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REVELATION EXPLAINED - A Rewrite of \"The Book of Revelation\" - Both by Pastor Bruce BallUnless otherwise noted, all scripture references taken from TheHoly Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.™. Used by Permission.All rights reserved worldwide. Copyright © 2012 - Bruce Ball All rights reserved. ISBN- ISBN-

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REVELATION EXPLAINED INTRODUCTION Depending on which scholar you listen to, youwill get one of two basic answers as to when theApostle John wrote the book of Revelation. The first scholar will say that he wrote this bookabout 60 years after Jesus ascended into heaven. Thatwould have been before Domitian became theemperor of Rome. The second scholar will say it was written about95 years after Jesus, or thirteen years after Domitianbecame the emperor, and one year before he died. My personal opinion is that too many people gettoo hung up on details that do not really matter whenit comes to the lay person's understanding of whatthis book means to them on a spiritual basis. Since we are dealing with the overall substance ofwhat God's Word means to the average believer, itmakes no real difference when John wrote the Bookof Revelation, as long as the message remains thesame to those who believe in it and those who readit. This book was written to influence the churches,both in John's time and in our time today, and toencourage believers during a very hard time ofpersecution against them. So, no matter what year it i

Pastor Bruce Ballwas written, John would have been a very old man,and he had some first-hand information about Jesusthat he was passing on to the believers of his day andfor us in our day and time, too. I will give one last personal thought on the studyof, not only this book, but the Bible in totality andthen I will concentrate on the message of this book. Sometimes we may have the most honorable ofintentions, but when we scrutinize scripture to theinth degree, we tend to lose the overall messagecontained in those scriptures. And, when we parse the Word too closely, weinevitably cause hard feelings amongst others whoare trying to believe, also, because if we are notcareful we will deliver our thoughts too harshly andwithout a heart that shows the love of God. We must be very careful to keep the message asthe priority and to keep the surrounding facts in theirproper context. Let me offer one perfect example. In the old cityof Jerusalem, stands the Church of the HolySepulcher. It has been standing for hundreds ofyears. Several denominations have been at odds witheach other over which one owns that church. Since they cannot prove denominationalownership with documentation, they all share the ii

REVELATION EXPLAINEDchurch with different times for their services, butthere is one thing that does not change. There is a ladder used by a priest when the churchwas newer. It is called the \"Immovable Ladder.\" Hewas using it on the ledge of the 2nd story to wash theoutside of a window. While he was washing the window, the rulingauthority of the day issued something called, “TheStatus-Quo Decree.” In that decree, it said that everything had to stayexactly how it was at that moment the decree wassigned. It specified that nothing could be moved,rearranged, added or taken away. And since the ladder was outside that second-story window, it had to stay exactly where it was. Itcould not be moved or put away. The ladder was included in a painting by an 18th-century artist who painted the picturesque building in1798, and it was also seen in a picture taken of thatbuilding in 1937. That ladder has been there since the decree wasissued and has never been able to be moved since. Who would ever believe that such human sillinessand pettiness would be exhibited in the hearts andminds of Christians who work for the kingdom ofGod? iii

Pastor Bruce Ball That shows how mankind will focus on somethingeven though it tends to distort the original meaning. Therefore, we must be very careful as to keep theoriginal intent of God's Word as clear andundisturbed as possible. As I go through this book, it is not my intentionor desire to explain everything in minute socio-economic or microscopic detail. It is my agenda,however, to give you the information as to what Godmeant for the Book of Revelation. That was to give information to the churches andto the Christians of the day that would refocus thechurches on the true message of Jesus Christ, and toencourage the Christians as they endured severepersecution from the authorities over them. You are encouraged to study this book manytimes over the course of your lifetime so that you willcome to be very familiar with what it says and how itaffects you as a Christian. As you will notice, I have included a short quiz atthe end of each chapter. These quizzes are not meantto test your knowledge, but to give you an extra toolthat may help you remember pieces of informationyou just read. I encourage you to take these quizzeseach time you study this book as a way to help youremember the things you have read about in thisbook. iv

REVELATION EXPLAINED I pray now, and will continue to pray, that throughthis book, God will reveal the message He has foryou. in our thoughts, I am going toPastor Bruce Ball v

