The Book of Revelation For Dummies<sup></sup> (For Dummies (Religion & Spirituality))

Are you baffled by the Book of Revelation? Understand the purpose, key themes, and symbolism of the most fascinating book in the Bible with The Book of Revelation For Dummies , an easy-to-understand guide that will help you grasp the enduring messages of Revelation and apply them to your life. You will understand what Revelation says about the past, present, and future, and how it relates to the rest of the Bible. You will learn how this mysterious book of the Bible fits into a historical context. YouвЂTMll discover all kinds of interesting facts about the apostle John and learn about the details of his world. You will be able to choose a perspective for interpreting this book of the Bible and decipher the many haunting symbols. There is no need to read this reference guide from cover to cover; simply browse the table of contents or flip through the pages to find the answers and assistance that you need. Discover how to: Interpret the prophecy of the Revelation Place it in historical context Understand how it relates to other books in the Bible Unravel the details of the apostle JohnвЂTMs life and world Choose a perspective for understanding See the grander scheme of things Complete with lists of the ten most commonly asked questions about end times and the ten rules of thumb for interpreting scripture, The Book of Revelation For Dummies will help you understand and decode one of the most perplexing books in the Bible! The Book of Revelation For Dummies 3 Table of Contents 11 Introduction 19 Part I: Revealing the End of the Biblical Story 27 Chapter 1: One Man’s Visions, All Humans’ Fate 29 Why Read Revelation, Anyway? 30 Taking a Whirlwind Tour through Revelation 30 Monitoring the Book’s Timeline 37 Chapter 2: Setting the Stage: The Apostle John and the World in Which He Lived 41 ID-ing John Doe, Author of Revelation 42 Understanding the Troubled Times in Which John Lived 46 Playing the Dating Game 52 Unraveling Revelation’s Textured Style of Writing 56 Chapter 3: The Prequels: Prophecies throughout the Bible 61 Understanding the Old Testament Backdrop to Revelation 61 Peeking into Old Testament Prophecy 64 Examining the 70 Weeks of Daniel 9 69 Exploring the Olivet Discourse: Jesus’s Prophecy 73 Part II: Interpreting the Book of Revelation 79 Chapter 4: Choosing a Perspective for Understanding Revelation 81 Solving the Revelation Puzzle: Four Solutions throughout History 82 Futurist: Events Will Take Place at a Moment’s Notice 86 Historicist: Covering the Entire History of the Church 91 Preterist: Explaining Historical Events from the First Century 93 Idealist: Identifying Themes, Not Literal Events 96 What’s Your Angle? Evaluating the Four Approaches 98 Chapter 5: Deciphering Symbols with Your Secret Decoder Ring 105 Giving John’s Readers a Heads-up 105 Why Use Symbols? 106 Understanding Common Interpretations 110 Part III: Taking a Grand Tour of the Book of Revelation 117 Chapter 6: Setting Up the Scope of the Book (1: 1– 20) 119 Declassified! Releasing God’s Secrets in the Apocalyptic Press 119 Probing the Prologue (1: 1– 3) 122 Saluting the Saints in Asia (1: 4– 6) 124 Sounding the Theme (1: 7– 8) 128 Initiating the Visions (1: 9– 11) 128 Seeing the First and the Last (1: 12– 18) 131 Charting the Course (1: 19– 20) 134 Chapter 7: Reading the Seven Letters to Conflicted Churches (1: 19– 3: 22) 137 The Symmetry of the Messages 138 Asking about the Audience 140 Getting to Know the Seven Churches Up Close and Personal 143 Chapter 8: Peeking into the Throne Room (4: 1– 5: 14) 161 Focusing on the “Someone” on the Throne (4: 1– 11) 162 Singing Praise to the Lamb with Scroll-Opening Skills (5: 1– 14) 171 Chapter 9: Breaking Seven Seals (6: 1– 8: 1) 177 Unsealing the Beginning of the End 178 163 181 The First Four Seals: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (6: 1– 8) 182 The Fifth seal: The blood of martyrs (6: 9– 11) 187 The Sixth Seal: The Day of the Lord Has Come! (6: 12– 17) 188 Pausing for Effect (7: 1– 17) 191 The Seventh Seal: Silence in Heaven (8: 1– 5) 196 Chapter 10: Sounding Seven Trumpets (8: 2– 11: 19) 199 Previewing the Seven Trumpets 200 The First Four Trumpets: Fire, Blood, and Hail 205 Wailing the Woes of the Last Three Trumpets 208 The First Interlude: The Angel and the Little Scroll 212 The Second Interlude: Two Star Witnesses in Jerusalem 215 Beginning of the End: The Seventh Trumpet 220 Chapter 11: A Woman, a Dragon, Two Beasts, and More! (12: 1– 14: 20) 223 Heavenly Drama: The Dragon Falls, the Woman Is Saved (12: 1– 17) 223 Two Beasty Boys Join the Dragon to Make Their Mark (13: 1– 18) 231 The Lamb and the 144,000 (14: 1– 5) 238 Three Angels with Three Messages (14: 6– 13) 240 Harvesting and the Grapes of Wrath (14: 14– 20) 242 Chapter 12: Seven Angels, Seven Bowls, and a Final Smackdown (15: 1– 18: 24) 245 A Preamble to God’s Final Wrath (15: 1– 8) 246 Pouring Out the Seven Bowls (16: 1– 21) 250 But First, a Word from Our End-Times Sponsor, the Lamb (16: 15) 256 Exposing the Mystery of Babylon the Great (17: 1– 18) 257 Loveless in the Ruins: Celebrating Babylon’s Fall (18: 1– 24) 262 Chapter 13: Coming of the Kingdom (19: 1– 20: 15) 269 Returning as Promised (19: 1– 21) 270 Dawning of the Millennial Age (20: 1– 6) 276 Letting Satan Loose (20: 7– 10) 278 Standing at the Great White Throne (20: 11– 15) 280 Sorting Out Two Theological Issues 284 Chapter 14: Seeing the New Jerusalem and a Triumphant Church (21: 1– 22: 6) 291 Exploring a New Creation (21: 1– 8) 291 Taking a Virtual Tour of the New Jerusalem (21: 9– 27) 302 Coming Home to the Garden (22: 1– 6) 306 Chapter 15: Promising to Return (22: 6– 21) 309 Verifying the Source of the Message (22: 6– 8) 309 Getting to the End on Time (22: 7) 310 Knocking “ Other” Worship (22: 8– 9) 311 Leaving the Scroll Unsealed (22: 10– 15) 311 And Now, In Conclusion (22: 16– 21) 315 Part IV: The Part of Tens 321 Chapter 16: Ten Common Questions about the End Times 323 What Does Eschatology Mean? 323 What Do the Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls Symbolize? 324 What’s the Great Tribulation? 324 What’s the Rapture? 325 Who Are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? 326 Who is the Antichrist? 327 What’s the Mark of the Beast (666)? 327 What’s the Significance of the Term Babylon? 328 What’s the Millennium? 329 What’s the Lake of Fire? 330 Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Interpreting Scripture and Prophecy 331 Don’t Depend on English Words for Sorting Out Hidden Meanings 332 Keep Verses in Context 332 Look to Other Scripture as a Guide 332 Remember the Target Audience 333 Look for the Original Meaning 333 Identify the Literary Style 334 View Fulfilled Prophecy as a Prototype 334 Don’t Try to Pin Down Timelines for Fulfillment 335 Note that Biblical Prophecy Can Have Stages of Fulfillment 335 Consider that Some Biblical Prophecy Is Conditional 335 Glossary 337 Index 343

