecy of the revealing of Jesus. It is the telling of the Lord’s coming and the events that transpire immediately before, at, and after His arrival. It is from this perspective that we will approach the interpretation of this grand prophecy. Even though you may not understand the exact meaning, I suggest that you first read the whole book of Revelation before reading this book. In that way you will be somewhat familiar with the subjects that we will be discussing.

In praying for a better understanding of the book of Revelation the Spirit of God revealed to me several key insights needed to properly understand these prophecies. The first key insight is in realizing that the prophecy is in fact three distinct renderings of a single series of events. Each rendering provides a unique perspective of the events leading up to the Jesus Christ’s return. These three distinct depictions are loosely contained in Revelation’s chapters 1-4/5{1st rendering}, chapters 4/5-11{2nd rendering}, and chapters 12-22{3rd rendering}.

You may notice that each successive account is longer than the previous and provides more detail than the previous rendering. You may also notice that each succeeding account provides more detail into the future and less detail about the past. In fact, the third rendering goes far beyond the seven year tribulation period. It goes onto describing the 1,000 year long New Millennial era and into the even more distant heavenly kingdom of New Jerusalem.

This is exactly how God works. He provides more insight as time goes on, revealing more about Himself each time. This is similar to how His redemptive plan is first revealed in the book of Genesis mainly through symbolism and inferences, but is not fully explained. As time went on it was revealed in more detail through the prophets. It was then made plain in the New Testament during Jesus’ first advent and fully elaborated on by the apostles. This line upon line, precept upon precept method of divine revelation culminates with Saint John’s reception of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Revelation’s three renderings are each told from a distinct viewpoint. Each viewpoint is essentially the tale of how Satan infiltrated the kingdom of the children of God through instigating the curse of the Tree of Knowledge. Satan’s main objective was to place his own kingdom in direct opposition and in conflict with, and ultimately gain victory over, the Kingdom of God (please read ‘The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil Revealed’ by Michael B. Dale to understand the full significance that the Tree of Knowledge has in this matter).

The first rendering of Revelation details the effects of the curse of the Tree of Knowledge within the Church, individual believers, and throughout the two thousand yearlong Church Age. The story is told from the viewpoint of someone with intimate knowledge of the Church critiquing it from within. The second rendering details how the effects of the curse culminate into judgment upon the whole earth. This story’s standpoint is of someone viewing the matter from Heaven with physical eyes, giving them an excellent panoramic perspective. The third rendering is from the standpoint of someone standing on earth viewing each event with spiritual eyes as the very event is unfolding.

The judgments foretold in the book of Revelation, also known as the 7 year tribulation period, can also be subdivided into three stages. The first stage encompasses the opening of seals one through six. This is the first three and a half years of the tribulation period. I call this period ‘the wrath of man’. All of these events are the culmination of the effects of the curse upon mankind. The alignment of mankind with the ways of evil knowledge results in an unbridled state of perdition. This state allows Satan and the son of perdition to temporarily gain full control over man’s affairs. This results in the second stage of the Great Tribulation.

The second stage of the Great Tribulation occurs in the three and a half year gap between seals 6 and 7. This is what I call ‘the wrath of Satan’. The third and final stage occurs after the 7th seal is opened. It is called the wrath of God. It entails God’s judgment upon Satan and those who align themselves with him. It finalizes with the return of Jesus Christ, therefore, bringing to fulfillment the Mystery of God. The increasing amount of detail about the future found in each succeeding rendering brings me to the second major insight.

The second rule to understanding this prophecy deals with the perspective and point of reference in time. Its reference point is always in the prophetical present of Jesus’ appearing. The event is chronologically placed at the point of its culmination in relation to the prophetical present; the prophetical present being the appearing of Christ. In other words, the description of an event is chronologically placed in the story’s rendering at the point where it ends or close towards it. The ending is the climax and most significant part of the event. From this point the narrative then reaches back in time in order to give the reader an in depth view of the matter’s significance.

