Revelation: 4 Very Different Views in 5 Minutes [Futurist, Preterist, Historicist, Idealist]

Perhaps the book of the Bible with the most disagreements, Revelation does not run short of interesting content. This video provides a very brief summary of the 4 primary views (though it is good to note that within each of those views, there are an abundance of perspectives). These views are Futurism, Preterism, Historicism, and Idealism. Note that the futurist view is spoken more from the Dispensational perspective and the historicist view touches on aspects of the Seventh Day Adventist Perspective. If you wish for a thorough treatment of the entire book of Revelation, we recommend picking up our friend Steve Gregg's book: "Revelation: Four Views, A Parallel Commentary, Revised & Updated Edition". This comprehensive work pulls from a collection of scholars from the various views and thoroughly works through the book in a parallel manner. At the end of the day, where we should all have common ground is recognizing that Jesus Christ is coming back and there is no better use of time than to serve Him now.

[MyMinistryMinute]

While we recognize that there is even variation within each of these views this was a very fair representation. Very good job.

[martin]

Thanks for not adding your own bias or viewpoint into the mix...it makes it a much equal survey of each view. Love your ending, regardless of which view is right (or none of them), we live for Jesus now!

[shaulanaw]

I found this pamphlet at the Bible bookstore called "Understanding The Book Of Revelations" and began studying it to better understand Revelations. This video REALLY helped me understand the Four views better! Thank you for being straight forward and not adding any fluff! Jesus is coming soon! God Bless🙏🏽💯

[jesusisrisen]

Thanks dear brother! For the first time I finally understand the differences between each view.

[aerodave]

Chris, good job on this explanation. I found an error though. Historists do not believe that the 1, 000 year reign of Christ is on Earth. They believe Christ take us up to Heaven for the 1, 000 years. Dispensationalists believe that Christ's 1, 000 year reign is on Earth. Big difference.

[SpotterVideo]

A Millennium Puzzle to solve… Will Christ be conducting funeral services for mortals killed in accidents 500 years after His Second Coming?

The “first resurrection” in Rev. chapter 20 is not the first bodily resurrection in the Book of Revelation, because the two witnesses are resurrected from the dead in chapter 11. There are two different types of resurrection in John chapter 5. There is a spiritual resurrection from the dead in John 5:24, and a bodily resurrection from the dead in John 5:28-29.

Does your view of the Millennium agree with what Paul said in 2 Thess. 1:7-10, when Paul said Christ returns in "flaming fire" taking vengeance on those who do not obey the Gospel? The fire comes at the end of Rev. chapter 20.

Does your view agree with what Peter said in 2 Peter 3:10-13, when Peter said this earth is going to burn and "dissolve" when He comes as a thief on the day of the Lord? The fire comes at the end of Rev. chapter 20.

Does your view agree with what Paul said in 2 Tim. 4:1, when Paul said both the living and the dead will be judged at His appearing? The time of the judgment of the dead, with reward for some and destruction for others is found in Rev. 11:18, right after the 7th trumpet, which is the last trumpet in the Bible. (This verse also proves the Book of Rev. is not in chronological order.) The judgment of the dead is also found at the end of Rev. chapter 20.

Does your view agree with what Jesus said in Matt. 25:31-46, where He described the judgment of the sheep and goats, which leaves no mortals alive on the planet at the end of the passage? There are also no mortals left alive on the planet at the end of Rev. chapter 19.

Does your view agree with Peter in 2 Pet. 2:4, and Jude in Jude 1:6, when they both said wicked angels are already in chains of darkness?

Does your view agree with what John recorded in Rev. 9:1-2, when an angel comes down from heaven with a key to unlock the pit, which means the pit was locked before that time? Are there wicked angels already in the pit in Rev. 9:11? John recorded angels already "bound" in Rev. 9:14. The beast "ascends" out of the pit in Rev. chapter 11, which means the beast was in the pit before that time.

Take all of the above and compare it to the symbolic language found in Rev. chapter 20, and the fact the Book of Revelation is not in chronological order, and you will have the truth.





Multiple Second Coming Visions in Revelation: (book not in chronological order )

Christ returns one time in the future. However, there are several different visions of His return shown from different perspectives in the Book of Revelation.

Christ returns at the end of Revelation chapter 6, with signs in the sun, moon, and stars, as are found in the Olivet Discourse.
Those at the end of the chapter are hiding from the wrath of the Lamb.
Why would they be hiding if Christ is not present?
The "kings", "captains", "might men", "free", and "bond" are also found in chapter 19 at the return of Christ.

