TIMES)
Applying the Cornerstone Method on Eschatology (Study of the End Times)
In our previous notes, we introduced the Cornerstone Method of Rightly Dividing Scripture as a suitable method for understanding the word of God; and that it entails recognising the following:
- That scripture is built like a house with a predefined architecture: Christ’s sayings (the four gospels) forming the cornerstone while the apostles’ letters (epistles) are foundation stones built upon the cornerstone.
- That foundation stones support the building as long as they are properly fitted on the the cornerstone. The cornerstone is not made to fit on the foundation stones.
- That the apostles do not introduce any totally new doctrine but rather simply expound and explain what Christ had already said in the gospels.
- That to understand the letters of the apostles better, we need to see them through the lens of Christ’s sayings (the four gospels)
- That in case we find some of Christ’s teachings complex to grasp, we will always find a detailed echo of the same in the apostles’ letters
A table was also used together with quotes from the gospels and epistles to demonstrate the applicability of the Cornerstone Method.
Most believers I have met report that the Book of Revelation is one of the hardest books to understand. In the past centuries, we have seen and read about so many schools of thought concerning the study of end times yet most of them have, unfortunately, not increased understanding of the subject matter. Thankfully, the Cornerstone method will come in handy with the following introductory cuts into the Book of Revelation:
Based on the Cornerstone Method’s ideals, the Book of Revelation must not be viewed as independent of the gospels or as an isolated novel work by itself. It should not be used as a number 1 guide to end time prophecy. The moment that is done, distortions and private interpretations are bound to ensue yet we are told that no scripture is a matter of private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). Instead it should be viewed in its right perspective – as building upon the cornerstone teachings of Christ’s discourse.
For example, whereas the gospels (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21) guarantee chronology of end time events described by Christ therein, the Book of Revelation is not fully chronological in fulfilment but has portions of it that are clearly fulfilled following one another. Thus when looking for the order of end time events, we do not strongly base on the Book of Revelation or any other epistle for that purpose. Instead, we use the cornerstone to organise the Book of Revelation because foundation stones support the building as long as they are properly fitted into the cornerstone. The cornerstone is not made to fit on the foundation stones but the reverse is true. The order of events in Matthew 24 is sure but in the Book of Revelation it isn’t. For example, the Book of Revelation is derived from two methods of prophecy:
- Through visions signified by an angel: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John (Revelation 1:1).
- Through visions from an eaten book: Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” (Revelation 10:10-11).
When the method of prophecy is changed, the author is also told that he must prophesy AGAIN implying that, in the second episode of prophesy, he will also reprophesy some things he had already prophesied under the first method, albeit with more details not mentioned before.
But the cornerstone is clear and categorical about the order of end time events, for example, consider the following portion:
Matthew 24:15-31, NKJV.
15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand… 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. … 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be… 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The following order of events is categorically and expressly given:
- The rise of the antichrist/man of sin
- The great tribulation caused by him
- The great signs in the sky – the sun is darkened; the moon does not give its light; the stars shall fall from the sky.
- The coming of the son of Christ
- The gathering of the elect by angels using trumpet sound
We must not allow to be perplexed, flabbergasted or even disoriented in any way by the use of seemingly novel prophetic phrases like seals, bowls, horses of different colors, horse riders, trumpets, etc., used in the Book of Revelation because the bottom line is that they must align with the cornerstone. The Cornerstone method comes in handy, for example, when the 6th seal is opened, the great signs in the sky and the coming of Christ spoken of by Christ, in (3) and (4) above, are evident, and thus we have an entry point for clearly dividing and conquering the portion of the Book of Revelation that speaks of seals:
Revelation 6:12-17, NKJV.
12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
We thus understand that as far as the seals of Revelation are concerned, the 6th seal represents the coming of Christ on the clouds of heaven. This also means that the 5th seal must be about the great tribulation given that the Cornerstone, himself, categorically states that the great signs in the sky before the coming of Christ are immediately preceded by the great tribulation period: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven...
For further confirmation we look at the description of the 5th seal to see whether it alludes to the great tribulation for conformity with the words of the cornerstone:
Revelation 6:9-11, NKJV.
9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. 10 They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them.
We find out in the above scripture that when the 5th seal is opened, a white robes are given to all the souls of martyrs in history who are crying for vengeance for their blood; and they are told to: rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them.
We accordingly confirm that this speaks of the great tribulation given that it is the time period in our future when martyrdom will be brought to an end because after the great tribulation, Christ comes to bring salvation to us and wrath to the ungodly.
Thus the Cornerstone Method can be applied to other parts of the Book of Revelation and other epistles for a more accurate perspective of the subject of the end times (eschatology).
One of the conclusions to draw from this is that the common referral to seals as a representation of the wrath of God that will happen after rapture is obviously a claim not backed up by scripture but by fear catalyzed when a carnal Christian reads about terrifying symbolisms of seals, horses with destroyers on them.