An analogy would be of someone telling a three part story in the order of the events that occurred. The first part of the story happened at 1:00 pm and the second at 3:00 pm. Now let's say that in the third part of the story an event that happened at 3:15 pm is described. When the narrator begins to describe this event, he talks about parts of it that occurred earlier in the day; let’s say around 12:30 pm. Why wouldn’t this third part of the story be placed before parts 1 and 2 being as though it contains details that go back past the time of the first two events? The reason is that the descriptions in the third event that are relevant to the first two parts of the story occur after the first two events. The details of the third event that occur before the first two events’ timelines are relayed only to further support the third event’s role, significance, and purpose in the whole story. In this same manner many descriptions of the events in the book of Revelation reach backward in time to a point before its chronological placement in the story as a whole.

Many script writers use this same manner of play telling. We have all seen a movie that begins somewhere near the end of the whole story. You feel left in the dark about what is going on. The movie then changes to another seemingly completely different scene. This second narrative gives you information about earlier events that eventually lead up to where you were left in the dark in the first story line. It then ends at the point where the first narrative left off. You now have important details that help you better understand the first part of the movie and everything suddenly makes sense. The third scene then continues from the initial hiatus point, leaving you with a sense of now ‘being in the know’. Sounds familiar? This is the same way in which God relayed to us the book of Revelation, the book of Genesis, and some of His other revelatory truths. It is told from the perspective of ‘I am that which is (present), was(past), and is to come (future)’.

The third major rule is one that should be followed when interpreting all scripture and not just the book of Revelation. This rule is that no form of true divine prophecy is written in a vacuum, nor is it subject to personal interpretation. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). The Bible’s best commentary is the Bible itself. Every scripture is backed up by other scriptures. The reason for this is in God’s law that, One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. (Deuteronomy 19:15)

Many people have a problem with the Bible’s legitimacy due to the fact that it was written by numerous authors. For this reason many have fallen away from Christianity and turned to religions like Islam. Islam is believed to have been dictated to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel. Its purpose was to correct the Bible’s message that had been corrupted over the years by too many participants. Deuteronomy 19 reveals how the God of the Bible operates. He believes in providing many witnesses to corroborate a sole event. As a collection of 66 books in agreement with each other, this is exactly what the Bible does and what its opponents does not! The book of Revelation also follows this rule of witness coherency.

Revelation’s prophecies must be interpreted in tandem with the Bible’s other end time prophecies. The books of Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Genesis, Micah, Malachi, Zechariah, the words of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament, and all of the Bible’s other books help reveal the true meaning of the book of Revelation. Certain symbols and usages of figurative speech also help by leading you to other scriptures that employ the same terminology. Every word, phrase, term, and scripture is loaded with significance.

It is God’s good will that we as true believers arrive at a full understanding of all His word. This includes the word of prophecy in the book of Revelation. Besides these three major rules there are also other minor rules that will be introduced and used to aid in this prophecy’s interpretation. With all that said, let us begin our Journey into ‘The Book of Revelation Revealed’.

Chapter One: Background and Setting

The book of Revelation opens with the author Saint John, or John the Elder as he is sometimes called, exiled on the island of Patmos. (He is also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Apostle, John the Presbyter, and John of Patmos according to one’s personal perspective of the matter). The account reads, I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. (Rev.1:9)

The date was circa 96 A.D. and Saint John was exiled on a small Asian Minor island as a result of holding to the testimony of Jesus Christ. In those times it was commonplace to exile political prisoners to certain small islands such as Patmos. John’s punishment fit the criteria because any prophecy against the Roman government was viewed as a direct threat to the Empire. Besides, Jesus Christ Himself was a controversial figure. He was crucified because in the eyes of Rome He claimed to be a political savior. He and His followers were considered to be anti-Roman government. These punitive acts can be viewed today as an ancient form of simply enforcing homeland security.

During this time Christians were highly persecuted under the reigns of Roman emperors Nero and Domitian (54-96A.D.). This policy was continued in succeeding reigns from Trajan to Diocletian (98-305 A.D.) Christians, or the followers of Chrestus as they were sometimes wrongly called by the Roman government, were still viewed as a minor, but dissident Jewish sect.

