23. Outline of the Book of Revelation

A few caveat emptors and aids to study: (1) this outline of Revelation is not identical to an outline of Future History (Bible Prophecy), because much of Future History is not mentioned in Revelation; (2) the events described in Revelation may not be in strict chronological order; and (3) This outline is not meant to be for all purposes, but specifically for study of prophetic issues -- thus the quick overview of the first three chapters.

Although posted, this is a preliminary draft, preparatory to final checking. This outline is completely my own creation, although it has been checked and rechecked against other similar outlines for accuracy, to avoid obvious error. Yet, it is hoped that it is more orderly in its presentation -- in the sense that the relation of the seals, trumpets, and bowls, in relation to the parenthetical sections can be more clearly seen.

It will be beneficial to click on the post title, and print this outline as we study the book of Revelation along with other prophetic passages.

1.) The servants, the setting, the "sevens", and the savior - Rev Ch 1
2.) Letters to seven local churches - Rev Ch 2 and 3
3.) The Scene in Heaven - Ch 4 and 5
.....a.) Jesus the Lamb takes the scroll to open it 5:6-14

4.) The Seven Seals - the start of the Tribulation period
.....a.) The 1st Seal - 1st horseman - False Christ/Antichrist 6:1-2
.....b.) The 2nd Seal - 2nd horseman - Peace goes, War starts 6:3-4
.....c.) The 3rd Seal - 3rd horseman - Famine upon the earth 6:5-6
.....d.) The 4th Seal - 4th horseman - Death and Hades come, bringing more war, famine, and pestilence 6:7-8
.....e.) The 5th Seal - The cry and comfort of the slaughtered martyrs 6:9-11
.....f.) The 6th Seal - Chaos and devastation on earth and in the heavenlies. The "Great Day of his wrath" arrives 6:12-17
..........(Parenthesis in Heaven:
...............1.) The sealing of the 144,000 witnesees 7:1-8
...............2.) The great multitude out of the great tribulation 7:9-17)
.....g.) The 7th Seal - Contains the 7 trumpets, silence and forewarning of judgment 8:1-5

5.) The Seven Trumpets -- The second half (the last 42 months of the Tribulation period) may start here at 5.a.), or may start at the 1st Woe (5.e.), or may start at the first Bowl judgment (7.a.). Knowledgable opinions differ.
.....a.) The 1st Trumpet - hail & fire with blood falls upon earth 8:6-7
.....b.) The 2nd Trumpet - a great burning mountain (meteor?) falls into the sea 8:8-9
.....c.) The 3rd Trumpet - a burning star-like object falls upon the rivers & streams 8:10-11
.....d.) The 4th Trumpet - a third of the heavenly bodies are struck 8:12
.....e.) The 5th Trumpet (The 1st Woe) - Satan falls from heaven, releases tormentors from the pit 9:1-12
.....f.) The 6th Trumpet (The 2nd Woe) - Four angels & 200 million horsemen released 9:13-21
..........(Parenthesis in Heaven:
...............1. Mighty Angel announces the 7 thunders (hidden) 10:1-4
...............2. Mighty Angel announces "there will be no more delay" 10:5-7
...............3. John eats the little scroll 10:8-11
...............4. The temple is measured, the two witnesses testify 11:1-14)
.....g.) The 7th Trumpet (The 3rd Woe) - The great announcement of the kingdom arrival, worship breaks out in heaven, more judgments commence, (and this last trumpet contains the 7 bowl judgments) 11:15-19

(6.) The Great Parenthesis
.....a.) The Woman (Israel), her Son (Messiah), and the Dragon (Satan) 12:1-6
.....b.) Satan thrown down to the Earth 12:7-11
.....c.) Woe to the Earth, war with Israel, war with the saints 12:12-17
.....d.) Power given to the first Beast (the Antichrist) 13:1-10
.....e.) And power given to the second Beast (the False Prophet) 13:11-15
.....f.) The Mark of the Beast 13:16-18
.....g.) The Lamb and the 144,000 14:1-5
.....h.) The messages of the three angels 14:6-13
.....i.) The harvest of the Earth -- the grapes of wrath 14:14-20
.....j.) The scene in heaven before the seven bowl judgments 15:1-8)

