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UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD
THE BOOK OF REVELATION - PART I

December 2, 2001
This is the last book written in the Bible and the date of it is set to around A.D. 95-96, which will put the age of the apostle John to around 90 years at the time he was given the Revelation. The apostle John had come to Ephesus around A.D. 70 and became the pastor of that city. He also traveled as a circuit preacher to Pergamos, Smyrna, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, cities located in what is today Turkey. When the Roman emperor Domitian started a new wave of persecution against Christians, the Apostle John was arrested and sent to the penal colony on the barren island of Patmos. When Domitian was gone as the emperor, many of his victims who had been sent in exile, were restored and among them was the apostle John. According to records from this time period, John lived 68 years after the resurrection, which would put him around 100 years old when he died.

God has revealed Himself and taken select persons into the spiritual realm. The first one as recorded in the Bible was Enoch. Genesis 5:19-23; Hebrews 11:5; 9:20-24

Let us look at the photo copies from the book of Enoch, to see how he describes his experience with God.

The prophet Ezekiel lived to experience a visit from the Living God who came to him in what must have been a portable throne. Ezekiel 1:1-28

The apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven, but never did write down what he saw and experienced - 2 Corinthians 12:1-5

It was the apostle John who was given the most extensive revelation of them all, giving us insight into the past, the present and the future. John wrote it down and it was originally sent to the seven churches in which he had worked as a pastor - Revelation 1:1-9; Hebrews 10:16-23

The first thing that John recorded was his entrance into the third heaven, where God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit dwell. How does a man from Earth, who had no knowledge of electricity, knew nothing about electronic signals, electro magnetic fields, had never seen an airplane, did not know about fiber optics, describe the Glory of God in words?  Revelation 1:10-20

The Messages that God gave to Enoch, Ezekiel and John are the same, revealing the Glory of God, his coming judgments, and a call for people to repent. Revelation 22:8-21

To be continued . . . .