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REVELATION EXPLAINED DEDICATION I cannot take any credit for this project. I mustgive it all away to two other people. The first personI give credit to is God, the Father. Without His taking charge of me and leading mein the direction He wants me to go, I would be a lostsheep just wandering through life without anyinclination to do anything, much less write a book. The second person I must give credit to is mywife, Diana, who encouraged me in the times I justwanted to quit. She also gave me a new set of eyes toscrutinize what I had already written to make sure itwas worded correctly. And, if I were to give anyone else credit, it wouldbe to my Father and Mother who loved me enoughto raise me to know the Lord. vii

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REVELATION EXPLAINEDTABLE OF CONTENTSChapt Main Subject Matter Page1 John's Revealing of Christ ……………. ... 22 To the Churches ……………………... ... 23 To the Churches ……………………... ... 24 The Throne in Heaven ………………. ... 25 Scroll and the Lamb ………………….. ... 26 The 7 Seals ………………………….... ... 27 The 144,000 ………………………….. …... 28 7th Seal & Golden Censer ……………. …... 29 5th Angel's Trumpet …………………. …... 210 Angel & the Little Scroll ……………... …... 211 The Two Witnesses ………………….. ... 212 The Woman & the Dragon …………... ... 213 The Beast Out of the Sea …………….. …..... 2214 The Lamb & the 144,000 …………….. …...... 2215 The 7 Angels with 7 Plagues …………. …... 2216 The 7 Bowls of God's Wrath ………… …... 2217 Babylon - Prostitute on the Beast ……. …... 2218 Lament over Fallen Babylon …………. …... 2219 Hallelujahs over Babylon's Fall ………. ... 220 The 1,000 Years Explained …………... ... 221 New Heaven & New Earth …………... ... 222 Eden Restored ………………………. ... 2 ix

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REVELATION EXPLAINED ABOUT REVELATION Many people are afraid of this book, not becausethey have read scary things in it, but because of eithersomething someone else may have said about it, orbecause they think this book is about God'spunishment and severe wrath against people. The only reason to be afraid of what is in thisbook is if you have not received Jesus Christ as yourpersonal Savior. Then, you should be afraid of whatwill happen to your soul, because it will not be spentin heaven. This book is about love. God's perfect andwonderful love for us. Let me explain: God created everything. Included in His Creationwas mankind. Now, why would God create us? xi

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REVELATION EXPLAINED JOHN'S REVEALING OF CHRIST For the purposes of this book, I am going to takethe stance that John wrote this around 95AD. Domitian had been the Roman emperor for 13years, and just like his predecessor Caesar Nero,Domitian was an evil and insane man. He thoughthe was God and ordered that every citizen bow downbefore a priest every year and declare that Domitianwas their God and he was the one they worshipedand swore allegiance to. As you can image, most people did that, notbecause they really felt that way, but so that theywould not be punished by the authorities. The onlypeople that seemed to have a problem with followingDomitian's orders were those who believed in JesusChrist. These people could not bow before anyonebut God. And this caused Domitian to hate them. And since most believers revered the ApostleJohn, Domitian hated John with a passion. Domitian -1-

Pastor Bruce Ballhad already tried to kill John by pouring boiling oilover him, but John survived. Now, John has beenexiled to the Greek island of Patmos. That is a rockyisland where many rock quarries exist, and John wassentenced to serve time there at hard labor for hisbeliefs. And this was where John received the Revelationfrom Jesus Christ. This is what he wrote, brokendown by verse:VERSE 1 - “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him toshow his servants what must soon take place. He made itknown by sending his angel to his servant John.” Let's explain each part of this verse. In the firstpart of verse1, we see something many people miss:The revelation is not from the Apostle John, but fromJesus Christ. It is the … Revelation of Jesus Christ. In some versions of the Bible, the title reads, “theRevelation of St. John.” When the Bible was written,there were no titles, chapters, or verses. It was allwritten as single letters. These delineations were allput there by man so he could read and remember itbetter. The correct title should only be, “THEREVELATION (or the Revealing) OF JESUS -2-

REVELATION EXPLAINEDCHRIST”, or even better, “THE REVEALING OFJESUS CHRIST\". This revelation was given, not to John, but toJesus Christ as God had given it to Him. It is therevealing of the eternal plan of God for the peopleHe created. John was chosen to see it so he could write itdown for others to read … so other believers couldsee and understand what would eventually take place. ppppppppppppppppppp The Father gave revelation to the Son. The Songave revelation to John. And John gave revelation tous so that we might understand the things that mustshortly come to pass. The Lord is saying that whenthese things begin to happen, they will increase inspeed until the end. -3-