7.) The Seven Bowls of wrath (possibly the start of the 2nd half of the Tribulation, called the Great Tribulation)
.....a.) The 1st Bowl of wrath - harmful and painful sores 16:1-2
.....b.) The 2nd Bowl of wrath - sea becomes like blood, all sea life dies (salt water) 16:3
.....c.) The 3rd Bowl of wrath - rivers and springs become blood, (fresh water) 16:4
..........1.) Proclamation of the righteousness of God's judgments 16:5-7
.....d.) The 4th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the sun - fierce heat 16:8-9
.....e.) The 5th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the throne (kingdom) of the beast 16:10-11
.....f.) The 6th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the river Euphrates, to open the way 16:12
..........1.) Demonic spirits like frogs sent to assemble the kings 16:13-15
..........2.) The gathering takes place at Armaggedon 16:16 (see 19:11-21)
.....g.) The 7th Bowl of wrath - poured out in the air, "It is done" 16:17

(8. The Last Parenthesis)
.....a.) overview of the destruction of Babylon 16:18-21
..........1.) destruction of religious Babylon 17:1-18
..........2.) destruction of commercial Babylon 18:1-24)

9. The scene in heaven and Earth.
.....a.) Rejoicing in heaven 19:1-5
.....b.) The Marriage Supper of the Lamb 19:6-10
.....c.) The Battle of Armageddon 19:11-21

10. The Thousand Years, The New Heaven & the New Earth, Life with God
.....a.) The Thousand Years of Kingly Rule, with Satan bound, and thrown into the abyss 20:1-6
.....b.) The final defeat of Satan 20:7-10
.....c.) The Great White Throne judgment 20:11-15
.....d.) The New Heavens and the New Earth ch 21
..........1.) The New Jerusalem 21:9f
.....e.) Life with God 22:1-5
.....f.) The last warning to those alive now: Jesus is coming back 22:6-21

22. Will I become an angel when I die?

No, sorry, I hate to burst your bubble; and Michael Jackson did not become one either, although you'd think he was already an angel to hear it told on the TV news and talk shows. It's a current common theme -- Michael looking down upon us. (And I'm not talking about Michael the genuine Archangel.)

But the reason that you, and I, and Michael Jackson will not become angels is primarily because angels are a different species than we are -- another type of being -- unrelated to mankind. It's like asking whether you will become a canine in the next life, or whether your late Fido will become a human in the heavenlies. (Which is a totally different issue as to whether we'll meet our pets in heaven. I hope we will !!)

There is a little more to it, however, in that angels (although sometimes visible) are spirit beings, aka non-corporeal beings. Some post in the future will tell us much more about angels. But even now I will complicate things a little, by saying there are two other types of beings that many writers put into the category of angels: the cherubim (pl.) and the seraphim (pl.). In a broad sense, we could put them in the angel category since they are spirit beings (although sometimes visible) also.

But here's a question: Do angels (in the narrow sense) have wings? That is, other than the angels for sale at the mall and shown in Disney movies? No, apparently not. There is no instance of wings being spoken of in the Bible concerning the angels. Go read your whole Bible and check it out. But the cherubim and seraphim BOTH have wings.

The seraphim are spoken of by name in only one passage of scripture (Isaiah 6:1-7) -- although there are hints of their action elsewhere, as fiery beings. "Seraphim" means the fiery ones, the burning ones.

The bizarrely beautiful four-faced cherubim, however, are mentioned often in the Bible, and play a large part in the book of Revelation. This is why I brought up the subject, since Revelation is full of angels and the living creatures involved both in worship and judgment. The beings described in Rev 4:6-11; Rev 5:6-14; and Rev 6:1, 3, 5, &7 (and called living creatures), are surely the same cherubim which are also described and called cherubim in Ezekiel 10:1-22, which are also described and again called living creatures in Ezekiel 1:5-28.

That should give you plenty to consider and to look up in your bibles.

May your guardian angels watch over you tonight. (But are you really sure you have a guardian angel?) :^)
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21. Revelation the book - veiled or unveiled?

If those of us who teach the Bible are honest, we must admit that initially the book of Revelation was tough reading -- even after we had read it through many times. But perseverence paid off, because like all books of the Bible, with familiarity comes understanding, and it is no longer "the beast" that it once was.

