Revelation: Then, Now & Not Yet
- James Collazo
- Jan 15, 2021
- 17 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Introduction
The Revelation to John describes past, present, and future events. To understand it, we must enter John's first-century setting on the island of Patmos, a prison colony for enemies of the Roman Empire. John wrote to address both his original audience and later generations. This article follows two theological views: partial preterism and historic premillennialism. In other words, Revelation describes first-century events while also offering a symbolic preview of future events. If the kingdom of heaven is "now and not yet" (Luke 17:20–21, 19:11), some aspects of the end times have already begun, while others are still ahead.
Full preterism teaches that all end-time events, including Jesus' return, happened in the first century. Partial preterism, however, sees much of Jesus' Mount of Olives discourse (Matt. 24:3–25:46; Mark 13:3–37; Luke 21:5–36) as "now and not yet." Full preterists believe Jesus returned in AD 70, when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple, while partial preterists generally expect the final eschaton to occur in the future.
We must remain vigilant for Jesus' return, so historic premillennialism aligns most closely with Scripture. The early church held this view for its first three hundred years, making it both historic and faithful to the church's original understanding. It differs from modern dispensational premillennialism, which emphasizes multiple scriptural dispensations. Both forms of premillennialism agree that the literal millennium will occur after Jesus' second coming but before the resurrection of the living and the dead.
Antichrist: Man of Lawlessness
John wrote about the antichrist spirit in both his first epistle and in Revelation. He warned that many antichrists would deceive humankind (1 John 2:18) and even pointed to one in particular: Nero (r. AD 54–68). Revelation criticizes the Roman Empire and its cruel, self-proclaimed emperor. John defined the antichrist as anyone who denies that Jesus is the Messiah (1 John 2:22). Dispensationalists view the antichrist as the devil incarnate. At the same time, historic premillennialists see him as an ordinary political leader, like many who came before. The antichrist does not surpass other dictators in evil; he rises only when God permits him.
Historic premillennialists interpret Revelation as describing first-century events, especially the persecution of the church by Nero and Domitian (r. AD 81–96), as typologies of future tribulations. They follow a "now and not yet" hermeneutic because Jesus and his apostles warned about events in their time and events still to come. Therefore, the early church rightly saw Nero as the antichrist, and leaders like him have appeared throughout history. For example, Nero executed both Peter and Paul in AD 64. Historians have also associated leaders such as "Bloody Mary" Tudor (r. 1553–1558), Napoleon Bonaparte (r. 1804–1815), Joseph Stalin (in off. 1922–1952), and Adolf Hitler (in off. 1933–1945) with the role of antichrist.
Although various sociopolitical pressures fueled these dictators' persecution of Christians, the central tenet of Christianity—"Jesus alone is Lord"—directly challenged their rule. Antichrists fear the existence of a rival kingdom within their territories. The continued persecution of the church proves that God's kingdom exists alongside the realm of darkness. Jesus taught that his kingdom does not come from this world (John 18:36) but endures within the church (Luke 17:21). In his parable of the strong man, Christ described the binding of the devil (Matt. 12:27–29), enabling the church to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19–20).
Even in his time, Paul observed that the gospel "has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven" (Col. 1:23). He also told the Thessalonians, "And now you know what is holding him [i.e., the man of lawlessness] back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time" (2 Thess. 2:6). When released, the antichrist will obstruct the gospel one final time, a feat lesser antichrists have never achieved. Interestingly, the Freer Logion in the Codex Washingtonianus, quoted by Jerome of Stridon (c. 347–c. 419) in his treatise Against Pelagius, confirms the first-century binding of the devil:
And [the disciples] excused themselves, saying, "This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things of the spirits. Therefore, reveal your righteousness now"—thus they spoke to Christ. And Christ replied to them, "The term of years of Satan's power has been fulfilled, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who have sinned, I was handed over to death, that they may return to the truth and sin no more, that they may inherit the spiritual and imperishable glory of righteousness that is in heaven" (Mark 16:14 New Revised Standard Version, footnote A).
According to the realized eschatology of full preterism, the emperor Nero was not the final antichrist. However, John used symbols that pointed to Nero because he represented an immediate example of the ultimate antichrist who would come later. After the assassination of Julius Caesar (r. 46–44 BC) in 44 BC, the Roman Senate began declaring each emperor a god after death. Nero broke this pattern by claiming divinity while still alive. For example, he minted coins showing sunbeams that connected him to the sun god Apollo. To the Jewish people, such a claim was blasphemous, and using Nero's coins likely felt like committing idolatry or worshiping graven images. Later, the emperor Vespasian (r. AD 69–79) added to Jewish suffering by creating the fiscus Judaicus, or "Jewish tax," after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70.
