Posted by Elana Janson on August 07, 2012 at 16:26:48:
Knowing the time that is relative to a verse is the key to the understanding of Revelation
I was able to write the book “How Near Armageddon” because I believe I was GIVEN INSIGHT INTO THE TIME MEASURES of Revelation and could therefore go to Scripture to find the references and indications to connect the words and symbolism of Revelation to a specific time in history. Therefore, because it seems that the situation in the Middle East is extremely volatile at the present time and what is taking place there seems to reflect what is predicted in the book Revelation I shall now look to Rev 20:7-9 to see if references in Scripture give insight into the current situation and if it is possible that we are living the prelude to the gathering of the nations to battle.
Those who have not studied my books or this website should realize that each word and verse in Revelation has been specifically placed to reveal aspects of the history of the time of the spread of the Christian faith to the ends of the earth. Each chapter reveals an aspect of that spread of the faith and also the forces of evil that came into place as a result of man’s wrongdoing. I believe it was made known to me in 1996 that we are near the end time and for this reason and with the insight of how to understand the symbolism of Revelation I shall analyze Rev 20:7-9 to see if they reveal a time before Armageddon.
It is of the greatest importance for readers to know that the REPETITION of words in Revelation and in Scripture is essential to understanding the revelations of the prophecy.
The present civil war in Syria and the possibility that unrest may spill over to neighbouring areas has compelled me to investigate the full meaning of Rev 20:7-9. Also because at the present time there are numerous countries experiencing excessive rain and floods.
Rev 20:7-9 “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”
“And when the thousand years are expired”
In Rev chapter 20:1-7 the words a “thousand years” are used six times.
The repetition of the words “thousand years” in “And when the thousand years has expired” in Rev 20:7, according to my understanding of Revelation, relates to the time after AD1000 and also to the “short season” after 2000, that is the time we are living now. The reason that I say this is because I believe that the first millennium (AD1 to AD1000) after the coming of the Christ can be divided into “three and a half days” (Rev 11:9 and 11). During this time AD1 to AD 1000 Christianity spread from the Middle East through Europe. Those who have read my books and studied this website will know that when Christ said ”Destroy this temple and in three days I shall raise it up “ (John 2:19) He was referring to his death and resurrection, but in the understanding of Revelation, it also refers to the spread of the Christian faith during the time of the first millennium when Satan was “bound” (Rev 20:2).
Rev 20:7 “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison”
During the second millennium 1000 to 2000 the faith would spread to the ends of the earth, but it would also be the time that Satan in the guise of the “dragon” and the “beast” would mislead the nations of the earth.
It is also the time from about 1996 (approx 2000 years after the coming of the Christ) to the present time and the time that remains until the Return (The time of the “short season” Rev 6:11 and Rev 20:3). The “short season” is the time that the present generation of earthlings that are the offspring of the generations that were misled by the “dragon” and the “beast” will be free to undermine the Christian message for Christian authority in society would have largely been removed. The “short season” is also the time that Christians will for the final time be persecuted, as in history, because of their belief: Rev 6:11”they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled”.
A time of extreme wind that will hurt the earth and the sea
Rev 20:8 “And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth”: The reason that Revelation uses these words “four quarters of the earth “ is to indicate the spread of the Christian faith to the ends of the earth, but also the repetition of “four” and “earth” implies that it is the time that strong winds will blow all over the globe. The reason that I say this is because “four” and “earth” are also used in: Rev 7:1 “Four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth”; Rev. 7:2 “the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea” and Rev 9:14 “Loose the four angels”. This I believe indicates the extreme weather that the countries of the globe are experiencing at the present time – also the time of the “short season”.
Rev 20:8-9 ”Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city.”
Gog and Magog
The words “Gog and Magog” I believe indicate the descendants of the early tribes that lived to the far North East and far North West of Israel. Therefore, broadly speaking, I believe the “Gog and the Magog” in Revelation indicate the descendants over millennia of those living in Western Europe and the countries to which the Western Europeans emigrated to the ends of the earth. They also therefore indicate the descendants of the tribes of North East Asia, that are to-day essentially in the Middle East and Far East sections of the earth. Revelation seems to be indicating that Armageddon is going to be a clash of the forces of the West against the East.
There is no doubt in my mind that the above words of Revelation 20:8-9 relate to both past history (“the number of whom is as the sand of the sea”) and the spread of the nations and the Christian faith to the ends of the earth (from Europe and central Asia) as well as the gathering of those across the breadth of the earth at the present time to the clash of Armageddon. This verse I believe covers great epochs of history and the present time.
“compassed the camp of the saints about”
The understanding of these words is of significance for they also relate to history and the present time. Through the ages war would be made against Christians (saints) and in the end time the final war will take place because God’s people are encircled.
It should be noted that it is being reported in the media that at the present time Christians are being killed in the civil war in Syria and many cannot find a place of safety.
Neither Turkey nor Lebanon can offer secure refuge to Aleppo’s Christian population and the prospects of Syria’s division between Sunni and Shi’ite threatens Syrian Christian’s freedom. It it is inconceivable that any neighbouring nation – especially Turkey – can offer a safe haven for Christian refugees. Most Christians were descended from twentieth-century refugees from what is now Turkey, fleeing from the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and its aftermath. Aleppo has now Syria’s largest Christian population. Many of Aleppo’s Christians remember their parents and grandparents recounting stories of what happened. The Syrian Orthodox population who spoke an Armenian dialect in Edessa and inter-married with their Armenian neighbours, lost hundreds of thousands in the massacres.
It is possible that through Scripture we are even revealed more. When one knows the actual TIME that a verse refers to references in Scripture seem to reveal even more.
The words “compassed …..about “ were used by David in the psalms particularly to describe how he was encircled “.
Ps 18:5 “The sorrows of hell compassed me about.”
Ps 40:12 “Evils have compassed me about”
Ps 88:16-17 “Thy fierce wrath goeth over me thy terrors have cut me off. They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.” It seems that these references (using the same words “compassed…about” and “came round about”) reveal that the time of Rev 20:8-9 (if we have reached that point in 2012) there is so much evil around that it the time for God’s wrath.
A time of destruction and lives spared
I believe that the words “encompassed … about” as used in Scripture give greater insight into revelations of Rev 20:8
In Genesis 19:4 the words “compassed… round” appear: “The men of the city even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round”. It seems that Revelation through these words indicates a time before destruction. Sodom was destroyed.
The words “compassed …round” appear in 1 Samuel 23:26 “for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them”. David was spared from Saul and Revelation by using these words here also reveals that the final battle will be the time that some will be spared.
In 2 Kings 6:15 “a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots”: Elisha was spared from the enemy.
It seems that Rev 20:9 indicates both a time of destruction and a time that God’s people will be spared.
A time of floods
Jonah 2:3 “For thou has cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas, and the floods compassed me about.”
Bashan
Psalm 22:12 “Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.” Interesting that there is a reference to biblical Bashan which was in the Golan Heights and where cattle were raised. At the present time the Golan Heights is a sensitive area in Syrian relations with Israel.
The Lamb slain
Psalm 22:16 “for dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.”
It seems that this reference indicates symbolically (through the words “pierced my hands and feet”) that the nations at the time of the gathering across the breadth of the earth have once again crucified Jesus.
Jerusalem
Luke 21:20 “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh” Here we have to take particular note of the words “Jerusalem compassed” in relation to “compassed ..the beloved city” used in Rev. 20:9 With the gathering across the breadth of the earth Jerusalem is involved.
Will the present unsettled situation in the Middle East lead to the ‘compass’ of the beloved city?