It was while on the island of Patmos that John received the prophecy of Jesus’ return through a vision. According to tradition the author is John the disciple of Jesus. This would put his age of authorship somewhere around 70 to 90 years old depending on when the book was written (94-96 A.D. or 74-85 A.D.). He is believed to have died a few years later at the age of 94. According to many theologians the author is not the same John, but a different John simply known as ‘John the Elder’ or ‘John the Presbyter’. I personally believe that it is according to God’s divine wisdom to have John the disciple and apostle as the author of the prophecy of Jesus’ revealing. He was in fact one of the only disciples that was present when Jesus was revealed in glory on the mount of transformation.  (Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36) His brother James, the first to undergo a martyr’s death for the testimony of Jesus, and Peter were the only other apostles that shared this experience.

There are various viewpoints held by students of the book of Revelation and Jesus’ interrelated Olivet discourse. Some hold to the preterist view that many of the end time prophecies were fulfilled in 70 A.D. during the destruction of the Jewish temple or before. They believe that the book’s prophecies were fulfilled with the temple’s destruction and the subsequent tribulation and dispersion of the Jews. All that is left is for Christ to return. The futurists and the dispensationalists believe that the end time will be fulfilled in the future right before Christ’s return. Historicists see Revelation’s prophecies fulfilled through the history of the Roman Empire. Then you have those who believe that prophecies such as those in Revelation are not prophecies at all, but a type of commentary.

Support for many of the aforementioned viewpoints can be easily found. It is true that many of Revelation’s and the Olivet Discourse’s prophecies have in fact taken place to some degree just as the Preterist believe. For instance, the Jewish temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. by Vespasian and the Roman army during the Jewish rebellion. The Roman emperor Nero committed acts very similar to the end time anti-Christ Beast. He killed and tortured many Christians in a manner similar to how the antichrist was prophesied to do in the future. Many feared that Nero might actually return after his suicidal death. His Hebrew name, Neron Kasar, even has the numerical value of 666, the prophesied number of the Beast (Rev.13:18). (Nero Caesar in Hebrew is Neron Ksar (nrwn qsr,50 +200 + 6 + 50 + 100 + 60 + 200=666)

In support of the historicist’s view, the system of Roman Papal supremacy mirrors the Beast kingdom spoken of in Revelation 11-13 in many ways. For instance, Justinian issued a decree that solidified the authority of the Bishop of Rome in 538 A.D. The Pope was taken prisoner in 1798 by Napoleon’s French Commander Louis Alexandre Berthier, thus ending Papal sovereignty. When counted from these significant dates, the Papacy ruled uninterrupted for 1260 years (538-1798 A.D.) just as the end time Beast Kingdom is prophesied to rule for 1260 days.

Then you have the Greek Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV, blasphemously named Antiochus Epiphanes, meaning ‘god manifest’. He desecrated the Jewish temple and set up an idol of Zeus in it (the abomination of desolation), stopped sacrifices, desecrated the altar by sacrificing a pig on it, and persecuted the Jewish believers. There are numerous other incidents that could be said to support the idea that the prophecies of Revelation, Daniel, and other biblical works are actually commentaries of that day in time or prophecies that were fulfilled in the past. In support of the futurist view, many prophecies are undoubtedly still yet unfulfilled or only partially fulfilled.

So what are we to think about all this? It is my belief that each of these views is partially true. Like in any matter, the healthy perspective is never the extreme view, but the balanced view that equally incorporates all of the pertinent extreme outlooks. A good example is a person in a relationship who is too compulsive. They constantly seek out passion to relieve emotional hunger and become intertwined with their partner to the extreme degree of blurring the boundaries between their self and their partner. This is considered unhealthy.

In the opposite manner some people have apathetic styles and totally avoid any true intimacy in relationships, thus constantly retaining a sense of safety and emotional security. This is also considered unhealthy. Terence T. Gorski, author of ‘Getting Love Right’, states Healthy relationships form the middle ground between compulsive and apathetic relationship styles. (Pg.53) The same thing could be said about many psychological disorders. They are simply extreme coping styles lacking any balance resulting in an unhealthy state of mind leading to unhealthy behaviors. It is the healthy and ordered perspective that we are seeking to adopt when understanding the book of Revelation.

