The Book of Revelation is about not only the return of Christ but the return of all the Prophets of the world�s major religions. Astonishingly to Christians, if they could but recognize it, much of it is about Isl�m that was to immediately follow Christianity. Because Christians did not accept Muhammad they could not see that meaning in the prophecies of the New Testament any more than Jews were able to recognize the prophecies in the Jewish Scriptures about Jesus.

The Book of Revelation is also about the 'Time of the End', or what is often called the 'End of the Age', which is the 'End of the Previous Dispensation'. It is about the 'Time of Fulfillment' and in this case the 'Time of Fulfillment' of all the religions of the world. That is what makes it such an interesting and important book for everyone.

These concepts, which have just been mentioned, of course seem very foreign to the thought of most owners and readers of Bibles, at this moment when I am writing. For that reason, while this is a verse-by-verse explanation of the Book of Revelation, there is at the beginning of each chapter a box that presents the overall concept of the chapter.

Archetypes in the Book of Revelation

One of the central concepts required for the comprehension of the Book of Revelation is that it is made up of archetypes. It is failure to comprehend this concept that causes confusion for most people trying to understand The Book of Revelation.

What then is an archetype? The dictionary definition is -

Archetype:

An archetype is the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies. A prototype. A perfect example.

In prophetic writing an archetype is a literary device that means that the thing mentioned is an example or model of the subject, and is not the subject itself. There is a relationship between archetypes, similes, metaphores, tropes, and other figures of speech that are not to be taken literally, but are often literary and prophetic devices for communicating that which cannot be communicated in a literal sense.

There are two groups of archetypes that use the number seven. The first ten mentionings are then used throughout rest of the Book of Revelation:

Rev.
1:4 Seven churches
1:12 Seven golden candlesticks
1:20 Seven stars
3:1 Seven Spirits of God
4:5 Seven lamps
5:1 Seven seals
5:6 Seven horns
5:6 Seven eyes
8:2 Seven trumpets
10:1 Seven thunders

Each of these always mentioned in order refers to one of the Seven Major Religions, The Seven Prophets, The Seven Manifestations. That all these, as numbered in order, each time refer to different aspects of the same religion, and not somehow to unrelated individual different things (although often in regards to different events and activities), is well explained in:

Rev. 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand,
and the seven golden candlesticks.
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches:
and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Rev. 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts,
and in the midst of the elders,
stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes,
which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

The second group are counterpoises of each of the above "sevens" and are first mentioned after the first group has been named:

Rev.
11:13 seven thousand slain
12:3 seven heads
12:3 seven crowns
15:1 seven plagues
15:7 seven vials

These later "sevens" arise as profanations of the first "sevens", and represent the Yin/Yang, Light/Dark duality of the spiritual world. One might go off into the deep mystical nature of Reality and the Prophetic Writings, but that is not our forte.

There are, however, several additional archetypes with which we do deal with extensively, such as "Babylon" and "Chaldea", "Four beasts", "abomination of desolation", and several others.

Prophecy in the Book of Revelation

It is most emphatically asserted here, that the Book of Revelation should not be viewed as a book of prophecy for foretelling the future, except in the most general sense. More specifically, it should be viewed as a book of fulfillment in the sense that as events occur in the course of humanity, it establishes that it should be used as a trusted guide in its recommended remedies.

As with all classical ideas, prophecies can be repeatedly re-examined at different stages in life as one's own spiritual understanding, spiritual maturity, and experience develops and they come to have a broader view of history and other religious cultures. Deeper and additional understandings do not necessarily discount those of others who are at a different stage or are coming to the subject from a different perspective. What is offered here is one perspective within the framework of the world's religions and the spiritual destiny of humankind.

Consider the past, so that thou mayest become informed of the mysteries which shall be disclosed in the future.
('Abdu'l-Bah�,
Bah�'� World Faith,
p. 394)

Indeed to God belongs power in the past and in the future! And verily God is powerful over all things!
('Abdu'l-Bah�,
Bah�'� World Faith,
p. 420)

As for the reference in The Hidden Words regarding the Covenant entered into on Mount Paran, this signifieth that in the sight of God the past, the present and the future are all one and the same -- whereas, relative to man, the past is gone and forgotten, the present is fleeting, and the future is within the realm of hope. And it is a basic principle of the Law of God that in every Prophetic Mission, He entereth into a Covenant with all believers -- a Covenant that endureth until the end of that Mission, until the promised day when the Personage stipulated at the outset of the Mission is made manifest.
('Abdu'l-Bah�,
Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bah�,
p. 207)

The second sort of preexistence is the preexistence of time, and that has no beginning. The Word of God is sanctified from time. The past, the present, the future, all, in relation to God, are equal. Yesterday, today, tomorrow do not exist in the sun.
('Abdu'l-Bah�,
Some Answered Questions,
p. 116)

Therefore, the knowledge of God in the realm of contingency does not produce the forms of the things. On the contrary, it is purified from the past, present and future. It is identical with the reality of the things; it is not the cause of their occurrence.

In the same way, the record and the mention of a thing in the Book does not become the cause of its existence. The Prophets, through the divine inspiration, knew what would come to pass. For instance, through the divine inspiration They knew that Christ would be martyred, and They announced it. Now, was Their knowledge and information the cause of the martyrdom of Christ? No; this knowledge is a perfection of the Prophets and did not cause the martyrdom.

('Abdu'l-Bah�,
Some Answered Questions,
p. 138)

In the world of God there is no past, no future and no present; all are one. So when Christ said, "In the beginning was the Word" -- that means it was, is and shall be; for in the world of God there is no time. Time has sway over creatures but not over God. For example, in the prayer He says, "Hallowed be Thy name"; the meaning is that Thy name was, is and shall be hallowed. Morning, noon and evening are related to this earth, but in the sun there is neither morning, noon nor evening.
('Abdu'l-Bah�,
Some Answered Questions,
p. 156)

This is one of the characteristics of Bah�'u'll�h's message and teachings. Can you find events and happenings of this kind in any other prophetic dispensation? If so, in what cycle have similar things taken place? Do you find such specific prophecies and explicit statements concerning the future in the Holy Books of the past?
('Abdu'l-Bah�,
The Promulgation of Universal Peace,
p. 433)