A Chronological Textbook Examination of the Book of Revelation: The Bible's Sacrament in Relation to Literature and the End-Time Prophecies Pertaining to the Christian Churches and the Day of Judgment

By Stephen Buttafuoco

The book of Revelation encompasses the past, the present and future prophecy, and it was God's purpose to ake it difficult for readers to undertsand. I believe there are very few theologians who interpreted the whole book of Revelation methodically an din chronological order of events that will occur. Here are some of the major events explored: the Biblical calendar, the starting period of Christian Church, and the end-time period of the Christian Church, the great tribulation, the time of the rapture of believers, and the end of the world falling on the Day of Judgment. It is written in language that is frankly not understandable to most Bible readers. For that reason, I have written this book to clear up the confusion that has dogged many readers. I also included chapters on the Science of Biblical Interpretation, the Interpretation of Numbers, the Kingdom of Satan, and God's Program of Salvation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 30, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456837150

Stephen Buttafuoco

Stephen Buttafuoco a native New Yorker and Biblical writer for more than twenty five years and at the present time is a resident of south Florida. And over the years, Stephen has written four books and a play that brings to life the role of Almighty God intentions, and the role the human race takes part in fulfilling their destiny. Stephen’s last book, But without a Parable Jesus Did Not Speak, an interpretation of all the parables that Jesus Christ spoke in his three and a half year ministry in Israel taken from the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

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Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1    The Biblical Calendar

Chapter 2    The Science of Biblical Interpretation

Chapter 3    The Interpretation of Numbers

Chapter 4    The Birth and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Chapter 5    God’s Program of Salvation

Chapter 6    The Kingdom of Satan

Chapter 7    The Birth of the New Testament Church: Revelation 12

Chapter 8    The Eternal Kingdom of God: Revelation 4

Chapter 9    The History of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor: Revelation 1, 2, 3, 7:1-8, and 20:1-6

Chapter 10   The Final Tribulation Period: Revelation 5, 6:1-11, 7:9-17, 8, 11:1-12, 13, 17, 18, and 20:7-9

Chapter 11   God’s Judgment on the Apostate Churches: Revelation 15, 16:1-16

Chapter 12   The Day of Judgment: Revelation 6:12-17, 9, 10, 11:13-19, 14, 16:17-21, 19:11-21, and 20:10-15

Chapter 13   The Rapture of Believers on Judgment Day 19:1-10, 21, and 22:1-5

Chapter 14  Alpha and Omega: Revelation 22:6-21

Appendix    Is 2011 the End of the World?

Preface

THIS BOOK IS an exami-

nation of the doctrines of the Bible and a textbook interpretation of the book of Revelation. Before we can delve into Revelation, I have written preliminary chapters that explain, relate, and harmonize everything in Revelation. There is not one verse from Revelation that has not been researched or left out of this exposition.

Today we live in a world full of peril. The average person feels powerless to control their own destiny. We read in the print media and see on TV every day the stories that focus on earthquakes, unrestrained Wall Street greed and the growing financial debt, global terrorism, global warming, air pollution, worldwide energy shortages, homeowners with house mortgages underwater, high unemployment rate, and a broken health care system. To recover from the malaise of our times, we have to search the Bible for answers.

This book is also a warning that the human race is in need of a savior. Without a savior to make payment for all the sins committed by the masses, their destiny as written by the law of God and the penalty for guilt is the grave of hell. This book was written to help raise the conscience level of awareness so that the possibility of salvation still exists for sinners today.

Introduction

THIS BOOK WAS written with the intent to raise awareness of the end-time prophecy via the progression of a timetable established in the book of Revelation. Every chapter written in this book has premises that were carefully analyzed to harmonize with the teachings of the Bible. It must be remembered when reading this book that the purpose of the Bible is to communicate God’s program of salvation and his laws concerning the Day of Judgment.