He returns at the 7th trumpet, which is the last trumpet in the Bible, and the time of the judgment of the dead in Revelation 11:15-18.

The beginning of chapter 12 is a history lesson containing the fall of Satan, and the birth and death of Christ, who is the seed promised to crush the head of Satan in Genesis 3:15.

The Second Coming is found in the "harvest" of chapter 14, which is related to the parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew chapter 13.

He comes as a thief at Armageddon, and we find the greatest earthquake in history in chapter 16. This occurs when the 7th angel pours out his vial. How powerful is an earthquake which moves islands and destroys the mountains? What is happening to the planet?

He comes on a horse in chapter 19.

Chapter 20?
Does He come with the fire, and the judgment of the dead at the end of chapter 20, which agrees with what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, and 2 Timothy 4:1?
(The time of the judgment of the dead is also found in Revelation 11:18.)
There are no mortals left alive on the planet at the end of Matthew 25:31-46.
Why does an angel come down from heaven with a key to unlock the bottomless pit in Revelation 9:1-2, if the pit was not already locked before that time? Are there wicked angels in the pit in Rev. 9:11? If the beast "ascends" from the pit in Rev. chapter 11, where was the beast before that time?
Does your view agree with Peter in 2 Pet. 2:4, and Jude in Jude 1:6, when they both said wicked angels are already in chains of darkness?
Revelation 9:14 proves some of the angels were previously bound in some manner.
Because the two witnesses were bodily resurrected from the dead in Revelation 11, the "first resurrection" at the beginning of Revelation 20 is not the first bodily resurrection in the book.

The principle of "Recapitulation" means there are multiple visions of His return.

[Chewie]

Nice video. I like the quick videos packed with information. Nobody wants to watch hours on YouTube. I would have liked to hear you mention that there is a full preterist view that believes 100% of Revelation was fulfilled in the 1st Century with the end of the Temple system which is looked at as Christ’s coming in judgment, and we are now living in the Messianic Age.

[biblebased]

Grace and peace. I think you would need to review the one with the SDA's. The view of the SDA's is not Christ reigning 1000 years on earth, but 1000 years in heaven with the saints.

[mbfrommb]

Part 1/2 The problem I have with videos like this is that the Futurist or Dispensational view is ALWAYS presented as being invented by Darby or that it's a few hundred years old. This is a falsehood. Now the understanding may be incorrect but the fact that this is often the first point bothers me because it's a lie. Why is this important to me? Matthew 16:1-4 Jesus rebukes the Pharisees harshly for not knowing the time of His coming. They claimed they studied Scripture, that they loved the LORD and were awaiting the coming Messiah and yet they totally missed Him. That is why I spend the time to write this.
First, there are 2 aspects to the futurist view and Dispensational (which is often called Dispensational Premillennialism). So is the correct view Premillennialism and are things like the Temple rebuilt, the Antichrist, the 7 years, etc true?
The most basic question when talking about this topic is "Is the 2nd Coming AFTER the Millennial reign OR is the 2nd Coming BEFORE the Millennial reign (Premillennialism)?

Either Jesus's reign is yet to come or it's now. Well here are some really old texts showing Premillennialism
Barnabas, AD First Century “Therefore, children, in six days, or in six thousand years, all the prophecies will be fulfilled. Then it says, ‘He rested on the seventh day.’ This signifies at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus, He will destroy the Antichrist, judge the ungodly, and change the sun, moon, and stars. Then He will truly rest during the Millennial reign, which is the seventh day.” Epistle of Barnabas 15:7-9

Irenaeus, 180AD "For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: "Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works."(6) This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years;(7) and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year. Against Heresies 5:28

Commodianus, AD 240 “We will be immortal when the six thousand years are completed.” Against the Gods of the Heathens 35 “Resurrection of the body will be when six thousand years are completed, and after the one thousand years, the world will come to an end.” Against the Gods of the Heathens 80

Victorinus, AD 240 “Satan will be bound until the thousand years are finished; that is, after the sixth day.” Commentary on Revelation 20.1-3

Methodius, AD 290 “In the seventh millennium we will be immortal and truly celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.” Ten Virgins 9.1


Papius First Century “I was taught by the Apostle John, himself, that after the resurrection of the dead, Jesus will personally reign for one thousand years.” Papias, Fragment 6

These are just a bit of the evidence we have. We have calendars from the Dead Sea Scroll caves supposedly from the time of the Zadok Priests (1 Chronicles, 1 Kings) that show 7000-year calendar 6000 years of human dominion +1000 of the messianic kingdom. We see the Jewish calendar is counting up to the year 6000 looking for the messianic age.

