Read Online The Little Book of the End of the World by Ken Mooney - Free Book Online

the pit for a period of 1,000 years as punishment for his deeds. However, Satan is not killed or defeated: this final victory is reserved for a time when Satan returns.
    Armageddon may actually be a real place, as the name bears close similarities to Tel Megiddo, an ancient settlement about 150km north of Jerusalem.
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    GEHENNA
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    After Satan has been cast into the pit, he will return for one final battle; it is only then, with the ultimate defeat of Satan, that Heaven and Earth can be reborn and that all of the dead will rise again. Satan is ultimately defeated when Jesus casts him and his followers into a lake of fire.
    Just as Armageddon provides the location of a climactic battle, this final battle is tied to a specific place, with all the clues pointing towards the valley of Gehenna, just outside Jerusalem. The valley was used as both a burial grounds and a site for pagan sacrifices, making if especially fitting as the final resting place of a fallen angel. Gehenna was so closely linked to the concept of death that it has become a Jewish by-word for Hell and the afterlife.
    Gehenna is also acknowledged as a place of fire, as many of the sacrifices that took place there involved fire and flames.
    Since Gehenna is not an actual lake of fire, this reading suggests that Revelations was not written to be read around the world, but rather has some specific meanings to those familiar with the history and geography of the Israel of the time.

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    READING REVELATIONS: INTERPRETATIONS AND HIDDEN MEANINGS
    As we’ve already seen, there are many different interpretations of the Book of Revelations: some offer a terrifying vision of the End of the World and the fantastical events that will usher in this period; others are far more subtle, a reference to established books and history with political promises and threats about what will befall the enemies of the faithful.
    In this chapter, we’ll look at just some of the meanings that can be read into Revelations, using codes and references that take into account the time and place in which the book was written.
    Revelations may not have been written as one complete text, with the book gathered from a variety of different sources. The earliest fragments of the book date from AD 70, meaning that Revelations was written during the first Jewish-Roman war. Also known as the Great Revolt, this was an attempted rebellion by the Jewish peoples against the Roman Empire that had been occupying Israel for over 100 years. The war came to a bloody climax in the Siege of Jerusalem, where parts of the city were burned and Roman forces destroyed the Temple.
    A Preterist reading of Revelations adopts this as its starting point, looking at all of the imagery discussed within the book as a reference to contemporary events: the word has its origins in the Latin word praetor meaning past, implying that the contents of Revelations are firmly historical.
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    SEVEN
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    The number seven occurs multiple times throughout the Book of Revelations: there are Seven Seals and many different beasts with seven heads.
    Seven is also a number used in reference to Rome, the city built on seven hills, with the city itself – and its associated empire – becoming a sort of beast with seven heads.
    The Whore of Babylon, referenced in Revelations, is also a false idol who – like Rome – stands atop seven mountains.
    Between the death of Jesus in AD 33 and the Siege of Jerusalem in AD 70, there are seven Roman emperors, each the head of an enemy to the Jewish and Christian peoples.
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    NERO
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    We have already seen that Nero’s name may feature directly in Revelations as the number of the Beast, and there are several aspects of his life and rule that make his inclusion fitting.
    Nero was the Roman emperor for fourteen years from AD 54, one of the longest serving emperors of this early Christian period. He was also one of the most active in the persecution of Christians, killing and torturing Christians