God is the author and editor of the Bible, working through the eyes of prophets and recorded by scribes who appeal to a human perspective. In its entirety, the whole Bible is mostly historical parable that teaches a moral and spiritual truth. In addition to historical episodes, the Bible recounts the parables Jesus proclaimed as part of the teaching aspect of his plan of salvation. The Bible should be understood and appreciated as an art composed of all the genres of literature. The book of Revelation was written in a syntaxis style using figurative devices such as metaphors, similes, and symbolism, from an omniscient first person point of view. The narrator of Revelation, the apostle John, described events he observed in a vision, within a time and place setting.

The book of Revelation was not written in chronological order, nor was it written in language easily recognizable by modern readers. Therefore, my purpose for writing this book is to clear the confusion that has dogged many Bible students for generations. I have interpreted the whole book of Revelation by the chronological order of the events described.

It is impossible to understand the book of Revelation without the biblical calendar of time. For that reason, I offer text on that subject: chapters on The Science of Biblical Interpretation, The Interpretation of Numbers, The Kingdom of Satan, The Birth and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and God’s Program of Salvation.

I quoted from the King James Version of the Bible, which is the most faithful to the original Hebrew and Greek autographs. Although some words now seem poorly chosen, overall it is the most accurate of all translations.

The Bible is its own dictionary, and all of the conclusions from each interpretation must be drawn wholly from the Bible. To come to biblical truth, one must trust everything written in the Bible as coming from God. If what is written in the Bible cannot be trusted and cannot hold water and leaks, then there is no possibility of receiving biblical truth.

Chapter 1

The Biblical Calendar

The Generation of Patriarchs

IN THIS SECTION of the book, we are going to probe the biblical calendar of history starting when God created the world in seven days to the probable Day of Judgment. To start on our examination, all the written words in the original autographs making up the sixty-six books of the Bible are accurate. The accepted wisdom of the secular community is that the Bible calendar is from the genre of mythology and not a trustworthy account of origins of development. But the Bible has to be considered as the supreme authority when reaching the conclusive truth on behalf of understanding time.

I am going to explain and set down how I arrived at the timeline dates that are recorded in the Bible and the secular dates recorded by historians. With the establishment of a correct biblical calendar comes an understandable interpretation of the end-time final tribulation and the Day of Judgment.

The biblical calendar is set in motion in the book of Genesis when God created Adam, and the history of Adam’s descendants is based on a patriarchal genealogy. The King James Version of the Bible is the most accurate for establishing the historic calendar of the patriarchs. In the book of Genesis, God uses the phrase called his name when there are direct patrilineal biological descendants. "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth" (Gen. 5:3). In addition to the direct father-and-son biological genealogy, there are generations of descendants that are heirs. These heirs are in the same bloodline, but their birth year arrives together with the death year of the prior patriarch.

Harold Camping, in his book Adam When? established the creation date of Adam’s birth at 11,013 BCE. Adam was the first man created by God, and he lived a total of 930 years. When Adam was 130 years old, Eve gave birth to Seth (11,013 - 130 = 10,883 BCE). Adam was the father of other sons and daughters (Gen. 5:3-5).

Seth, born in 10,883 BCE, was the son of Adam, and he lived a total of 912 years. When Seth was 105 years old, he had a son named Enos (10,883 - 105 = 10,778 BCE) (Gen. 5:6-9).

Enos, born in 10,778, was the son of Seth, and he lived a total of 905 years. Enos was 90 years old when his male successor was born named Kenan (10,778 - 905 = 9,873 BCE) (Gen. 5:9-11). Enos did not call his name Kenan, so this is a reference point to indicate that this was not a direct biological son. "And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Kenan" (Gen. 5:9). This generation of 1,140 years ends when Enos begat Kenan from a direct biological father-and-son reference point.

The Generations of Patriarchal Descendants

The next generations of descendants are not from a direct biological father-and-son relationship. In this case the next line of progenitors comes from the heirs of Kenan.

Kenan, who ascended in 9, 873 BCE was an heir of Enos, and he lived a total of 910 years. Kenan was 70 years old when a male successor was born, Mahalalel (9,873 - 910 = 8,963 BCE). The birth year of Kenan matches with the death year of Enos (Gen. 5:12-16).