At first, it seemed like God's purpose for the book of Revelation was to veil or hide some teaching about the end times from our knowledge or sight. Au contraire! Actually the opposite is true. If God's purpose was to hide, to veil, to block, the book would have been called Veilation -- although for me, it might as well have been called Veilation through the first few times through. Even now, every teacher of Revelation has had to reluctantly admit concerning certain passages, "These verses are still a puzzle", or "The meaning of this passage has been debated for 1900 plus years."

The word Revelation, is related to the English word "reveal", and comes from the Greek word apokalypsis which you may recognize in the English form "apocalypse" (for example, "The four horsemen of the apocalypse.") The word apocalypse means "revelation, disclosure, unveiling", and that is indeed what happens as one becomes familiar with the book and with the Bible in total.

So do not dispair if you are new to the Bible, or at least to Revelation. Surveys show that many people have read the Bible through, except for the book of Revelation. It is time for that to change, it is time for it to become unveiled to you! That will happen as we study forward through the book, and particularly as we compare it to the other prophetic passages in the Bible.

In the near future, we'll look at how we got the book of Revelation.

20. Open your Bibles -- but which one?

The more we look into what the Bible teaches about the last days, the more I would recommend a Bible version that you can trust to accurately translate what was originally written in the languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

Prior to 1940, there were only two versions of the Bible that were widely used, the main one being the KJV (King James Version). This version was published in 1611 and updated a few times into the 1700's, but it is amazing how well it still holds up as a respectable version. The main problem with the KJV is that hundreds of English words no longer mean the same thing that they did back in 1611 or even in the 1700's when the last KJV updates were done, and the vocabulary itself is at times difficult as well as historically unreliable.

So, if you are going to use the KJV as your study Bible, you should also get a more recent version where the vocabulary is more dependable. Recent versions from about 1970 abound, and are of three basic types: literal word-for-word, hybrid dynamic-equivalence, and free-style. Free-style versions (such as the TLB, The Message, and NLT) are perhaps the most understandable, but are the least useful if accurate study is desired.

The hybrid versions, such as the NIV (New International Version - the best selling of the recent versions), strive for a middle-of-the-road position regarding accuracy vs. understandability. Where the literal bibles attempt to be a word-for-word translation of the early manuscripts, the NIV attempts to be a thought-for-thought translation, rendering the thoughts into a better-flowing equivalent of the word-for-word versions -- and if the only version available was the NIV, I would use it with pleasure. Yet I think we can do better for study purposes.

As for me, since I need to come as close to the originals as I can, I no longer use the KJV, and have gone to a more current vocabulary in a literal version, using the NKJV (New King James Version), the NASB (New American Standard Bible), and the ESV (English Standard Version). Each of these dependable versions have strengths and weaknesses, but often the text in many Bible passages is the same or nearly so in the three versions -- since they all attempt to be as close to a word-for-word literal translation as possible.

If you decide it is time for you to get a new Bible as we study more deeply into the Biblical texts, I would consider all the last four versions as a great improvement over the KJV, and would rank the ESV best, then the NKJV, the NASB, and the NIV. Best of all, get a parallel Bible that has two or more of these versions side-by-side. Often it helps to get a Study Bible, and all of these versions come with excellent ones, but just remember that the Study notes do not have the same accuracy, authority, and importance that the words of scripture do.

For Roman Catholics, the Douay-Rheims version has many of the same vocabulary problems as the KJV (having been published in the same period, around 1609), and I would rather recommend the highly readable, yet literal NAB (New American Bible). The NIV is also available for Catholics.

Hope this helps you select (or at least investigate) a new Bible. If you have questions or comments, please click on Comments below.

19. Is North Korea mentioned in Bible prophecy?

The very short answer:
Maybe, with qualifications.

Is the word "Korea" in the Bible? : Most definitely not! Not explicitly, and not even implicitly.

Ten years ago, no one would even consider that North Korea might be a factor in the last days. But answer this: Is the word "China" mentioned in the Bible? Most definitely not! But most authors of books on prophecy consider that the nation of China -- more specifically the army of China -- appears near the final days of the end times.

It can be seen in the following passage in Revelation 9:13-16 which says:
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard their number.

Another passage in Revelation 16:12 speaks of what most consider to be the same event and time: 12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

This number of people (if the figure is to be taken literally) has been possible only since perhaps 1970, and almost all writers take this to be the Chinese army. However, there are other possibilities. The Revelation 9 passage does not tell where they are coming from, but the Revelation 16 passage says they are "the kings from the east". East often means "Orient", and the Orient includes such nations as China, Japan, and Korea. So this could be an all-out assault from the Orient countries.