Now granted all these writings could be wrong, but they all are Premillennialism. As far as Dispensational or futurist as defined by this video. Jesus fulfilled over 100 specific prophecies literally. The Bible is rife with prophetic events that were fulfilled literally. I'm not saying all of the Bible is literal, however, the topic of Bible prophecy is literal.
Second, this video talks about a 7 year period. Where does that come from? Daniel 9 and Revelation 11-13.
Yet here are some early writings of commentary on this topic.

We need to understand the lineage of disciples: Apostle John taught Polycarp. Polycarp taught Irenaeus, and Irenaeus taught Hippolytus.

Hippolytus (170-235 AD) wrote a 67 section/ chapter writing called "The Antichrist - a Treatise on Christ and Antichrist"
"Now Daniel will set forth this subject to us. For he says, “And one week will make a covenant with many, and it shall be that in the midst of the week my sacrifice and oblation shall cease.” Daniel 9:27 By one week, therefore, he meant the last week which is to be at the end of the whole world, of which week the two prophets Enoch and Elias will take up the half. For they will preach 1, 260 days clothed in sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and to all the nations." ...For John says, “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11:3 That is the half of the week that Daniel spoke about. “These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire will proceed out of their mouth, and devour their enemies; and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy; and have power over waters, to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will.” Revelation 11:4-6 And when they shall have finished their course and their testimony, what does the prophet say? “the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them, ” Revelation 11:7 because they will not give glory to Antichrist. For this is meant by the little horn that grows up. He, being now elated in heart, begins to exalt himself, and to glorify himself as God, persecuting the saints and blaspheming Christ, even as Daniel says, “I considered the horns, and, behold, in the horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things; and he opened his mouth to blaspheme God. And that born made war against the saints, and prevailed against them until the beast was slain, and perished, and his body was given to be burned.” Daniel 7:8

Hippolytus: On the End of the World A Discourse by the Most Blessed Hippolytus, Bishop and Martyr, on the End of the World, and on Antichrist, and on the Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. "For through the Scriptures we are instructed about the two advents of our Christ and Savior. And the first after the flesh was in humiliation, because He was manifested in lowly estate. So then His second advent is declared to be in glory; for He comes from heaven with power, and angels, and the glory of His Father. His first advent had John the Baptist as its forerunner; and His second, in which He is to come in glory, will exhibit Enoch, and Elias, and John the Divine[xlii]. Behold, too, the Lord’s kindness to man; how even in the last times He shows His care for mortals, and pities them. For He will not leave us even then without prophets, but will send them to us for our instruction and assurance, and to make us give heed to the advent of the adversary, as He intimated also of old in this Daniel. For he says, “I shall make a covenant of one week, and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and libation will be removed.” Daniel 9:27 For by “one week” he indicates the showing forth of the seven years which shall be in the last times. And the half of the week the two prophets, along with John, will take for the purpose of proclaiming to all the world the advent of Antichrist, that is to say, for a “thousand two hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth;” Revelation 11:3" Section 21

Irenaeus (180 AD) “In 2 Thessalonians, the ‘falling away’ is an apostasy and there will be a literal rebuilt temple. In Matthew (24:15), the ‘abomination spoken by Daniel’ is the Antichrist sitting in the temple as if he were Christ. The abomination will start in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week and last for a literal three years and six months. The little horn is the Antichrist. Against Heresies 5.25

Now again these all might be incorrect, but so far this videos assumptions as to what Darby invented a few hundred years ago seems to be a lot older.

Does the book of Revelation talk about a 7 year period? Yes.
Revelation 11:3
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1, 260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Daniel used a 360 day calendar for the weeks. We know this because we know when Jesus was crucified.
See my video on Daniel's 70 weeks here:

1, 260 days is 3.5 years. So the 2 witnesses preach for 3.5 years.
Verse 7
7 When they (2 witnesses) finish their testimony (1, 260 days), the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 13:1
Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
...5 And he (the Beast) was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.

42 months is 3.5 years.