One way to view this matter is that prophecy is an expression of the Spirit of Truth. Truth is like DNA. Like DNA truth replicates itself over and over again until it reaches its full expression. Throughout the process there are manifestations that mirror its full expression, but they are not the final outcome. This is why certain prophecies have partial fulfillments throughout history, although they are not the full literal manifestation. Sometimes prophets are triggered by these partial mirror fulfillments or God chooses to use these partial manifestations to reveal a literal end time fulfillment. This is why some end time prophecies are thought to be historical commentary. The issue could be debated forever; however, the right way to discern how the book of Revelation, the ultimate book of end time prophecy, should be viewed is through the Bible itself.

The way in which John introduced the book of Revelation is a major key to understanding how it should be viewed. He tells us exactly what it is, how it should be read, and who should read it. He gives us this information, not only from his perspective, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ Himself. John opens up with a summary introduction into his experience (vss.1-8) before giving an account of the actual experience (vss. 9-11). He definitively answers all the questions of how, where, who, what, when, and why.

[1] The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: [2] Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. [3] Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. [4] John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; [5] And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, [6] And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. [7] Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. [8] I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. [9] I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. [10] I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, [11] Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. (Rev.1:1-11)

It is with these words that the most marvelous prophecy of all times begins. It starts by first revealing that the message’s intent is to inform us of the things that must occur prior to the appearing of Christ (vs.1). This prophecy is revealed in true God fashion. By this I mean that it utilizes numerous witnesses to testify concerning a matter. In this instance, the message begins with God the Father and is passed to Jesus Christ, the MOST FAITHFUL WITNESS (vs.5). It is then relayed to an angel and sent to John. John then reveals it unto all the faithful who have ears to hear. These faithful hearers receive the internal witness within their own spirits, the Holy Spirit. They themselves then become faithful witnesses in their own right (vss.1-2, 5).

The prophecy’s intended audience is the seven churches in Asia Minor (vs.4, 11), those who are made king priests unto God (vs.6), the blessed who read and hear [obey] the words of the prophecy (vs.3), and John’s brothers and companions in the tribulation and patience of the Kingdom of Christ (9). The prophecy entails the things that must occur before Christ comes with the clouds in the full power of God His Father (7). Once these events begin, they must take place shortly or transpire quickly in a short period of time (vs.1).

Verse three tells us that the time is near. How can this be so when this prophecy was written almost 2,000 years ago? The answer to this question lies in the present viewpoint from which the prophecy is received. It is witnessed as if the revealing of Christ is at hand. From that vantage point the story peers backwards in time and forward into the future. As we will later discuss in full detail, that exact point in time is right after the church age and right before the return of Christ and rapture of the Church. Verses four and eight give us a clue of the prophecy’s vantage point.

"[4] John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne… [8] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Jesus’ statement that He ‘is, was, and is to come’ proclaims His existence in the present, past, and future tenses. When He proclaims that He is the ‘Alpha and Omega’, He similarly is standing in the present, making assertions about the past and then the future. He is basically saying ‘I am the present, the beginning, and the ending’ or ‘I am that which is, was, and is to come’. It was in this same manner that He presented Himself to Moses as I Am. His literal words were Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, which means I am that which I am. Due to the quirky nature of the Hebrew language concerning time tenses, the phrase ‘Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh’ can correctly be interpreted in all three time tenses of past, present, and future. It is then ‘I am that which I am’, ‘I am (or I was) that which was’, and ‘I am (or I will be) that which will be’. It is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek saying I am that which is, was, and is to come.

The importance of this matter is that it is the way in which God reveals Himself. As the Revelation of Jesus Christ, this is also how the book of Revelation presents itself. It stands at the vantage point of the prophetical present, which is after the Church Age at the onset of the tribulation, and right before Christ’s return (that which is). From there it reaches back into the past (of that which was, the Alpha, and the beginning) up through the present (of that which is) into the future (of that which is to come, the Omega, the end).