Mahalalel, who ascended in 8,963 BCE was an heir of Kenan, and he lived a total of 895 years. Mahalalel was 65 years old when a male successor was born, and his name was Jared (8963 - 895 = 8,068 BCE). The birth year of Mahalalel matches with the death year of Kenan (Gen. 5:15-17).

Jared, who ascended in 8,068 BCE, was an heir of Mahalalel, and he lived a total of 962 years. Jared was 162 years old when a male successor was born, and his name was Enoch (8068 - 962 = 7,106 BCE). The birth year of Jared matches with the death year of Mahalalel (Gen. 5:18-20).

Enoch, ascended in 7,106, was an heir of Jared, and he lived a total of 365 years. Enoch was 65 years old when a male successor was born, and his name was Methuselah (7,106 - 365 = 6,741 BCE). The birth year of Enoch matches with the death year of Jared (Gen. 5:21-24).

Methuselah, who ascended in 6,741, was an heir of Enoch, and he lived a total of 969 years. Methuselah was 187 years old when a successor was born, and his name was Lamech (6,741 - 969 = 5,772 BCE). The birth year of Methuselah matches with the death year of Enoch (Gen. 5:25-27).

Father and Son Relationship

A new generation of progenitors begins with Lamech. He called his name Noah, establishing a direct biological father-and-son offspring.

Lamech, who ascended in 5,772 BCE, was the father of Noah, and he lived a total of 777 years. When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son named Noah (5,772 - 182 = 5,590 BCE) (Gen. 5:26-31).

Noah, who ascended in 5,590 BCE, was the son of Lamech, and he lived a total of 950 years (Gen. 9:29). Noah was 600 years old when the flood came (5,590 - 600 = 4,990 BCE) (Gen. 7:6).

Shem, who ascended in 4,990 BCE, was the son of Noah, and he lived a total of 502 years (Gen. 5:32). When Shem died, a successor was born, and his name was Arphaxad (4,990 - 2 - 500 = 4,488 BCE). The birth year of Arphaxad matches with the death year of Shem (Gen. 11:10-11).

The Next Generations of Patriarchal Descendants

The next generations of descendants are not from a direct biological offspring. From this generation, the next line of progenitors comes from the descendants of Arphaxad.

Arphaxad, who ascended in 4,488 BCE, was an heir of Shem, and he lived a total of 438 years when he died. When Arphaxad was 35 years old, a successor was born, and his name was Salah (4,488 - 438 = 4,050 BCE). The birth year of Arphaxad matches with the death year of Shem (Gen. 11:12-13).

Salah, who ascended in 4,050 BCE, was an heir of Arphaxad, and he lived a total of 433 years. When Salah was 30 years old, a successor was born, and his name was Eber (4,050 - 433 = 3,617 BCE). The birth year of Salah matches with the death year of Arphaxad (Gen. 11:14-15).

Eber, who ascended in 3,617 BCE, was an heir of Salah, and he lived a total of 464 years. When Eber was 34 years old, a successor was born, and his name was Peleg (3,617 - 464 = 3,153 BCE). The birth year of Eber matches with the death year of Salah (Gen. 11:16-17).

Peleg, who ascended in 3,150 BCE, was an heir of Eber, and he lived a total of 239 years. When Peleg was 30 years old, a successor was born, and his name was Reu. The birth year of Peleg matches with the death year of Eber (3,153 - 239 = 2,914 BCE) (Gen. 11:18-19).

Reu, who ascended in 2,914 BCE, was an heir of Peleg, and he lived a total of 239 years. When Reu was 32 years old, a successor was born, and his name was Serug (2,914 - 239 = 2,675 BCE). The birth year of Reu matches with the death year of Peleg (Gen. 11:20-22).

Serug, who ascended in 2,675 BCE, was an heir of Reu, and he lived a total of 230 years. When Serug was 30 years old, a successor was born, and his name was Nahor (2675 - 230 = 2,445 BCE). The birth year of Serug matches with the death year of Reu (Gen. 11:22-23).