The fiscus Judaicus forced the Jews to give money to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in Rome after Vespasian destroyed their temple in Jerusalem. John used the Greek word charagma (G5480) to describe the "mark" of the beast (Rev. 13:16–17, 14:9, 11, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4). In this context, charagma referred to a coin stamped with Nero's image and his claim to divinity. Luke used the same word when Paul told the philosophers in Athens that humans are made in the image of God—not by graven images (Acts 17:29). Just as Christ rebuked Israel's leaders for serving the emperor instead of God (Matt. 22:20–21; Mark 12:16–17; Luke 20:24–25, 23:2), John warned the early church not to depend on Nero's currency. He also cautioned them about the economic consequences of refusing it, since people could not buy or sell without the official coinage (Rev. 13:17). In simple terms, the final antichrist will not only deny Christ's divinity but also persecute the church. He will endanger the lives of Christians and cut them off from society. Nero provided a chilling example of this evil when he blamed the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 on the Christians, using it as an excuse to slaughter them.
Mark of the Beast in Revelation
The mark of the beast also carries a distinctly Jewish meaning. In Deuteronomy, God commands the Israelites to recognize his sovereignty, love him faithfully, and bind his commandments on their foreheads and hands (Deut. 6:8–9; Matt. 23:5). To obey this law, Jews often wear small leather boxes called tefillin (H8605, "prayers") or phulaktēria (G5440, "phylacteries"). These serve as physical reminders of devotion to God. In contrast, the mark of the beast represents a counterfeit version of this practice, showing allegiance to a false god. It carries both religious and spiritual meaning, not just economic or political power. An antichrist tefillah would remind its wearer to reject and rebel against God. John warned the early Christians that God would judge anyone who received this mark at the end of the age (Rev. 14:9–11). The devil's goal is not only to tempt humanity but also to imitate God by offering himself as a false deity with a counterfeit gospel. Just as Christ rose from the dead, the antichrist will rise as his evil counterpart for a fallen world.
John saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads; one of the heads suffered a mortal wound but miraculously healed (Rev. 13:1–3). The beast represents Rome, a city famous for its seven hills—Palatine, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, and Capitoline. The seven heads symbolize a succession of emperors beginning with Julius Caesar and continuing through Nero, the wounded yet restored head. When John wrote Revelation, he likely drew on existing traditions and stories known to his audience. One example comes from the Sibylline Oracles, which record a Roman belief that Nero did not truly die by suicide in AD 68 but had fled east to plot a return from his Parthian refuge (Sib. Orac. 4.155–65).
In his footnotes on this passage in Revelation, American theologian Milton S. Terry wrote, "Nero, whose murder of his mother is notorious, and whose flight beyond the Euphrates and expected return as antichrist was a superstitious tradition long maintained" (Sib. Orac. 4.155). Interestingly, the Roman historians Tacitus (c. AD 56–120) and Suetonius (c. AD 69–122), along with the Greek philosopher Dio Chrysostom (c. AD 40–110), all recorded accounts of three impostors who attempted revolts while claiming to be the resurrected Nero. Many scholars also suggest that the emperor Domitian represented a Nero redivivus—a symbolic return of Nero's cruelty and godless rule.
In either case, the mark of the beast represents the image of a false god imprinted on the forehead—representing the center of human thought—and on the hand, which carries out the will of the mind. The coming antichrist will likely use a modern means to control people's ability to buy and sell, continuing this ancient pattern of spiritual deception. More importantly, he will wield it to accuse and oppress God's people, both materially and spiritually.
666 & 616: Number of His Name
John taught that the antichrist is a man, not a supernatural being. He told readers to identify this beast by calculating the number of his name—666 (Rev. 13:18). Some scribes changed that number to 616, using the Latin form of Nero's name (Nro Qsr) instead of the Greek form (Nron Qsrn) when they wrote it in Hebrew letters. Other Greek manuscripts show this shorthand instead of spelling out the letters χξϛ (chi, xi, stigma) or χξϝ, with the digamma standing for six.
John warned his readers to look for a human leader, not the devil in disguise. The "man of sin" will act as a political ruler who may not even know he is the antichrist, rather than someone who simply denies God. Just as many Romans admired Nero, people will praise the antichrist as a hero. In modern times, Adolf Hitler showed how this can happen when he captured the loyalty of an entire nation and turned his name into a salute (e.g., "Heil Hitler"). Yet even Hitler, as evil as he was, fell in defeat and proved to be no devil incarnate.
