Dive deep into the mysteries of the Book of Revelation with Bible teacher David Hawking as he responds to listener questions about pivotal topics like the timing of the book’s writing and the intriguing concept of the rapture. Discover why Revelation matters today and get a clearer understanding of the prophetic visions it contains. Throughout the session, you’ll also uncover insights into the mark of the beast and the symbolism of the 24 elders, exploring their significance in biblical prophecy.
00:22:20 Final Thoughts and Support for the Ministry
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When was the book of Revelation written, and why does it matter? Is the rapture actually mentioned in Revelation, or for that matter, anywhere in the Bible? What is the mark of the beast? This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author David Hawking. Today, as we dig deep into our archive of listener letters, we’re going to hear David’s response to questions related to the book of Revelation. Go ahead and quickly text a friend and invite them to listen along with you to Hope for Today, our special question and answer program for February. And just before we get started, you can find a lot more on today’s subjects, today’s questions at davidhawking.org. Check that out after today’s question and answer session. And if you’d like to support this daily broadcast with a one-time or regular monthly giving, call us at 800-75-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 24253, or you can give online at davidhawking.org. And here’s David.
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And Jim Durbin’s with me today. Jim, our theme for today is going to be the book of Revelation. We have had so many prophecy questions, so maybe we better get started.
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Well, Dave, we’ve touched a little bit on this in the past, but I like the way this question is phrased. Is there any historical proof that the book of Revelation was written before 70 A.D.? ?
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We get it a lot because those who believe it was written before 70 AD and that the judgments of Revelation are referring to Rome’s invasion. starting at 66 A.D. with the Jewish revolt at Caesarea Maritima and ending with the fall of Masada in 73 A.D. They see those seven years as being the tribulation, and they need to have Revelation written before in order to prove their point. Here at Hope for Today, we believe that from chapter 4, verse 1 to the end of the book is all still future. The judgments of the seals, the trumpets, the bowls of wrath, that hasn’t happened yet. Now, folks, in chapter 1 of Revelation, verse 9, it says, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Now that’s the first problem that people have who are trying to put the book of Revelation before 70 A.D., Historical records have the emperor from 81 to 96 AD, the emperor Domitian. And it was under Domitian’s rule that John was exiled to the island of Patmos. All the historical proof… nails down one year. Interestingly, Jim, they all say 95 AD. No one contradicts that in terms of historical documentation. And there is not one single shred of evidence historically, that Revelation was written before that time. So, folks, I know a lot of people are preaching this and teaching this, but I’m sorry, it just isn’t true. The book of Revelation was written after the destruction of Jerusalem and the invasion of Rome.
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David, I think you may have addressed the answer to this next question. What proof of the rapture do you find in the book of Revelation? Did we talk about the rapture?
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Oh, yes, we certainly did. And what a great conference. This is a good question, because there are people on the radio saying that there is no evidence anywhere in Revelation of the rapture. You better think again. First of all, in chapter 1, verse 19, you have an outline of the book of Revelation. It says, Write the things which you have seen. Well, he had just seen the resurrected Christ, a vision that was not found in any of the Gospels. Then he said, Write the things which are. In other words, what was existing in John’s day. And that would be chapter 2 and 3, the seven churches of Asia Minor. Now, the third category is write the things which shall be hereafter. The Greek says after these things, meta tauta. In chapter 4, verse 1, It says, “…after this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet, talking with me, which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.” meta, tauta in Greek, after these things. In other words, the book of Revelation has already indicated the outline, and that the future things are starting at chapter 4, verse 1. Well, how interesting, because a door is opened in heaven. and an invitation to John, who certainly was a part of the church age, was one of the apostles, and says, “‘Come up hither, and I’ll show you what’s going to take place.'” And what he’s talking about is the day of the Lord, the Great Tribulation, which is discussed now from chapter 6, verse Revelation, clear through chapter 19. Now, and at least chapter 16. But here we are being asked, what proof do we have? Well, that would be a strong one. And secondly, in chapter 5, we have the new song sung by 24 elders. Now, the 24 elders is a big issue as it relates to the rapture of the church, because in chapter 4, verse 4, around the throne of God are 4 and 20 thrones or seats, and on those seats are 4 and 20 elders. It says, sitting, clothed in white raiment, and had on their heads crowns of gold.” Well, all three descriptions—sitting on