Another view, which might exclude Korea, is that the Muslim nations also are generally to the east of the Holy Land, which is where all the nations are heading at the time of these two passages. This could be an all-out assault from the Muslim countries.

So the evidence is inconclusive and not as easy to interpret compared to whether Iran is mentioned in Bible prophecy, but thought-provoking just the same. For sure, we'll be looking at this issue again.

18. Is Iran mentioned in Bible prophecy?

The very short answer:
Definitely, with qualifications.

Is the word "Iran" in the Bible? : Most definitely not! Not explicitly. But that does not mean that it is not implied in the Bible.

While "Iran" is not mentioned, if we look at maps of Biblical nations at various times in ancient history, we find that the area that Iran now occupies has been occupied by Persia off and on for around 2500 years. Present day Iran sits just to the east of present day Iraq, which was known best in ancient Biblical times as first, Assyria, and then, Babylonia. In those nations prime years (800 BC to 540 BC), two other nations were rising to their east, called Media and Persia. Those nations (as Medo-Persia) temporarily united to conquer Babylonia in 539 BC.

Media soon fell to Persia, which predominated in that area (Iran/Iraq area) until conquered by Alexander the Great in 330-331 BC. Within seven years, Alexander died, and eventually Persia ascended to again become the regional power (although weakened) in the Iraq/Iran area.

Since then, Persia and the Persians (who are not Arabs), have either remained in or returned to that general area, conquering, and being conquered (the Persian land fell to the Muslims [mostly Arabians] in 641 AD). See Iran and Persia in an encyclopedia for more information. Eventually Iran was reestablished in much of the area formerly known as Persia.

And so, when we find the nation Persia in a Bible verse, we can consider that the land is now usually called Iran (with some border variations).

In Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, there is a great war against Israel that is considered to be a very important prophetic passage by almost all, and also considered as not yet having occured by most. In this war, the major power is the nation to the far north of Israel (called Magog, Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal in Ezekiel's day). More about that nation in a later post (but you might check it out with a current map). But the list of other nations that unite with that major power against Israel is interesting: In Ezekiel 38:5, it states that "Persia, Ethiopia (possibly Sudan --aka 'Cush'), and Libya (aka 'Put') are with them".

So, yes, with the qualification of a name change, we can say that Iran is mentioned in Bible prophecy as Persia, and there will be much more about this coming war against Israel in future posts.

17. Are "the end times" different than "the last days"?

This came as a question within a comment. I thought it deserved to be a full post.

Yes, different in the sense that "the last days" is infrequently used to refer to the time beginning when Christ rose from the dead (Heb 1:1-2) through the second coming of Christ. More often, however, "the last days" is used to mean a similar period as "the end times". In this sense, both of them mean the short period preceding and including the second coming of Christ, which is taken in some circles to be a period of 7 years or somewhat longer.

16. Future History Mission Statement

Although this is posted up above, below the title, I thought it would be worth reposting it here for those who have overlooked it:

Future History: those events still set in the future that will one day become history. Some of them are near, some distant; some clear, some obscure. The purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for discussion about where the present and the future intersect. It is the writer’s conviction that the Bible is by far the most accurate source of what is yet going to happen, and what direction that current events are going to take. We’ll start out simple, and work our way toward the difficult.

Also, here you can comment on it if you like.
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15. Christian Soldiers? Growing Controversy

Friend Anthony sends this link to a Newsweek article about the growing controversy over military chaplains using the armed forces to spread the Word. The days for this sort of evangelism may be numbered.

14. Is The End Coming in '2012'?

Updated and revised on July 18, 2009 4:55 p.m. CDT

Extremely doubtful. (See post #8 below)

Another post about the doomsday movie "2012"
See 2012 article link

Note: Since some links to news articles may not stay active forever, let me know via a comment if this weblink becomes inactive.
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13. Q - Why should I read the book of Revelation?

A - You mean besides the obvious? Here are some reasons, obvious and not so obvious.

