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Welcome to the Swordmaster Publications Wiki

The primary purpose of this wiki is as a resource/commentary to explore primarily apocalyptic texts within the Bible as well as address the "meat" of scripture and controversial topics.

Labels and Concerns

You may sometimes see the word "blog" in the older articles.  This is because I am transferring from a blog format to a wiki, which I believe is more useful for what I'm trying to accomplish.  The ability to crossreference and link to terms and other passages is more powerful in a wiki environment.  Eventually the old articles will be updated and the word blog will disappear.  I just didn't want you to think I was ignorant of what the difference was between a blog and a wiki.

Scripture-Only Based Interpretation

When we study the Bible, there are some fundamental truths that must be understood. The starting point from which I will lay the foundation for the interpretation of Revelation (and the whole Bible) I believe and teach is as follows:

The Bible is all-sufficient: (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

1. All scripture (that is to say, the 66 books of the Bible) are the divine, plenary inspired, Word of Jehovah God.
2. All scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
3. All scripture is able to make the man of God perfect.
4. All scripture completely furnishes man unto every good work.
5. Correctly interpreting scripture (any and all scripture) is a good work.
6. The scriptures are all-sufficient for interpreting any and all scripture.
7. Revelation is part of the scriptures and therefore can and must be understood correctly.
8. The scriptures are all-sufficient for interpreting Revelation.

Also, unless otherwise noted, all quotes of scripture are taken from the KJV.

I do not know if I will cover every symbol in the book of Revelation. The doctrine of Revelation, that is the impending fall of Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish age, and the freedom of the church from her worst persecutor according to scripture (the Jews), is incredibly pervasive throughout all scripture. Who knows if this nation will last long enough for me to finish here? Who knows if I will live long enough for me to finish here? My endeavor here is to try.

I will make several precise statements here so that you understand where I am coming from and perhaps how I will be going.  These are a place to begin, though I understand that not everyone who reads this wiki will begin at the same place.

First -- I absolutely believe in a literal heaven, a literal place of eternal punishment (Gehenna) and separation from God, and a final, literal Judgment Day where all humans of all times will be resurrected, both good and evil, to be judged by almighty God for the works they have done in their life. The cornerstone passage for this is 1 Cor. 15.

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• I do not believe in or teach Max King's Transmillenialism. It is heresy and I reject it.
• I am not a full preterist. If you don't know what that means, then its a fancy label that you can learn about on your own so long as you do not apply it to me.

Second -- I believe commentaries are useful, just as faithful Christians preaching and teaching the gospel on a day-to-day basis are useful, but both categories are uninspired and must be held up to the light of the only objective spiritual standard there is, the Bible. In essence, if you refer to a commentary in the negative against my case, I will refer you to the scriptures in the affirmative for my case and the scriptures will ALWAYS take precedent over commentary. And in the affirmative, I refuse to even respond to commentary. I refuse to discuss things with people that aren't actually present. Make YOUR case, not theirs.

Third -- I believe that every symbol in Revelation can be correctly interpreted. You will never hear from me that Revelation is too hard, or that God did not mean us to understand parts of written scripture (unless He explicitly states that in the context of the given scripture). All positions that are different in the foundational premise from the one I hold, as far as my experience goes, do not, and even some state that we cannot, interpret every symbol in the book of Revelation. Those people are simply ignorant people. Hopefully, if they read this, they will become less ignorant.

Fourth -- I believe that unity of mind concerning doctrine is commanded in numerous places in scripture and was prayed for by Jesus in John 17. Anyone who denies that we should be united in our understanding and teaching of an entire book of the Bible, that we should just "agree to disagree" has embraced the core of denominationalism and will reap that reward. Too long has the church of Christ in modern times been ignorant, fearful, and/or divided over what is really not that hard of a book to understand. If you are going to argue that unity in understanding on this book is impossible or even highly improbable...go away.

I will begin with a look at what Jesus had to say concerning some symbolic terms surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem. You may not agree with me initially. Fine. But make your counter arguments from scripture, not opinion. We will begin at the beginning with the foundation and work our way up TO Revelation. I refuse to start towards the end of the book like so many others do. It does nothing but get people all hot and bothered and then the focus dies.

To those who are here to sell your book or argue for arguments sake or any other silly reason, you are welcome to read, but keep your Proverbs 12:1 comments to yourself.

To those who are here in the spirit of Christian discussion to reach unity in the faith, even if we disagree for the nonce, I bid you full welcome!

Categories

• Full Commentaries
• Apocalyptic Texts
• Interpretational Errors of Prophecy
• Thematic Articles
• Error in our Songs
• Bible and Science
• General Apologetics

Apocalyptic Terms

Use the stubs located at this link to quickly reference symbols found multiple times in various apocalyptic texts.

• Birds and Beasts
• Eagle
• Earth
• Fire
• Flood
• Heaven
• Lampstands
• Last Days
• Mountain
• Sea
• Sun Moon Stars
• Trees