WHEN HEAVEN COMES TO EARTH: UNDERSTANDING THE APOCALYPSE: A Full-Contact Commentary on the Book of Revelation

This thorough explanation of the book of Revelation is a guidebook to the Tribulation period. The author’s first motivation in undertaking such a task is to teach prodigal sons and daughters who left the Christian faith of their parents how to know God personally and why that is of paramount importance. The author shows how we can know that we are living in the end times, what to expect, and how to respond when the Rapture proves the reliability of God’s word. Unbelievers will be surprised by the Rapture and won't know what to think or do. Many of these haven’t read a Bible in years, if ever. They will find themselves in desperate need of information they can trust when the whole world is lying to them and trying to force decisions of eternal consequence upon them.
This commentary is also written for believers who want Biblically sound information about the Rapture, the Tribulation, the beast, the various kingdoms, and how heaven will be set up on earth. To meet the conflicting goals of providing both urgent information and full explanation, the author has put some of the deeper but less urgent information in appendices and footnotes.
The author drew upon the profuse prophecies of the Old and New Testaments and the accumulated knowledge and skills gained from five decades as a Bible student and teacher. He has combined much deep thought with the sound principles of literal, cultural-historical, grammatical interpretation in order to present good, defendable answers to the questions raised by the Apocalypse. For example, how can we know that the Rapture will happen before the Tribulation? How can we know that the promises made to Israel will be fulfilled to Israel? What is the actual order of events in Revelation? What can we know about the antichrist? Is the eternal Lake of Fire really necessary, and why will a good God send people there? These questions and many more find logical answers when persistently pursued to their solutions. The author always explains how we can know these things.
The purposeful prominence of the number seven makes the outline of Revelation evident, especially since Revelation describes the last seven years of Israel's history as predicted in Daniel 9:24-27. It's a seven-point outline: 1) Introduction of the Judge, 2) Seven Letters, 3) Seven Seals, 4) Seven Trumpets, 5) Seven Bowls, 6) the Seventh Day (the Millennial Kingdom), and 7) Introduction to Heaven on Earth. Revelation details the consummation of God's long-term plan to unite heaven with a perfected earth for eternity so His perfected people can enjoy His perfect providence and live with Him in faithful, loving, harmony and perfect freedom.
Twelve in-depth appendices develop such topics as the age of the earth; the seven "days" (of a thousand years each) of earth's allotted history as a separate kingdom operating parallel to God's eternal kingdom; why the Rapture must take place before the Tribulation; man’s impossible sin problem and God's perfect solution; the creation and fall of angels; Millennial Kingdom passages; other Biblical passages concerning the new heavens and earth; and a more detailed look at Daniel's amazing prophecies.
Each chapter and appendix is fully developed with the Biblical and logical evidence that supports the views presented and refutes alternate views. The author continually traces the logical flow of the book. While he makes and identifies inferences when appropriate, the book of Revelation is sensational enough by itself, leaving no need to sensationalize it further by wild, unfounded speculations.