thrones, clothed in white raiment, and crowns of gold on their heads—are the descriptions of the overcomers in the messages to the seven churches. So they are somehow connected with church-age believers. Now, the four and 20 elders is a big question. Why four and 20? Why 24? Why not 12 for 12 apostles of the Lamb or 12 for 12 tribes of Israel? You know, people fool around with numbers. Well, folks, in the Bible, the number 24 appears in 1 Chronicles 24 and 25. It deals with the divisions of priests who served in the temple. and each one had about a two-week period. Those 24 divisions of priests also had 24 divisions of singers and instrumentalists. Then everybody was on duty at the special festivals that honored our Messiah. So the question about 24 elders is a very fascinating one. We do know there will be people saved during the tribulation, according to Revelation 7. Do the 24 elders represent them? That’s the argument of a lot of people. But it doesn’t hold water. If you look at chapter 5, verse 8, when the Son of God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, takes the scroll out of the hand of him who sits on the throne, they all break down in praising and singing, and they sung a new song. and the 24 elders are singing it. It says, Thou art worthy to take the book of the scroll, to open the seals thereof, for Thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, and has made us unto our God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. Now, folks, that’s what the King James says, both the old one and the new King James. But other modern English translations read, he’s purchased men out of every nation. They put, they shall reign. What is the answer to this? Is it us or is it them? Well, Jim, there’s only 24 Greek manuscripts that have the reading of the new song in Revelation 5. Only 24 that we have in our possession after all these years, even though there’s 250 fragments on Revelation. The interesting thing is that modern English translations which follow Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. Vaticanus ends at Hebrews 9.14. There’s nothing the rest of the way. And half of the New Testament leaves are missing in Sinaiticus. So they wouldn’t even know about Revelation 5. They had to write it in. Therefore, they had an opinion about this passage and put their own interpretation instead of translating any manuscripts. The truth is, the 23 out of the 24 in verse 9 read, That’s overwhelming. The only one that doesn’t is Codex Alexandrinus. Also, the statement made as kings and priests is back in chapter 1, verse 5. unto him that loved us, washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God and the Father. So there it’s the first person plural and not the third person plural. Why am I telling you all this, folks? Because the 24 elders has to be church-age believers. The 24 represents the whole nation of Israel in their 24 divisions. These aren’t priests. These aren’t singers. These are 24 elders, and we know in the New Testament that elders are the representative leaders of the local church. So I believe we’re seeing the completed church in heaven. And by the way, in Revelation, that’s the only place they are. They are not on the earth. So when you ask me, excuse the length of this, but if you ask me, is the rapture in Revelation, I think folks who keep saying no had better take another look at this.
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David, the next question here, and this is an intriguing question. What is the meaning of the warning in Revelation 22, 18 and 19?
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That’s an absolute – I don’t recall us ever receiving that question as it is, but that’s an absolute great question, and I’ll tell you why. We believe here at Hope for Today that the Bible, the – Old King James, that’s based on the Textus Receptus, the majority of Greek manuscripts. We believe the last book is Revelation. We believe it has 39 books in the Old Testament, 27 in the New. Now, this warning is in the book of Revelation. We believe that we have a completed written record from God. The Bible, the whole Bible, nothing but the Bible is what we teach here. There are many people who say, no, no, no, there’s additional revelation. For example, we have Mormons who believe that God gave additional revelation to Joseph Smith. So they add the Book of Mormon and Doctrines and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price. We also have Muslims who do not come along until the 7th century A.D., long after the Bible was done, and they have the Koran. They call that their holy book and a revelation, they say, from God, whom they call Allah. Well, friends, is it final or is it not? Revelation 22, 18, and 19 that our listener is writing to us about says, “‘I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book.'” If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book. That’s pretty strong. But a lot of people who believe in additional revelation will make this statement. Well, it’s only referring to the book of Revelation, not the whole Bible. Well, that really doesn’t help you, Jim, because in the book of Revelation, what is it about? It’s about the future clearing to the eternal state, and there’s no way we’re going to add to that. No, this is a statement that warns us about taking away out of the Bible and especially the book of Revelation, anything that’s there or adding anything of our own belief and opinion to what the Bible says. I think it’s a very powerful warning that those who are trying to change God’s Word and trying to add stuff and trying to take away some stuff they don’t like, they’re giving evidence of an unbelieving heart and face the judgment of God.