Nabor, who ascended in 2,445 BCE, was an heir of Serug, and he lived a total of 148 years. When Nabor was 29 years old, a successor was born, and his name was Terah (2,445 - 148 = 2,297 BCE). The birth year of Nabor matches with the death year of Serug (Gen. 11:24-25).

Terah, who ascended in 2,297 BCE, was an heir of Nabor, and he live lived a total of 205 years (Gen. 11:31-32).

The Generations of Patriarchal Descendants

The next generations are direct biological father-and-son relationship. In this case the next line of progenitors comes from the heirs of Terah.

When Terah was 130 years old, a son was born, and his name was Abram. On the day that Terah died, Abram was 75 years old, and on that day, he left Haran (2,297 - 130 = 2,167 BCE) (Gen. 12:4).

Abraham, who was born in 2,167 BCE, was circumcised at the age of 99 (2,167 - 99 - 1 = 2,067 BCE) (Gen. 17:1, 11). Abraham was a 100 years old when Sarah gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 21:5).

Isaac, who was born in 2,067 BCE, was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to Jacob (2,067 - 60 = 2,007 BCE) (Gen. 25:26).

Jacob, who ascended in 2,007 BCE, was 130 years old, and he settled in Egypt (2,007 - 130 = 1,877 BCE) (Gen. 47:9).

Exodus: 1,877 BCE

The Israelites sojourned in Egypt for 430 years and before they crossed the red sea (1,877 - 430 = 1447 BCE) (Exod. 12:40).

The Temple of Solomon: 1447 BCE

In the fourth year of his reign, Solomon broke ground for the construction of the temple of God, which amounted to a total of 480 years after the Israelites left Egypt (1,447 - 480 = 967 BCE) (1 Kings 6:1).

After Solomon’s death, some 36 years later there was a division of kingdoms from the original twelve tribes of Israel (969 - 36 = 931 BCE). They were now two nations, one was called Judah and Benjamin (two tribes), and the other was Israel (ten tribes), whose capital was Samaria. Solomon reigned over the nation of Israel from Jerusalem for over 40 years.

The Kings of Judah: 931 BCE

King Rehoboam, son of Solomon, ruled after his death over Judah whose capital was Jerusalem in 931 for 17 years.

931 Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21)

914 Abijam (1 Kings 15:1-2)

911 Asa (2 Chron. 16:13)

871 Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:42)

854 Jehoram, Joram (2 Kings 3:1; 2 Kings 1:17; 2 Chron. 21:5)

842 Ahaziah, Jeroahaz (2 Chron. 22:2)

841 Athaliah, Azariah (2 Chron. 22:2; 2 Kings 11:3, 20, and 21)

835 Joah, Jehosash (2 Kings 12:1)

796 Amaziah (2 Kings 14:2).

789 Uzziah Azariah (2 Kings 15:2)

738 Jotham (2 Kings 15:30)

730 Ahaz (2 Kings 16:2)

715 Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:2)

The Nation of Israel Was Defeated by the King

of Assyria: 709 BCE

697 Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1)

642 Amon (2 Kings 21:18-19)

640 Josiah (2 Kings 22:1)

609 Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31)

609 Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:36)

608 Jehoiachin, Jeconiah, and Coniah (2 Chron. 36:9).

The King of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar Reigned

over Israel

605 BCE The Nation of Judah was destroyed by Babylon.

597 King Zedekiah’s reign ended (2 Kings 24:17-18). The kingdom of Judah lasted for a total of 344 years. The temple in Jerusalem that Solomon built was destroyed by the Babylonians.