1, 260 days the 2 witnesses preach then the beast rises and kills them and is given authority for 42 more months or 3.5 years. (verse 7 "...And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.) = 7 years.
(continued in Part 2)

[Corinthiansvto]

Did you know that the Mark of the Beast has THREE FORMS? People think it's just "a chip". Check out the three options listed in Revelation 13:17, which says, "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, OR the name of the beast, OR the number of his name." MARK, NAME, OR

[ArnoldHirschy]

Brothers and sisters, regardless of when Jesus comes to take us to be with Him, our Bible teaches us to be prepared to stand firm and patiently endure persecution. Christians have been facing persecurion ever since Jesus came to live in our world continuing even to today. The group Open Door who monitors the top 50 countries who persecute Chrustians reported that 380, 000, 000 people have faced Xhristian petsecution of varing forms in 2024. The number has continued to rise. Our Bible teaches us that it is definitely not worth it to give in to persecution in the long run. Stand firm trusting Jesus and pray for those facing it. 🙏

[Mike-qtjp]

Please read this comment: I really would like to hear your opinion. The Preterist always stresses the importance of the time stamp verses, like when Jesus says, "Truly I say to you, 'THIS generation shall not pass away until all is fulfilled.'" But do we really see "All these things fulfilled."

Yes, we see that the Temple was destroyed, but the Church is still here (no rapture) the Bema Seat Judgment for the whole Church did not happen, our Blessed Hope, the Glorious Appearing of Our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ has not happened yet. The Preterist position says, Jesus said that His generation would see all these things happen, so if we don't take Jesus at His word, that these things all happened in the first century, then we are calling Jesus a liar. This is all based on the "time stamp" verses: "this generation" means the first century generation, NOT some generation two thousand years later.

HOWEVER, speaking about Joseph and Mary taking the baby Jesus to Egypt, Matthew 2:15 says, "...where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Here is the Prophecy spoken by the PROPHET Hosea in 11:1, "...and out of Egypt I CALLED my son." Here is the point: the prophecy in Hosea does NOT say, "Out of Egypt I WILL call my Son" but rather, it says, "and out of Egypt I CALLED my son." Called is PAST tense of the word "call." How could Hosea use the "past tense" CALLED and not the future "WILL call?"

Hosea lived at least 700 years BEFORE the time of Christ.

So, are the so-called "time stamp" verses set in stone?

[qwerty-soml]

PRETERISTS, HISTORISTS are taking away from the worst horror the world will see (Matthew 24:21), when the earth shakes to and fro like a drunkard (Isaiah 24:20), as the pit is opened (Revelation 9:2) and the locusts are released (Joel 2:25).

John received the book of Revelation.

Yet, he was told that he would be coming back at the end.

Revelation 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy AGAIN before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

That revelation of the prophesy again is in the past two decades:

[rogermetzger]

All or very nearly all sun worshippers also refer to other aspects of the universe as gods.
Before the twentieth century, all or very nearly all monotheists worshiped the creator.

I think of myself as a monotheist and a fiat creationist.

Judaism, Christianithy and Islam are generally considered to be the three major divisions of monotheism. I consider Jesus, before his incarnation, to have been the active agent in the creation of life on this planet. That belief means that I’m not a follower of either traditional Judaism or Islam but neither am I a “Christian traditionalist”. The religious beliefs and practices of many professed Christians (almost certainly a majority) are based on what they consider to be Christian traditions and traditional interpretations of the Bible. Most of those traditions and traditional interpretations were developed from a perspective that considered Christianity to be a relatively new religion VERY different from that of the Hebrew patriarchs and prophets of antiquity.

I consider the religious teachings and practices of Jesus and his apostles to be the true CONTINUATION of the beliefs and practices of those patriarchs and prophets. Many traditionalists who consider themselves Christian would, therefore, not consider me to be Christian.

Another division began before the sixteenth century but became a major issue in that century. It was - and is - characterized primarily by three major protestant doctrines: Justification by grace alone through faith alone, the primacy of scripture and the priesthood of all believers.

Although some protestants may understand those doctrines somewhat differently than I do, I subscribe to all three of those doctrines.

During the sixteenth through the nineteenth century, all or nearly all protestants in Europe used the historicist (aka historical) method of Bible interpretation based on the premise that the promises to and the prophecies about the Hebrew people (except those that have already been fulfilled and those that are conditional) will be fulfilled to or through the Christian church. The historicist method is compatible with either of the two views (mentioned earlier) about whether Christianity is the true continuation of the beliefs and practices of the Hebrew patriarchs and prophets of antiquity or whether Christianity is very different from those beliefs and practices.

