Revelation is an intriguing and wondrous book. Some people believe it was written only to give those Christians who were facing persecution at the end of the first century the hope of life after death and that Christ was going to return to earth. Others believe it is a prophecy for the future, but fail to understand large sections of it.

As an historian, I have always looked upon history as that which should convey to man the purpose of his existence on earth. To-day, I think, I always believed in a way that Revelation was a vision of things to come, but I could not fully understand it. When reading sections of it, I felt it was describing certain events in history, but I could never be sure, for there seemed to be no logical place to start. It was also confusing, that right through the book mention is made of the end time. Now that I can read and understand Revelation, it has become clear that Revelation repeatedly refers to the end time with a very systematic purpose - namely that there should be no doubt as to when we have actually reached the end time.

It was between May and the middle of August 1996 that I began to investigate to see if there could possibly be some symbolic link between the "seven complete scrolls" of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the book of Revelation, the number "seven" featuring so prominently in Revelations. By chance, one day in the middle of June 1996, having photocopied the book of Revelation, in order to place all the references in the Old Testament that bear relation to Revelation next to the text of Revelation ( hoping to find a correlation with history) that I realised that if Revelation is set out on a table its chapters in a way correlate with the form of the War Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I was fascinated by the finding in the caves at Qumran of the jar containing perfectly preserved balsam, a precious commodity, a substance used to anoint the true king of Israel. These findings meant nothing, of course, unless there would be some link in Revelation. I mention this here for from the beginning I fully believed that if the time was right, someone, would be guided to interpret Revelation.. I believed that I should pursue every lead just in case it would give some insight into what Revelation was trying to convey to man.

I read several publications by modern historians interpreting the Dead Sea Scrolls, but I could not agree with some of their interpretations. The findings of one author in particular, from a Christian historical point of view seemed audacious. Not only did she assume from words of the scrolls that the Book of Revelation is the history of the first century AD, but doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was unacceptable from a Christian point of view, for Revelation, that was revealed to John by the angel in c AD97 ( about 68 years after the Crucifixion and Resurrection (29AD - according to time measurement from 1999, Christ was born c4BC) opens with the words, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ…" . Therefore it is a revelation from the RISEN Christ.

In the first place it not seem plausible that Revelation could only have been written about the first century AD, considering that we have come one thousand and nine hundred years since John, who was exiled to Patmos by the Roman Emperor Domitian ( as part of a general attack on Christianity) and Christians are still awaiting the Second Coming.

Secondly, I was convinced that if God is in control of all history, would not, after two thousand years wish to cast doubt in the minds of his followers as to the Son's death and resurrection, for these are the corner stones of Christianity. If Christ had not risen from death, the Christians Faith would be in vain, for man would still be in sin. This is the Absolute Truth of Christianity that cannot be placed alongside any other religion on earth.

1 Corinthians 15:17

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins.

I found the disclosures of these authors particularly alarming for they were made at a time during which many Christians are becoming aware of great decline in the religious and moral values of society.

What also worried me was that they did not give a thought to the idea that they might be intervening in the scriptures to a point that might be intolerable to God. By casting doubt on Christ’s Resurrection and inferring that the ‘Damascus’ the city to which Paul was on his way when he was converted, was not the (to-day) capital of Syria, but possibly Qumran, they are intervening in what was the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended from heaven after the Resurrection as a comfort and guiding light to Christians. In questioning the Resurrection and the testimony of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles in which the Holy Spirit guided the movements of the Apostles, historians should be wary of the following forewarning.

Mathew 12: 31-32

And so I tell you, every sin
and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but
the blasphemy against the Spirit will not
be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a
word against the Son of Man will be for-
given, but anyone that speaks against the
Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in
this age or the age to come.


I decided to look at the Dead Sea Scrolls in a different way. There was the idea in my mind that seeing that we could up till now not understand Revelation something must likely happen or had happened in history to provide some clue to the interpretation of Revelation. I contemplated that if the CONTENTS of the Scrolls are leading to such anti - Christian interpretations, and Revelation starts with the "opening of the seals of the scroll" was there possibly a connection between the book of Revelation and the Dead Sea Scrolls. I thought that researchers might have overlooked something quite straight -forward in the outward appearance, symbolic value or possibly the years of the discovery of the Scrolls.