587 King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Judah (Jer. 25:1 and 52:29).

539 King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign ended by Cyrus, King of Persia (2 Kings 24:25).

537 The Jews returned from exile to Jerusalem by King Cyrus (Ezra 1).

444 Nehemiah reconstructs the walls of Jerusalem.

358 Artaxerxes II of Persia and Media’s reign ended (Esther).

339 Ezra was sent to the holy city to establish the Mosaic Law.

332 Alexander the Great conquers Palestine by defeating Media-Persia rule.

The Maccabean Dynasty

167 Judas Maccebeus revolted against Antiochus IV.

134 Simon Maccebeus reign ended.

The Hasmonean Dynasty

104 John Hyrcanus I reign ended.

36 Antgonus reign ended.

The Herodean Dynasty

39 Herod the Great reigned over Galilee as governor.

07 Jesus Christ was born on a Jubilee year.

04 Herod the Great died.

The Common Era

The calendar of time was in progress before the common era (BCE), and it was followed into the common era (CE), and it became the responsibility a Scythian monk living in Rome in the year 533 CE, Dionysius Exiguus. His job was to establish the correct year for the anno Domini era to establish a calendar day when Jesus Christ was born and the calendar dates of Easter. Exiguus had to correct the date from the Julian calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE by working backward to the beginning of the new era. Exiguous never inserted a year zero between 1 BCE and 1 CE, overlooked the four-year reign of Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus, failed to take into account the death of King Herod in 4 BCE, and did not factor in Jesus’s three-year sojourn in Egypt (Kellor, 331). The number zero had not yet been imported to Europe or Asia Minor from the Hindus in India. So not only was there no symbol, there was not any concept of zero in math.

Venerable Bede (672-735 CE) was the first to choose year 1 as the origin of the BCE. He, like Exiguus, did not insert the year zero between 1 BCE and 1 CE because there was no symbol for zero. Later, the Gregorian calendar was commissioned by Pope Gregory in 1582 to correct mistakes made in the Julian calendar and to establish the corrected dates for the Christian holidays. Finally, Jacques Cassini straightened out the modern calendar by insertion of the year 0 between the year 1 BCE and 1 CE.

33 Jesus died, and after 50 days on Pentecost, the era of Christian churches began.

70 The destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Empire.

95 Apostle John wrote the last book of Revelation, completing the Bible.

1948 The nation of Israel came into existence.

The Prediction of Harold Camping

1988 The epoch of the Christian churches ends as an institution of God.

1994 This is a Jubilee year and begins the second part of the great tribulation.

2011 The end of the world, May 21, 2011, to October 21, 2011.

        When reviewing our investigation, we learned that creation began in 11,013 BCE, and when totaled up to the year 2011 CE, the earth is going to be 13,023 years old, harmonizing with the modern calendar of today. In view of the fact of this study, it shows that God created the sun and the moon and the planets and the twenty-four-hour day, the time clock of history began clicking. This biblical calendar was crafted and researched to provide a reference companion for biblical studies. For this reason, the Bible provides abundant evidence to support an accurate time chart commencing with Adam. At this point in time, it is the duty of every Bible reader to search out the scriptures for its validity.

Works Cited

1. Camping, Harold, Adam When? (Family Stations, Inc., 1974, 2000).

2. Camping, Harold, Time Has an End (New York: Vantage Press, 2005).

3. Dionysius Exiguus. Bonnie Blackburn, Leofranc Holford-Stevens, Calendars and Chronology, The Oxford Companion to the Year (Oxford 1999), 659-937.

4. Holy Bible, Kings James Version (Royal Publishers, Inc., 1978).

5. Jacques Cassini, Tables Stronomiques (1740), Explication et usage 5; Tables 10, 22, 53.

6. Kellor, Werner, The Bible as History (New York: Barns & Noble, 1956, 1995).

7. New Testament of the New American Bible, St. Joseph edition (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1972).

8. Venerable Bede, Ecclesiastical History, V. 24, p. 329.

Chapter 2

The Science of Biblical Interpretation

A Literary and Sacred Study of the Bible

IN THIS INITIAL stage, we are going to explore the Bible in the course of the historical theory of hermeneutics. Then discover further on how the Bible interprets itself by displaying additional levels of meaning through its own use of sentence structure. We are going to investigate the Bible as a book of literature written in all the genres of accepted wisdom.

The Bible is a book of literature written from a unique sense of understanding for expressing the laws of God through people beginning with the nation of Israel up to the Day of Judgment. As literature, the Bible must