Jesus, the Seven Spirits, and the Seven Candlesticks

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. (Revelation 1:12-16 KJV)

The preceding verses move beyond summarizing John’s experience into describing the actual details of his vision. He turns around to see the owner of the trumpet like voice, only to discover the Son of God Himself standing in the midst of seven golden candlesticks. He was fully clothed with a beautiful garment down to his feet. His feet were like fine brass burned in a furnace. His appearance is the expression of someone who is purified like gold. Righteousness shone forth from Him like the sun. His hair was white as wool, reflecting that He was in fact the Ancient of Days, a being full of timeless wisdom. His eyes were as a flame of fire representing the spirit of truth that burned within Him. His voice was as the sound of a trumpet and many rushing waters showing His mighty power of word. Out of His mouth flowed a two edged sword, which is the Word of God. This expresses that He has the power to bring forth something out of nothing with His word alone and to tear down any aspect of that creation with that same power of mouth. The two edged sword is the double edged Word of God. It is a sword with both the qualities of life and death, mercy and judgment.

When John sees this mysteriously awesome being, he is sore amazed and full of dread. Jesus then reveals His identity and the purpose of His visit. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:17-20 KJV)

Jesus' sole purpose was to reveal to John the mystery of the seven stars and the seven golden candlesticks, which is the mystery of the Church and the seven angels. Although seen all throughout the Old Testament and its temple descriptions, the candlestick symbol is most clearly expressed in the book of Zechariah. "And [he] said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof." (Zechariah 4:2-3 KJV)

The golden candlestick in Zechariah is Israel, the original Church of God. The seven lamps upon the golden candlestick are foreshadows of the Church that is later born out of Israel and that become seven golden candlesticks in their own right. These seven churches are the foundation of every modern day Christian church. In one sense, the stars in Christ’s hands are the means through which the flames of the light giving candlesticks are ignited and sustained.

Right after John’s introduction into the Revelation prophecy and summary of his initial experience, he addresses the seven churches in Asia Minor just as Jesus had instructed him to do. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. (Rev.1:10-11)

How Jesus instructed John to write the message to the seven churches also alludes to the three stage rendering of the prophecy itself. "Write the things which thou hast seen [first rendering], and the things which are [second rendering], and the things which shall be hereafter [third rendering]; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." (Revelation 1:19-20 KJV) The mystery of this prophecy, in a positive sense, is simply the mystery of the Church and the angels of God. In general, it is the mystery of mankind and the two spiritual influences that guide them; the spirits of good and of evil.

The mystery of the seven stars and the seven candlesticks, which is the mystery of the Church and the seven spirits of God, is intimately connected to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil incident. It is the culmination, judgment of the effects, and ultimate cure for the Tree of Knowledge incident that is prophesied in the Book of Revelation. (Read The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil Revealed by Michael B. Dale)

As the scripture states, there is a great mystery represented by the seven candlesticks and the seven spirits of God. To begin with, it is a grand act of wisdom that the single candlestick with seven lamps in Zechariah was transformed into seven individual candlesticks by the time of Revelation. In Zechariah 4:6 God said it is not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit. Both this statement and the revelation of the individual candlestick were given concerning the rebuilding of God’s temple, His earthly tabernacle. This temple is the representation of God’s spiritual influence in the earth and an extension of the nation of Israel. Amongst all the nations on earth Israel is God’s inheritance. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. For the LORD'S portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.… (Deut.32:8-10)

Satan has subdivided his hellish kingdom into seven divisions also. He placed his most powerful fallen angels as heads and carved up the earth accordingly into seven principalities. These are both regional and temporal in their expression. (Rev.17) There was a time in the past when Satan’s spiritual influence of darkness worked its way throughout the entire earth. It began with Babylon (founded by Nimrod) and spread throughout every society. The patriarchs and then Israel alone was God’s candlestick in this time of darkness contending with the evil principalities, dominions, and rulers of darkness. (Eph.6:12) God used this single regional and temporal influence, headed over by a strong principal angel sometimes referred to as the Angel of the Lord, to combat the dark works of Satan. Sometimes the phrase ‘Angel of the Lord’ seems to be referring to God Himself. At other times it seems to be referring to one of His most trusted messengers, such as Gabriel or Michael. If I had to guess I would say that this phrase, when not referring to the actual presence of God, is associated with Michael the Archangel, the angel of God that stands over Israel. (Dan.10:13)

