"Come out of her, My people" [now on sale a Lulu 25% off] is a breakthrough interpretation of Revelation that connects John's prophecy with actual places and events of our time. The destruction of the Great Harlot must occur before the other catastrophic events of Revelation. It would not be possible for a golden age of world commerce to arise during a seven-year period after 1/3 of mankind, plants, fish, and atmosphere have been destroyed. (Consider how long it really takes to turn an economy around - Japan, Europe, the U.S., Haiti)
According to Jesus; persecutions, betrayals, false prophets (such as The False Prophet), and lawlessness will occur between "the beginning of sorrows" and the "great tribulation". The Olivet Discourse warns Jesus' disciples in order to prepare them for the troubles ahead. But as these sorrows begin, many Christians will be unprepared and disillusioned when they realize that the rapture might not spare them from these difficulties. In fact some plagues that could be avoided will overtake those who fail to respond to God's warning to "come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues".
A Jesuit theologian proposed synchronizing Daniel's last seven years with the bulk of Revelation. His motive may have been to discourage Luther and other Reformers from equating the Pope with the Antichrist. Francisco Ribera's "Futurism" moved the time of the False Prophet into the irrelevant future, thus thwarting the accusations of the Protestants, however it also delayed the second coming of Christ to a theoretical time at the end. In 1827, John Nelson Darby set out to resolve this problem by proposing a pre-tribulation rapture. This doctrine solved the problem created by Futurism and restored the blessed hope to the church. But sealing the book of Revelation until a future time is contrary to John's instruction not to seal his prophecy. "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand." (Revelation 22:10) Sealing a prophecy means to postpone its application until a future time or event.
So where does Ribera's theory leave us today? The spirit of the prophets cries out "the end of the age is at hand". Israel is once again a nation! And the earth is truly groaning with pangs; earthquakes, tsunamis, plagues, and wars. We must be diligent to watch for the fulfillment of Revelation's prophecies in our day just as the Fathers of the Reformation were in theirs - before Revelation was cleverly sealed. Steinle includes charts and time lines that explain his non-denominational views on Revelation.