During the Council of Trent (1545-1563) Jesuit scholars proposed two methods of Bible interpretation - preterist and futurist methods - as alternatives to the historicist method.

I’m an historicist.

Among protestants, another division occurred in the eighteenth century with the development of postmillennialism in the United States. It remained the majority eschatological view in the United States until the end of the nineteenth century.

I don’t subscribe to the postmillennial view.

Premillennialism was never very popular in the United States in the nineteenth century but two different versions of premillennialism - very different from each other - were introduced into the United States in that century.

Historicist premillennialism was widely discussed in the United States in the early 1840s. In the twenty-first century, there are more than eighteen million historicist premillennialists in over 200 countries but maybe as few as a million in the United States.

Dispensationalist/futurist premillennialism developed in Ireland in the nineteenth century and was introduced into the United States after the American Civil War. It is currently the most popular method of Bible interpretation among U.S. citizens who call themselves “evangelical”.

My personal eschatology is premillennial and based on the historicist method of Bible interpretation.

Among observant Hebrews, professed Christians and Muslims, there are people who try very hard to read their sacred texts as “literally” as possible. These people are sometimes called fundamentalists.

In the United States in the early twentieth century, some conservatives who were trying to interpret the Bible literally held several conferences. Some of the people who attended those conferences subsequently published lists of what they considered the “fundamentals” of the Christian faith. One such list includes the divinity of Jesus, his virgin birth, his resurrection, his return and “biblical inerrancy”.

I believe Jesus is divine, that he was born of a virgin, that he died and was buried, that he arose literally and bodily from the grave, that he ascended literally and bodily to heaven (the place from which he rules the universe) and that he will return in glory to rescue his waiting saints.

I’m even in general agreement with the idea of biblical inerrancy but that concept needs some clarification.

First, some fundamentalists think “inerrancy” includes the doctrine that the Lord gave the Bible writers the actual words to write.

Maybe that concept applies to passages that are preceded by “Thus saith the Lord” but, as a general rule, I don’t think of the Bible as having been dictated, word for word, by the Lord.

Some fundamentalists think “inerrancy” means that everything in the Bible should be taken literally.

I prefer to interpret as much of the Bible literally as I can but, after studying it for myself for more than sixty years, I still haven’t found a way to interpret every passage literally - even to my own satisfaction.

Another problem with fundamentalism is the implication that anyone who doesn’t affirm this or any other list of “fundamentals” is not fully and truly Christian. I believe Jesus is fully human and fully divine, for example, and if someone is actively teaching that Jesus isn’t divine, I wouldn’t vote for that person to hold an elected office in a Christian organization. On the other hand, if someone has difficulty understanding how Jesus can be fully divine and is intellectually honest enough to decline to affirm that doctrine, that doesn’t necessarily mean - in my view - that he is not a Christian. And I sure don’t agree that people who fail to affirm the deity of Jesus are hell-bound!

My religious beliefs and practices are personal - not institutional. I think I have good reasons for my beliefs and I’m willing to share those reasons with anyone who is interested but I prefer to encourage everyone to study these topics for themselves. Nobody should adopt my beliefs on the basis of my study - even if I’ve spent more than sixty years studying the history of the development of various religious perspectives.

P.S. If a person is aware that Seventh-day Adventist eschatology was developed on the basis of the historicist method of Bible interpretation and if the majority of historicist commentators expected Jesus to reign on Earth during the millennium, it would be easy to assume that Seventh-day Adventists also expect that. The Adventists of my acquaintance, however, consider the promise of Jesus to take believers to the mansions he had gone to prepare to be a reference to his second coming - not a reference to a pre-tribulation rapture - and that, therefore, believers will reign with Jesus in heaven for a thousand years before the new Jerusalem descends to the earth, the finally impenitent are resurrected, they acknowledge the justice of the Lord but then demonstrate their lack of true conversion by attacking the city, whereupon, Adventists expect “fire” to consume the rebels and, after the smoke clears, for the redeemed to inhabit a newly recreated Earth.

[jonldavis]

For the most part SDA believe the saints along with Christ will be in heaven for the 1000 years while Satan is trapped on the earth with no one left to temp because the wicked were destroyed at the brightness of Jesus' coming before the 1000 years.

[emmettmitcham]

Use the old testament to interpret revelation. The answers revelation is not the future. It’s the past.

[jtv]

Now do 'Satan's little season' the correct view.