It then struck me that four significant times of the discoveries of scrolls through the ages just might in some way coincide with the times of the four Horses of the Apocalypse. The thought occurred to me, that if that was the case, we could be near to the end time and we were not even aware of it.

What I have related up to this point was what I knew, when the following happened in the afternoon, at about four o' clock, on Thursday, 22 August 1996. I was preparing dinner in the kitchen, when a 'presence' or 'power' that seemed to come from above, filled the entire room. It was not my imagination, for I distinctly remember that I felt so weak in the knees, that I experienced a feeling of falling forward. I had always heard of people saying that they felt 'weak in the knees' when feeling afraid. I cannot say that I was frightened, it was more the sensation that something very unusual was happening. This passed quickly, for directly after this I experienced receiving the following command. It was written in seven words, in the Afrikaans language, three above and four below, " Wat jy weet moet jy bekend maak" ( meaning " What you know, you must make known"). The words were written in a slight arch, but they entered my thoughts with such force, that I actually answered aloud, "Ja Here" ( meaning "Yes Lord"). It was the sound of my own voice, that jerked me to reality and I remember thinking, but why am I talking! The presence in the room had disappeared. For a while I did not know what it meant, but when I returned to my desk, I thought that maybe I should persevere with the assumption that the four times of the riders of the Apocalypse were the times of discoveries of scrolls through the ages. Possibly we were nearing the end time. In this book, I make known, what I now know.

With only the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which I believe provided a greater understanding of the facts of history and how they relate to the 'global village' and society to-day, I set about delving into history and to see if one could correlate the history of the past two thousand years with Revelation. I discovered that one could correlate the largest earthquakes recorded in history, the great eruption of Krakatoa, and the falling star seen by the Hopi tribe of Arizona, with the history of the spread of the church in the east, and possibly certain periods in history could be determined. I realised that the history of the Christian churches of the Far East and those on the Euphrates, had in the course of history, all been reduced to their present size, because the kings and rulers of the east had never been converted to the point where Christianity became a state religion and therefore did not last for a long period of time. The conversion of some eastern kings did occur and there was religious toleration at which times the Christian church could grow, but those periods would invariably be followed by decades or centuries of pressure from non - Christian beliefs.

It was on these aspects that I focussed my attention and initially made some remarkable discoveries.

When, after many months I eventually realised how Revelation was linked to the history of the world, and only recently what the messages of the entire book of Revelation were, I realised that I had to go along the path of investigation that I had followed. The first two chapters, where I try to link the Dead Sea Scrolls symbolically to Revelation, may seem rather vague to the reader, but I have included them in the text to indicate how I eventually came to see what Revelation was conveying through history.

When starting to read this book the reader must know that ultimately Revelation interprets itself. All I do is provide the guidelines. At the end the reader can decide whether he accepts it or rejects it. In the final chapters Revelation makes quite sure that you have 'interpreted correctly' for the repetition of certain words and phrases substantiate meaning. I of course did not realise this at the beginning of the investigations, but finally I could "measure the temple and the altar" ( Revelation 11:1)

So amazingly has Revelation been put together that I do not want to say too much about it in the beginning. It gives a perspective on history to indicate, amongst other things, of how Christianity was established in the nations of the world. At a certain point "the dragon" ( which caused division among Christians ) was cast down to earth. Then, men: kings, churchmen and the general population, were unwittingly being influenced by Satan, to revolt against the Christian church or to undermine its authority to carry out the Christian message. Satan disguised it in a quest for political "freedom", but what he ultimately wanted was a moral freedom, that he knew men of flesh would have difficulty to resist. Ultimately it became logical to man's thinking to place the Christian church in a subordinate position in the rule of the nations. For in this way man could pursue his "freedoms" relatively unhindered, apart from possibly a Christian conscience. By this time the "dragon" and "the beast" ( a disguised influence of Satan on the kings of the nations) had control over man and he is now in the late twentieth century set on a path of no return. But it is a complex development for while this was happening, the Trinity was noting the deaths of Christians and the destruction of churches and for that, retribution would be demanded from the nations and they would be brought to a "fall". This is a continuous process for when the Christian church was taken out of the rule of the nations, there would be a gradual movement away from Christianity for there was no authority to enforce a Christian morality. This moral fall came about in the middle of the twentieth century with the Second World War and continues to-day. The global village reveals an ever greater anti-Christian and non Christian lawless society and this is why the end time is inevitable.

