white horse of death?? a beginner’s guide to revelation

Whenever I see posts like this, I get a little wobbly. It’s mostly because there is a very delicate balance between observation and obsession when it comes to the end times. Lots of people are SCARED of Revelation, while others can’t get enough of it and dig down into the nitty gritty and try to define what Gog and Magog is.

I’m going to make this post short and sweet and, hopefully, there will be more to come. But here’s some important beginning points:

1. Use Scripture to translate Scripture . . . THEN use a trusted commentary.

If you EVER come onto something in the Bible that doesn’t make sense—Revelation or not—use Scripture to translate Scripture. God isn’t being intentionally unclear (“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 1 Timothy 3:16-17).

He wants us to understand His Word and has given us all the tools we need. Look at the footnotes/cross references in your Bible, then find a trusted commentary (ask your college/youth group leader, pastor, or a parent). I’ll suggest my favorite for Revelation at the end of this post.

2. Know when to translate literally versus allegorically.

Perhaps controversially, I hold to a literal translation of Revelation. In Revelation, there is a very clear pattern of allegory vs. literal. When things are allegories, Jesus explains it (for example, John mentions candlesticks in Revelation 1:20 and then literally words later explains that “the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.”).

Interpreting Revelation as an analogy changes everything. This opens up the door to denying that Jesus is coming back again, that He will set up a heavenly kingdom, that the earth will be sent into a seven-year tribulation, that the devil will be locked away and then set loose one last time, not to mention countless other doctrine.

The fact is that we are promised that Jesus is coming back again (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; and my favorite, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Hebrew is a beautiful language and the culture uses a lot of analogies (yes, I know Revelation was written in Greek, but stay with me). Therefore, I believe that holding with a literal translation of the Bible most of the time keeps us out of a LOT of trouble. Translating certain passages as analogies leads to all kinds of heresy: for example, “the seven day Creation was just a cutesy way of saying seven billion years,” or even that “Jesus didn’t die but rather passed out on the cross.” And those two things? IMPERATIVE to our faith.

3. Understand Revelation’s role and importance.

Here’s why Revelation is so sticky for me: while people love getting in debates over post/pre/amillenial, to be quite frank, a lot of what’s in Revelation isn’t a make-or-break doctrine. That usually tempts me to just let it go and live to debate another day. In Christianity, there are some things you must believe to be saved. Much of Revelation doesn’t fall under that category. If you believe that the dark horse of Revelation is just another name for the Kentucky Derby of 2027, I may deem you eccentric but your colorful explanation is not going to send you to Hell.

However, if we can’t even believe books of the Bible like Revelation, how can we trust any other part of it? We can’t pick or choose: either God doesn’t lie or He does lie. There’s no gray area in here.

You aren’t going to Hell if you don’t believe there will be a millennial kingdom. However, if you don’t have a right view of Revelation, you’re missing out on a lot of good stuff!

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says specifically that the reason we can hope is because of the glory of eternity. We are called to be EXCITED for Heaven, commanded to be THRILLED about Christ’s coming! It’s His coming, the imminent knowledge that Heaven is possibly a couple breaths away, that moves us to do what we’re supposed to. To covet each moment.

RESOURCES

Behold Israel YouTube channel

Something that has changed my view of COVID-19 has been watching videos by Behold Israel during quarantine (start with this video). I’ll be completely honest: when I first heard about it, I thought they were whack-a-doos obsessed with prophecy and declaring that the Rapture is tomorrow.

But . . . it’s NOT. There’s a beautiful balance of now and then, if you get my meaning. Ever since Jesus died on the cross, we’ve been commanded to look for Jesus’ coming. It doesn’t matter if He’s coming two days from now or two hundred thousand: the fact is that we’re closer than we were yesterday.

The founder of Behold Israel, Amir, is a Jew living in Israel and he’s amazingly well-versed in the Bible. They’ve recorded several live chats where people ask him questions in real time and he can back up all his answers with Scripture. He gets into nitty-gritty things like how will Christians be judged if we’re told our sins are forgiven and what’s the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming.

40 Days Through Revelation: Uncovering the Mystery of the End Times by Ron Rhodes

I started on this a couple weeks ago and it was so. Cool! I was the kid that read the Tribulation Series growing up. Sundays where my pastor outlined the plagues of the Tribulation were my favorite just because of the drama and colorfulness of it all (I can’t help it; I’m an author and I love hearing about The Author’s beautiful story of The End!).

So, naturally, a commentary (that was mom-approved) on Revelation was going to earn its place on my bookshelf.

Plus there’s a lot of dragons and horses in there and that’s enough to get me mighty sidetracked.

So, let me know if this intro was helpful to you! I’d love to do my own research and make you guys some graphics and answer specific questions about the end times. However, like I said, I want there to be a balance. We won’t be here for the Tribulation (if you’re saved) but that doesn’t mean we have to ignore it. I’d rather like to encourage you guys to be excited about Jesus coming for us and setting up His millennial kingdom.