Revs on Revelation

For a long time now, I have struggled with the book of Revelation. It is not that I find it unbiblical. The problem is that it is scripture. All Scripture is God-given and God-breathed. What is the problem then?

The problem is that I have no idea what I believe will happen in the "end times". I believe that Jesus is coming back in power & glory & in a physical way. I do subscribe to the pre-millennial view. Just which one?

I am not amillennial. I believe that there are good Christian people who hold this view. I am not one of them. I think that to assume this view, you have to stretch application of certain verses and take others out of context. Plus, this view didn't really exist en masse until the 5th Century. That, to me is important.

I am not post-millennial. The way I see it, things are getting worse, not better. The universal c Church is having less of an impact than it was 100 yrs ago. This was a view held by some early christians, but as time went on, Jesus' prophecies made on Mt. Olive and those elsewhere in the New Testement led people to believe that this world is going somewhere in a handbasket, and it is not to "Glory".

I am pre-millennial. Pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib? I don't know. I am fairly certain there will be a "rapture". Am I dispensational? I say yes, but not to the degree that others are.

Last night, I heard Rev. Jim Blaine (my cluster leader) preach a sermon on Daniel 9. He is doing a revival series at Mt. Hermon UB on the 2nd Coming of Jesus. He did a marvelous job. I am not sure I agree with him on everything, but that is okay. Do I believe Jesus is coming back and back soon? Sure. I'd even take a bullet for that. But I am not going to take a bullet on where this all fits into a timeline or is the rapture pre-trib or mid-trib. That's not what I call bullet theology. Others would take a bullet for this belief, and I salute them. I'm just not one of them.

I wish I had firm convictions like other pastors do regarding the end times. For now, I will just have to preach the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ by explaining all views and giving some evidence or critique of each one.