The seven angels of God are seven messengers of the seven candlesticks of the Church in the same way that Michael the Archangel, or whatever other angel that God chose, was the messenger of the single candlestick of Israel. The seven angels of the Church are in perfect alignment with God’s sevenfold Spirit and so therefore they combine into perfect messengers of His word. It was the mission of Christ that manifested the authority of the Church and its seven angels, who in turn hold back and ultimately defeat the seven fold satanic powers of Hell. The battle between the forces of God and Satan and Satan’s forces ultimate defeat, is the story prophesied of in Revelation. This is how the book of Revelation is also the mystery of the seven candlesticks and the seven spirits.

Chapter Two: The Seven Churches (chpts.1-3)

The first rendering of the Revelation prophecy is told through the messages to the seven churches in Asia Minor. "…I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." (Revelation 1:11-13 KJV)

As Jesus standing in the midst of the seven candlesticks suggests, this rendering is told from the perspective of someone with intimate knowledge of these churches critically judging them from within their midst. There are three different ways in which people believe that this message should be interpreted. Some think that it applies to the seven historical churches of Asia Minor alone. Some view it as a metaphor for seven types of Christian believers. While others believe that the seven churches are a figure of seven processional stages that the Church as a whole undergoes throughout the 2,000 year plus Church Age.

Like with any extreme opposing viewpoints, each view is correct and wrong at the same time when standing alone. It is only when they are combined to form a multi-angled point of view that the correct mode of interpretation emerges. We will apply various tools of wisdom along with the threefold mode of interpretation in our attempt to discern this message’s true meaning. You will find that Jesus’ message applies equally to the Churches in all three contexts: historically, as personal traits of individuals, and as an era of the Church age.

Jesus’ Message to Ephesus

The first Church to be addressed is Ephesus. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:1-7 KJV)

Historical Ephesus

Ephesus was a Greek founded city in Asia Minor located on modern day Turkey’s western coast. Most theologians translate its name as ‘beloved’ or ‘desirable’. More attractive, and now generally accepted among scholars, is the hypothesis that the name Ephesus formed from the Hittite name Apasa, which belonged to the capital of an ancient federation called Arzawa, located in western Anatolia. In his Hittite Etymological Dictionary Jaan Puhvel explains the Hittite element appa to mean 'behind, back in a spatial, but uniformly after in a temporal sense', and relates it to common words in Sanskrit (apatyam, meaning offspring; apara, meaning later) and the Greek (επι, epi, meaning on or upon; οπις, opis, meaning looking back). The name Apasa and thus Ephesus would thus literally mean Later Place… (The Amazing Name of Ephesus: Meaning and Etymology. Abarim Publications)

It was the Christian church in the Roman ruled city of Ephesus that John was literally addressing. Paul, the early apostles, and other true believers toiled heavily in the regions of all seven of the churches, making them the very seeds of evangelistic Christendom as a whole. This early church was commended for its hard labor and patience similar to that of a worker bee. In fact ‘apis’, a word similar to Ephesus and its assumed Hittite root apasa, is Latin for bee. The bee was a prominent Ephesian symbol seen on many of its coins (Wisdom derives insight from what would otherwise be deemed insignificant).

This church was a strong advocate for God’s truths. In a time when paganism and false messianic cults were rampant, the church at Ephesus resisted falsehoods from infiltrating it by diligently adhering to the doctrine of Christ. Even with all of its accolades, Jesus still had a grievance against this church.

Jesus’ problem with the church at Ephesus was that it had turned away from its first love. "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works;" (Rev.2:4-5) This warning to return to a previous state causes me to wonder if it is a coincidence that the name Ephesus, as linked to its roots ‘apasa’ and ‘epi’, refers to a ‘later place’ thereby creating a comparison to a ‘last place’ or previous position. Remember, there are no coincidences when dealing with the spirit of Wisdom. As their namesake suggests, the Ephesians are told to return to their first love and to do the works that they did when they first believed in Christ.