Why must we know the meaning now? It is because we are at the threshold of the end time. It is to give the Christian of 1999 an understanding and some insight into the purpose of history, to prepare him, I believe, for that which is going to happen in the end time.

I fully believe that the doctrine formulated at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 that stated that the one God exists as the persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one substance, was achieved through men moved by the Holy Spirit casting aside the influence of the many false philosophies of the first four centuries. This was accomplished after numerous persecutions of Christians. Therefore, the scriptures that have led men to Christ through the last two thousand years and spread Christianity across the globe, is totally the whole Truth. If in 1999 there is anything to be looked for it is signs of the Second Coming.

Christians to-day know that Jesus lived in Palestine two thousand years ago, but as the Son of God, by his Death and Resurrection overcame death. Therefore the historical figure, whose life remains the example to all future Christians is exalted to Son of the Father whose Spirit lives in the minds of Christians. In this way Christians cannot perceive Jesus as merely any other historical figure - his life has been eternally ‘irradiated’. The life of Jesus on earth is inseparable from the Holy Trinity.

During the Renaissance in Europe c1400 - 1500, under the influence of the writings of the Greek philosophers that were, after more than a thousand years, being revived and translated into the languages of western Europe, that man began to think that his intellect could explain all things and that studies into the "historical Jesus" began. The humanists tried to avoid the problems transcending that which was "human" and they were either avoided or pushed into the background. Morality and social conduct began to be given much more attention than the question of the hereafter. So absorbed has man been in himself and his achievements in the past some four hundred years that to-day many simply just exclude the supernatural in daily thought, even to the point of becoming anti-church.

As this is the first time that the interpretation of Revelation has been approached in this way it should be disclosed that the Old and New Testaments augment the meaning of Revelation. The actual words of Jesus Christ ultimately convey the full meaning of Revelation. It was in these references in the Bible that I discovered the correlations with history, which later brought about the full understanding of the book.

I have used mainly the New International Version ( abbreviated as NIV) for this correlation, for it is easier for to-day's reader to understand what is being said, but I have had to refer to the King James Version (KJV) which is a more accurate translation as to what is conveyed in the Old and New Testaments. Now the reader can begin to understand why Revelation 22: 18 -19 says the following:

I warn anyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:
if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him
the plagues described in this book..
And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy ,
God will take away from his share in the tree of life
and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

The reason that this stern warning was given, is because if certain single words were changed in Revelation, it could change the interpretation of the "time" that Revelation conveys. However, it will be seen that Revelation is extremely accurate, it even allows for the shifting of the calendar over the past two thousand years! Therefore, calculated from this year 1999, Christ was born in 4 BC and crucified in AD 30.

Revelation works in "chains" of dates and periods of time. What has been so confusing in Revelation is that the measures of time of an "hour", "day" and "month" have no relation to what we understand by these measures of time. These times in Revelation can only be established by an understanding of how Revelation correlates with history and ultimately an understanding of the whole of Revelation. When Revelation finally connects its chains of dates which are "generations" since the birth of Jesus Christ, it verifies its entire meaning and brings to bear the supreme meaning of the Alpha and the Omega.

It will be seen that Revelation is also very closely related to the twentieth century and the present time. We are now in the final years of the twentieth century living the time of the seventh "Bowl of Wrath". This book has been called "How Near Armageddon" for this is what the reader will ponder at the end of the book. Armageddon is a final battle that is going to involve East and West and is going to take place near or in the Middle East.

I have studied history for the greatest part of my life and have been particularly interested in the relations of nations. I could not place all those books that I have read in the past that may have contributed to my understanding of all history in the bibliography. The select bibliography at the end covers all the historical fact in the book. The interpretation of these facts in correlation with Revelation is my own.

This book will indicate through a correlation of what is said in Revelation with the history of the past two thousand years, that the history of the Christian nations was predestined. It will show that we are now living the end time and are already experiencing "the hour of God's judgement" (Revelation 14:7). All that seems to lie ahead is an earthquake that is going to devastate world trade, a plague of hail and Armageddon. This implies a complete understanding of Revelation. The purpose of this book is to convey to the reader what I have discovered.

It will be necessary for the reader to refer frequently to the charts and diagrams to elucidate interpretation.