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Revelation

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THE BOOK OF REVELATION: M. M. NINAN<br />

Since Matthew 24 begins with Jesus visiting the Jerusalem Temple and pronouncing that "there shall not be<br />

left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (vs. 3), preterists see nothing in Scripture<br />

to indicate that another Jewish temple will ever be built. The prophecies were all fulfilled on the thenexisting<br />

temple that Jesus spoke about and that was subsequently destroyed within that generation.<br />

Historicist view<br />

The Historicist view applies Tribulation to the period known as "persecution of the saints" (Daniel 7,<br />

<strong>Revelation</strong> 13). This is believed by some to have been a period after the "falling away" when papal Rome<br />

came to power for 1260 years from 538 to 1798 (using the Day-year principle). They believe that the<br />

tribulation is not a future event. Matthew's reference to "great tribulation" (Matthew 24:29) as parallel to<br />

<strong>Revelation</strong> 6:12-13, having ended when the signs and wonders began in the late 18th century.<br />

Historicists are prone to see prophecy fulfilled down through the centuries and even in today's world. Thus,<br />

instead of expecting a single Antichrist to rule the earth during a future Tribulation period, Martin Luther,<br />

John Calvin and the other Protestant Reformers saw the Antichrist as a present feature in the world of their<br />

time, fulfilled in the papacy.<br />

Various views on the timing of Rapture<br />

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