When sinners first receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior they are overjoyed with the grace and mercy that God has bestowed upon them. They most humbly and sincerely want to share this free gift with everyone whom they love. They are in no ways puffed up. They patiently seek to evangelize others with love and tolerance and are totally void of that all so familiar Christian ‘judge-mentality’. This is that so often seen Christian mindset of being overly judgmental to others and acting high and mighty as if they are better than others simply because they believe in Jesus. They display this attitude to both Christians and non-Christian alike. This attitude of judgment becomes prevalent only after the initial experience of salvation is dulled by everyday life and the naïveté of receiving such an unwarranted great gift wears off. The seeds leading to such a mindset are what the Apostle Paul seems to be addressing in his letter to the Ephesians.

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others… For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:2-3, 8-13 KJV)

Personal Stage and Trait of Ephesus

The message to the church at Ephesus, as well as the messages to all the other churches, provides insight into a type of individual Christian and particular Christian traits. Discerning parts of this message requires certain tools of wisdom, among which is the wisdom of letters and words itself. It is by the understanding given to me by the Spirit that I employ these tools, despite how unfamiliar and unorthodox they may appear to some.

Over time the Spirit has given me insight into the symbolic meaning of letters. This insight guided me to a deeper understanding of the meaning of certain words. As I stated in the introduction, a big part of this understanding came from the gift tongue that God gave me through the Spirit (Shάka). I later learned that there was a mystic and sometimes ancient tradition that employed similar tools. While the Spirit revealed these insights to me completely apart from any knowledge of these traditions, I later noticed that there were some similarities with what I was independently learning and what these traditions taught. I also came to see that the Spirit’s take on the matter had minute, but extremely significant distinctions. This was part of how I came to know that there is a ‘wisdom of the world’ and a ‘Wisdom of God’. The wisdom of the world is knowable by man. He teaches it to whomever he wishes; however, the Wisdom of God is a secret wisdom that has to be revealed by the Spirit of God.

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1Cor. 2:6-8) The differences between the particulars of these two wisdoms is the difference between understanding some of God’s deepest mysteries. It is for this reason that I will be employing these wisdoms that I received despite what many people may think about it.

For instance, the word Ephesus can be broken down into ‘eph’, ‘e’, ‘sus’. The common rendering of ‘eph’ is breath or life. ‘Sus’ is componentially energy (s) conjoined (u) with energy (s), which has the common meaning of ‘seed’, ‘light’, or ‘son’. The letter ‘e’ acts as a connector denoting words such as ‘in’ or ‘of’. The word Ephesus then has the common combined meaning of ‘seed (son) of life’, ‘breath of the Son’, ‘light of life’, and even ‘life in the Son’. All of these alternate meanings refer us to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit that is received upon believing on His name. Such is the first stage in the conversion unto a true believer and is part of one of the hidden meanings of the message to Ephesus.

Some years back God revealed to me a mystery that I call the six dimensions of reality. It is synonymous with the conversional process called the spirit of the mind in Ephesians. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24 KJV)

The six dimensions of reality are six spirits of the mind or six spiritual eyes that open sequentially causing the true believer to progress through six stages of conversion unto the image of Christ. These six dimensions are truth, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, faith, and love, in that order. I have come to find that these six stages correspond perfectly with the hidden wisdom within the six days of creation and the message of the seven churches. They are also linked to the meaning behind the four faced cherubim witnessed by Ezekiel. I fully detail and elaborate on this precept in my books Mystery and Prophecies Revealed pt.1 and The Tree of Knowledge Revealed. For now I will just relay what I have learned about the revelation of the seven churches using this concept without delving too deep into its entire meaning.

Truth, the first dimension of reality, correlates with Ephesus. As is expressed in the alternate meanings of the word Ephesus (seed of life, breath of light, life in/of the Son, etc.), truth is the stage when one believes on the name of Jesus and receives the seed of the