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Indeed. David, next question here. In terms of the coming wrath of God, doesn’t that refer only to the last seven plagues of Revelation chapter 16?
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Well, that was the big argument of the book Pre-Wrath Rapture written by Marvin Rosenthal, who’s a very good man and loves the Lord and is a good teacher. I don’t agree with him on this. First of all, in Revelation 16, we do have in verse 1, I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways and pour out the vials or bowls of the wrath of God upon the earth. So this view believes that that wrath of God is only the last seven bowls of wrath. But, folks, that ignores Chapter 6. During the seal judgments, when the sixth seal was opened, there was a great earthquake, and a lot of spectacular geological disasters happened. Every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And all the great men of the world are hiding themselves in the rocks of the mountains. And in verse 16 we read, “…they said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Now listen to this, verse 17, Revelation 6, “…for the great day of his wrath is come.” and who shall be able to stand. No, folks, the seals, trumpets, along with the bowls, are the wrath of God.
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David, the next question here says, Does the marriage supper of the Lamb occur in heaven during the tribulation?
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That has been a standard view of many Bible teachers, even pre-tribulationalist people, who say that part of the purpose of the church being in heaven during the tribulation is to have the marriage supper of the Lamb. Jim, I don’t hold that view. First of all, what we have pictured in the Gospels is a marriage, a Jewish marriage, When you get engaged, you go to the bridegroom’s home and announce the engagement. Usually the betrothal period is a year in length. And then at the end, for the marriage supper, it is always at the bride’s home, and it’s a festive occasion. One mentioned in the Bible in Genesis was seven days long. We also know in Matthew 8-11 that in the kingdom of God, when we’re celebrating this wedding to the Messiah… It says we’ll sit down at that marriage supper. We’re going to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Well, those are Old Testament saints, and according to Daniel 12, they’re not resurrected until the end of the tribulation. No, to keep all the imagery of a Jewish wedding correct, we’re going to come to the bride’s home with our Lord. He will come at the end of the tribulation with his saints, and we will be joined with all of the martyrs of the tribulation who will be resurrected. and all Old Testament saints, and the marriage supper of the Lamb will begin the millennial kingdom of our Lord. That’s how it starts. It’s likened unto a marriage. So the marriage supper of the Lamb is actually on earth, the bride’s home, to begin the millennial reign of our Messiah.
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David, this next question, what do you believe is the mark of the beast? A friend of mine told me that it was not going to church on the Sabbath. Is that right?
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Well, you know, we’re not here to bash folks and get everybody upset who have different religious beliefs and opinions. And there are some people who are very sincere on this because they believe in Sabbath worship for the church age and I personally don’t. I don’t believe the Sabbath regulations have anything to do with going to church or synagogue. The requirement is only for the children of Israel. But see, some Christians think they’re the children of Israel. I don’t. And for Jewish people, yes, the Sabbath regulations apply. What are they? Don’t do any manual labor. But it doesn’t tell us to go to synagogue on the Sabbath or church on the Sabbath. Now, people say, well, Jesus and the disciples did. There’s a record in the New Testament. Well, of course, they were Jews. I just—it amazes me. But we celebrate not only the Sabbath, but also every day of the week we worship the Lord. And on Sunday, we’re honoring two Jewish festivals. First Fruits, which represents the resurrection, is always on Sunday. And in the Bible, also on Sunday— is what you know of by its Greek name, Pentecost, or Shavuot. And that is always on Sunday as well. So one celebrates a resurrection, the other celebrates a birthday of the church. So I’m going to worship the Lord on that day also. Now, those who believe it’s the mark of the beast, that is a stretch. That is a big one. We’re told in Revelation 13 that this mark is going to be put in the right hand or the forehead of all people, whether they’re small or great, rich or poor. And its purpose seems to be an economic control. It says that no one can buy or sell except the one who had the mark or the name of the beast, the Santa Christ, or the number of his name. And it then says, here’s wisdom. He who has understanding, count the number of the beast, for it’s the number of a man. His number is 600, three score and six, so 666. And that has become a very popular number to have movies about it and books written about it. By the way, some Greek manuscripts, Jim, read 616 rather than 666. I think 666 is correct. But when we look at the mark of the beast, it’s some sort of mark. It could be a chip placed in the right hand or in the forehead. They already do that with animals, and they’ve done it in the military also. You can put a lot of information in there. And from a standpoint of what they might argue in terrorism and security, that they need to have this so they can track you and trace you and help you if you’re in trouble. But to say that this is not going to church on the Sabbath is a little hard to believe. And I don’t believe that, and I believe that does a lot of damage in twisting the Bible like that.