Are you baffled by the Book of Revelation? Understand the purpose, key themes, and symbolism of the most fascinating book in the Bible with The Book of Revelation For Dummies, an easy-to-understand guide that will help you grasp the enduring messages of Revelation and apply them to your life. You will understand what Revelation says about the past, present, and future, and how it relates to the rest of the Bible.

You will learn how this mysterious book of the Bible fits into a historical context. You’ll discover all kinds of interesting facts about the apostle John and learn about the details of his world. You will be able to choose a perspective for interpreting this book of the Bible and decipher the many haunting symbols. There is no need to read this reference guide from cover to cover; simply browse the table of contents or flip through the pages to find the answers and assistance that you need. Discover how to:

• Interpret the prophecy of the Revelation
• Place it in historical context
• Understand how it relates to other books in the Bible
• Unravel the details of the apostle John’s life and world
• Choose a perspective for understanding
• See the grander scheme of things

Complete with lists of the ten most commonly asked questions about end times and the ten rules of thumb for interpreting scripture, The Book of Revelation For Dummies will help you understand and decode one of the most perplexing books in the Bible!

Decode one of the most complex books in the Bible!Are you baffled by the Book of Revelation? Understand the purpose, key themes, and symbolism of the most fascinating book in the Bible with The Book of Revelation For Dummies, an easy-to-understand guide that will help you grasp the enduring messages of Revelation and apply them to your life. You will understand what Revelation says about the past, present, and future, and how it relates to the rest of the Bible. You will learn how this mysterious book of the Bible fits into a historical context. You'll discover all kinds of interesting facts about the apostle John and learn about the details of his world. You will be able to choose a perspective for interpreting this book of the Bible and decipher the many haunting symbols. There is no need to read this reference guide from cover to cover; simply browse the table of contents or flip through the pages to find the answers and assistance that you need. Discover how to: Interpret the prophecy of the Revelation Place it in historical context Understand how it relates to other books in the Bible Unravel the details of the apostle John's life and world Choose a perspective for understanding See the grander scheme of things Complete with lists of the ten most commonly asked questions about end times and the ten rules of thumb for interpreting scripture, The Book of Revelation For Dummies will help you understand and decode one of the most perplexing books in the Bible!