1. We should read the book of Revelation because it's part of the Bible, where God has told us ALL things that are necessary for life and godliness. (2 Pet 1:3)2. We should read the book of Revelation because it's part of the Bible, where ALL scripture is inspired (breathed out, lit. ex-pired) by God and is PROFITABLE for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man (and woman) of God may be adequate/complete/mature, fully equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)
Okay, okay, I get the general idea.
But are there any special or specific reasons to read the book of Revelation?

3. We should read the book of Revelation because Jesus Christ's second coming is inexorably linked to the end times. If we begin to see small sightings of the end times approaching, it will be a major clue that Jesus' return is not far away. And what specific book specializes on (a.) the end times and (b.) Jesus' second coming? The book of Revelation!

But, the book of Revelation itself tells us a reason to read it: That the one who reads it will be blessed (happy, fortunate, favored, blissful, spiritually rewarded) :
Rev 1:3 : "Blessed is the one who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and heed (listen to and do) the things which are written in it; for the time is near."

And just how near is the time? (It has been at least 1930 years from the date of the writing of Revelation until the present time).
And the nearness of the time (or lack of nearness) will become a topic for a future major sized post!

12. Q - When will the Future History outline be posted?

updated Saturday, July 4, 2009 5:07 pm

A - Sometime within the next 15 days, and within the next 15 posts.
However, it may be that I will just post the first part -- perhaps the first half -- of the outline of what is to come.

UPDATE: The Future History Outline became Topic #27, with a condensed version at Topic #29

11. Q - Are we now in the end-times?

A - It is the blogwriter's viewpoint, and that of many others, that we're not inside the house yet, but we are getting ready to climb up onto the porch.

Or, putting it another way: we cannot yet see the train on the horizon, but we can hear the horn in the distance, and the baggage handlers have started moving around. Clues are starting to multiply.

Or, still another way: when you enter the foothills of the Rockies, you'd better start preparing for the hard drive up the mountains. Difficult times are coming, perhaps sooner than we expect.

10. Outline of Future History in Matthew

That would be the Bible book of Matthew, in chapter 24.
Now would be a good time to dust off your Bible, and find Matt 24, where we find one of just a few places where God has placed an outline of His own in the Bible.

I say that, because there is no end under the sun of recent outlines of books of the Bible -- but few that have been placed there during the original writing of a book of the Bible.

In Matthew, the outline of Future History goes like this:
1. "The end is not yet" -- read Mt 24:4-6 -- when we see these things happen, we should not yet pack our bags, but we should be watchful and waiting.
2."The beginning of sorrows (or 'birth pangs')" -- read Mt 24:7-8 -- when we see these things happen, we should realize that we are on the threshold of the end times (see post #11 directly above)
3. "Then the end will come" -- read Mt 24:9-14 -- the time of chaos and eventual blessing arrives.

This outline was put in Matthew for a good reason. These are actually answers to a question that was asked in 24:3, which was in response to a comment Jesus made in 24:2 :

As Jesus' disciples were pointing out the greatness of the temple, Jesus told them "Do you not see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone of the temple will be left upon another. It will all be torn down." So the disciples ask him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"

And the answer to that question occupies most of the rest of Matthew chapter 24.
But here is a question for you to consider: Was the disciples' question actually two questions? Or maybe even three questions? The answer to that determines how we are going to interpret Jesus' primary teaching on the end times.

And there will be many more posts about that issue as we proceed.

9. Future Events indicated by Current Trends

If “future events cast their shadows backwards” (see Post #2), then some events that are going to happen in the near future (2-5 years) must have their origins (in part) occurring in the present time, or even earlier.

A short list of trends that are happening now that could have major implications in the near future would include:
1. The return of Russian militancy and dominance
2. The belligerence of the new nuclear hopefuls
3. The renewed increase in wars and possibilities of wars
4. The growing riches in Israel
5. The growing pressure on Israel
6. The global rise of militant Islam
7. The rise in America of a stealth Islam
8. The global movement toward a cashless society
9. Growing government intrusion and interference with life and liberty
10. The increase in famines and earthquakes*1
11. An increase in the velocity of the trends themselves
12. The growing possibility of the collapse of the world economy (added 1/04/11)

This may seem like a fairly diverse list, where the items listed only have one thing in common: their current upward trend. But there is a second common factor that is not so readily apparent: the Bible speaks of most of these events happening in increasing measure as the end-times approach. These trends should be watched for increases, confirmations, and deviances.

As the days and weeks go on, we will look at each of these trends in single posts or multiple posts.