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By the way, folks, we have our series in Revelation available at Hope for Today. You can go to the website, davidhawking.org, and get more information on many of the things we’ve talked about so far today. David, the next question here in Revelation 4 mentions four beasts. In Revelation chapter 13, it speaks of a coming beast. Now, what’s the difference?
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Well, that is a great question, and I don’t recall receiving that, but somebody’s pretty sharp reading that. But the answer is that the Greek words are different. Hmm. In Revelation 13, the beast, which is one of the names of the Antichrist, is a wild, vicious, ferocious, untamed beast. In Revelation 4, those four beasts, the Greek word is living creature. It is referring to the cherubim angels that are mentioned in Ezekiel. And as folks know, when we began our study of Ezekiel, we learned about that. Mention not only in chapter 1, the description of them, but also in chapter 10. We believe these are cherubim angels who are the worship leaders or the praise leaders of heaven. So the answer is that it is a different word.
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You’ve been listening to our special monthly question and answer program here on Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author David Hawking. We’ll tell you in a bit how you can lend your support to this broadcast ministry. First though, David’s son Matt’s here, and together we’re going to tell you a bit more about a wonderful Bible study resource we’re featuring for you that goes along perfectly with our Ecclesiastes radio series.
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Jim, this note from the forward of my dad’s book, Is Life Worth Living?, really captures the sad condition of our world today. It states, contemporary culture has lost its way. We have rejected or at least neglected the moral and spiritual values of the Bible. And in our secularism, we have replaced God with ourselves and seem to believe that something is right or wrong, depending on how the majority of people feel about it. Nothing could be further from the truth, and following this path does not bring us into fulfillment or a sense of well-being in the end.
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Solomon discovered this in stark and vivid terms, Matt. He had more of what the world offers than he could even keep track of. And it all led to his powerful conclusion, life without God on the throne of your heart is sheer sin.
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Vanity. You know, and in today’s world, mankind’s pursuits leading to vanity are everywhere we look. So, Matt, how do we avoid that? How do we stay strong, faithful, and enthusiastic in our walk with God? Well, Solomon has Holy Spirit-inspired insights for us in Ecclesiastes. That’s why we’re studying through Ecclesiastes right now and why we’re offering you a special power package this month.
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the Is Life Worth Living Pack, and it features David’s book study of Ecclesiastes titled, Is Life Worth Living?
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Plus every audio message in our current radio series. The complete package, just $40. The Is Life Worth Living Pack will bless and strengthen you.
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And please do know that your purchase will also help the Ministry of Hope for today. And as always, please continue praying for hope for today. Yes, amen. Start with that. Books, booklets, full video and audio messages, our radio broadcasts are featured there for a limited time. And yes, several resources are available free. This is truth you can return to again and again. Now, if you’ve never had the opportunity to support this ministry, to join with us in ministry through prayer or financial gift, This is why it matters. Hope for Today exists because God’s Word deserves to be taught clearly, without spin, without compromise, without apology. And it remains on the air and online for one reason. People who love God’s Word refuse to let it go silent. So if this teaching has sharpened your thinking, steadied your faith, or perhaps to help you see life through the lens of Scripture, would you prayerfully consider standing with us today? You can write to us in the U.S. at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada at Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7OAKS, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. You can also call us at 875-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, or give online at davidhawking.org. Well, next time on the program, tomorrow that is, wisdom still outranks power, noise, and foolishness, even when no one wants to hear it. Solomon shows why wisdom matters and what happens when it’s ignored. Join David Hawking in Ecclesiastes chapters 9 and 10, next time on Hope for Today.