Times of the Gentiles Fulfilled
In Luke's gospel, Jesus warned his disciples that Jerusalem would soon face destruction. His prophecy pointed to the Roman conquest of the city in AD 70 under the general Titus (AD 39–81). At that time, Gentile domination over Judea's capital was about to begin. Yet Jesus also predicted a future moment when Gentile control would come to an end (Luke 21:24). This passage captures the theme of realized eschatology—the "now and not yet."
Jerusalem fell within a generation of Jesus' prediction in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:34). Gentile rule ended on June 10, 1967, when the Israeli Defense Forces recaptured the city after defeating Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the Six-Day War (pictured above). The meaning of Israel's identity divides historic premillennialists and dispensationalists (see "Israel: Election & Identity"). Historic premillennialists view Israel as the church that either replaces or reconciles with the Jewish people. Dispensationalists, however, see the modern State of Israel as the rightful heir to the ancient kingdom. While historic premillennialists often overlook Jesus' warning about the "times of the Gentiles," dispensationalists tend to emphasize it heavily.
For nearly two thousand years after Jerusalem's fall in AD 70, Gentiles—whether Roman soldiers, Byzantine emperors, European crusaders, Islamic armies, or British colonizers—ruled the city. Premillennialists should find this history significant, since Jesus specifically foretold it. Just as Scripture presents the end times as "now and not yet," Israel's identity also carries a double meaning. Jesus said Gentiles would occupy Jerusalem until the end—and history shows that the final occupiers were the British, a nation once shaped by Christianity.
Paul explained that the Jews' rejection of Jesus as their Messiah opened "a close relationship between God and the world" (Rom. 11:15). In other words, salvation reached the other nations because God's chosen people refused to accept him. Paul also warned his Roman audience that Israel—the Jewish people—stands as the original olive tree, and Gentile believers grow in as secondary branches (Rom. 11:17–24). The church does not, and never will, replace or supersede national Israel.
Both historic premillennialists and dispensationalists often frame this issue as an "either/or" choice, insisting that Israel must be either the church or the Jewish nation. Yet Paul described God's people as two distinct but connected communities, and John did the same. Dispensationalists usually interpret the two olive trees and lampstands in Revelation as Moses and Elijah, but John more likely meant old-covenant Israel and new-covenant Christendom. The menorah's importance in both ancient and modern Jewish worship supports this idea.
John described how the antichrist would attack the two witnesses and even encourage the world to celebrate their deaths. But God raised these lampstands after three days, just as he allowed Jesus to die and then rise. While the modern State of Israel gives the world a visible community of Jews, it does not mean the end times are immediately near. The world will continue persecuting Israel and the church until that persecution escalates into open warfare. The final antichrist will lead this attack against the two olive trees and lampstands that witness to God's righteousness. When John spoke of the "nations" (the Gentiles) revolting against the witnesses, he meant the people outside God's old and new covenants (Rev. 11:1–14). In the end, the defeat of the antichrist and his followers will fulfill the times of the Gentiles.
Arrival of the King
In full preterist eschatology, Jesus returned in AD 70 to pour out his wrath on national Israel for rejecting him as Messiah. Yet the parousia (G3952, "arrival") will reveal itself to the entire world (Rev. 1:7) and sound through seven trumpets (Rev. 8 ff.). Every knee will bow to Jesus—humans, angels in heaven, people on earth, and even those who have died (Phil. 2:9–11). The trumpets are not ordinary—they are shofars (H7782, "ram horn"). Jews blow the shofar only on their most important feast days. They used it to signal the start of the siege of Jericho (Josh. 6:4–20), call people to repentance (Isa. 58:1; Hos. 8:1), gather the community for assembly and worship (Num. 10:3; Ps. 47:6), and announce royal visits. Because of these uses, the shofar symbolizes the end times.
Today, Jews primarily use the shofar for the New Year (Hebrew: Rosh ha-Shanah, H7218, H8141, "head of the year") and the Day of Atonement (Hebrew: Yom Kippur, H3118, H3725). The period between these holidays, called the "Days of Awe," calls for intense personal and national reflection and repentance—similar to how people make New Year's resolutions to improve themselves. The shofar's most significant use signals the Lord's day and the end of the age (Isa. 27:13; Joel 2:1). When he returns, Jesus himself will blow the "great shofar," following worldwide days of awe and repentance (1 Cor. 15:51–57; 1 Thess. 4:16).
The Jewish festivals give us clues about God's timeline for the end times. We must avoid setting dates, since Jesus forbids it (Matt. 24:36, 25:13; Mark 13:32). However, God gave the Jews a calendar to help them understand how he works. For example, Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, died on the day of preparation for the Passover (Hebrew: Pesach, H6453) while the priests slaughtered the Passover lambs that evening. The Feast of Unleavened Bread highlights Jesus' sinless nature and his perfect sacrifice for our sins. During the first days of this feast, he lay in the grave. Jesus' resurrection occurred on the day of Firstfruits (Hebrew: Bikkurim, H1061), making him the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20). Pentecost (Hebrew: Shavuot, H7620), fifty days after Jesus' resurrection, signals the plentiful harvest of souls who enter God's kingdom. On this day, Jesus inaugurated the Christian church by pouring out the Holy Spirit.
The three months between Shavuot and Rosh ha-Shanah represent the current age of Christendom. Jesus did not fulfill the three fall feasts during his first coming, so they remain unfulfilled. Since he fulfilled the first four feasts on their appointed days, he will likely fulfill the last three on their actual days as well. We cannot know precisely how he will complete them, but they will probably correspond like this:
Rosh ha-Shanah illustrates the parousia, when Jesus will appear in the heavens as a bridegroom coming for his bride, the church.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, signifies Jesus' return for the Jewish remnant. They will see "the one they have pierced," repent of their sins, and accept him as Messiah (Zech. 12:10; Rom. 11:1–6, 25–36).
Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, points to God's promise to tabernacle with his people again when Jesus returns to reign over the world from Jerusalem (Mic. 4:1–7).
If the Jewish calendar—which marks the traditional date of the earth's creation—sets the pattern for the end times, then the coming millennial reign of Jesus represents a type of Sabbath. The Talmud predicts that the Messiah will come before the year 6000 (Rosh ha-Shanah 31; Sanhedrin 97). Early church leaders, such as Irenaeus of Lyon (c. AD 130–202), also taught that Jesus would return after six "days," following the biblical pattern of sevens and Sabbaths. The first century marked the fourth millennium for the Jews, so we now live in the sixth millennium. By Jewish reckoning, this year is 5785–86, corresponding to AD 2025 on the Gregorian calendar. Could the Lord return by the end of the third millennium?
Conclusion
Historic premillennialism emphasizes biblical, historical, and theological evidence as the foundation for interpretation. It engages human experience directly and is willing to explore the depths of human depravity, including the potential antichrist spirit within each person. In contrast, dispensationalism often portrays the antichrist as something external, without encouraging individuals to examine or remove the antichrist spirit in themselves. Like Nero, anyone can exalt themselves over God and commit terrible sins against him. Still, when dispensationalists identify a man as an "antichrist," they correctly recognize the presence of evil in all humanity. Christians, however, must focus on nurturing goodness rather than dwelling on wickedness if they genuinely love God and their neighbors. As Paul explained, Christians show love by assuming the best of others (1 Cor. 13:7).
The debate between premillennialists and dispensationalists often frames metaphor and allegory against literalism and common sense. Yet both positions prove more complex than they first appear. Historic premillennialists openly acknowledge that evil exists and shapes history. Because of this, the kingdom of heaven continues alongside the church's great tribulation. John showed that God allows the world to remain fallen until the maximum number of souls achieve salvation (Rev. 6:11). In his parable of the weeds among the wheat, Jesus taught that sinners will coexist with saints until the end of the world (Matt. 13:24–30). This teaching challenges the common dispensationalist belief that Christ will rapture the church before the tribulation.
Conversely, the church experiences the great tribulation as much as it does the kingdom of heaven. The world will continue this way until the antichrist—Nero, resurrected—makes his final challenge to God and receives the due penalty for his rebellion. Thus, the mark of God is faith, while the mark of the beast is faithlessness.
Perhaps we focus too much on the mark of the beast and not enough on the seal of the Spirit. While the devil marks those who oppose God before the last day, God seals believers in their hearts for the day of redemption (2 Cor. 1:22, 5:5; Eph. 1:13–14, 4:30; 1 Pet. 1:5; Rev. 7:3–4, 9:4, 14:1, 22:4). Jesus warned his followers to keep watch, pray, and stay ready for his return (Mark 13:23; Luke 21:36). For this reason, Jesus did not drink the third cup of wine during his Last Supper, which was a Passover meal. The four cups represent God's different expressions of deliverance:
I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians (Exod. 6:6–7).
The first cup represents holiness, the second deliverance, the third redemption, and the fourth praise. Because Jesus is the Redeemer, he did not need to drink from the redemption cup, so he skipped it during the Last Supper. We await the cup of praise on the last day, when we will drink it with Jesus in God's kingdom (Matt. 26:29; Luke 22:18). As John writes, "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20).
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of heaven and earth! By the resurrection of your Son on the first day of the week, you defeated sin, overcame death, and gave us the hope of eternal life. Make all our days meaningful through this victory: forgive our sins, take away our fears, give us courage to praise you and do your will, and prepare us to wait for the full coming of your kingdom on the last day. We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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