*1 – amazingly including Cleburne, Texas with six small earthquakes in the few weeks after this 2009 post.

8. Dec 21, 2012 (or Dec 12, 2012)

Added 1/04/2011 3:23 p.m. CST: I reviewed this movie in post #96.

Added 2/23/10 9:02 p.m. CST: This movie was released in Nov '09, and came out in DVD in late Feb '10.

Added 7/18/09 3:37 p.m. CDT: I received a call about this topic #8 from a personal friend -- the caller thought I was unclear about whether I agreed with the Dec 2012 date for the end of the world or not. The answer is I don't, and I have cleared that up the body of the topic below. The main reason is that Jesus says in Matthew 24:36 (speaking of when Jesus will return): "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." The end of the world (as we know it) is tied up with the return of Jesus. See also topic #42 for more about the timing of his coming.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

According to the main website that expounds the Dec 2012 theory, and about 3,600,000 other sites according to Google, the world will end on this day. And this view has merit to many people (but NOT ME!!). A number of seers, students of ancient calendars, astrologers, celebrities, plus (allegedly) one Christian writer and speaker, have gotten on board the 12/21/12 bandwagon. Interestingly, the predicted time is not 12:12 GMT, but rather 11:11 GMT. Note the countdown clock on the above linked website.

Most of the events that are expected to take place in 2012 will have their origins much earlier – supposedly some began in 2008 – but these events will converge into a great cataclysmic holocaust on that day, many say (but NOT ME!!).

Before that date, the major SFX film “2012” will hit the theaters this year on November 13, 2009. It has the plotline: “An academic researcher leads a group of people in a fight to counteract the apocalyptic events that were predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar”.

And how does all this match up with Biblical passages about the end times? Not well at all. The worldly prophets have done as well as I described in post #3.

First, no Biblical passage mentions the date 12/21/2012 (actually, no passage mentions ANY end-time date); and second, in Matthew 24:36 it says that no one (not even the angels) knows the day and hour, which is known only by God. The "date setting" alone is evidence that something is wrong with the Dec 21, 2012 date, as well as the alternate date Dec 12, 2012.

Keep your eyes and ears open though. There will be much more this year about the topic as the movie is promoted and then opens, and then again as the date approaches.
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7. But where should I begin?

If you are new to the Future History Blog, you are most fortunate! The Future History Blog is not very far along, and you can still follow the King's advice. I'm speaking, of course, of the King in "Alice in Wonderland", where he exclaims, "Begin at the beginning," the King said gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

And you can do precisely that, because post number 1 is only six posts below here. As far as going on "till you come to the end", you'll just need to make this Blog a favorite, and check back here about as fast as I can type.

AS FOR NOW, START BELOW WITH POST #1.

Please feel free to Comment on the posts, as that may help determine the direction of the Blog.

6. The Unpredictable Nature of Black Swans

Nassim Nicholas Taleb has written a book called, "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable". While I wouldn't agree with everything in the book, Taleb has grasped something important: It is the highly improbable events that predominantly shape history. The author says that this is easily demonstrated in past history, and that we should expect such impactful events to continue into the future.

Put in the most simple terms, "Black Swans" are major events that could not have been predicted. Such events would include (1) The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, (2) the Indonesia Tsunami of 2006, (3) The events of 9/11/2001, (4) the Great Flood of antiquity, and (5) the resurrection of Jesus Christ, just to name a few world or nation changing events.

Read Taleb's introduction to see why he calls such events "Black Swans".

There are many important and potential cataclysmic Black Swans in the prophetic sections of the Bible. To most people, the Great Disappearance (one of the next events on the horizon) will seem like a Black Swan occurance. Much more later about this event.

There will be more about other potential Black Swan events as the blog posts continue.

5. Is this Blog going somewhere?

Yes, in every way. (There's a pun in there somewhere)
Well, not in EVERY way, although starting out it may seem like it.

Think of a long tunnel with a very wide opening at the entrance, but the further you enter the tunnel the more narrow it becomes. By the time you get to the far end, the walls seem to be closing together.

Or imagine a funnel. At the wide end, the points around the circumference are very far apart. At the small end, they are not far apart at all.

And that is the way this blog will be. Initially, the topics might seem to be very broad -- perhaps even scattered. But as the days go by, the threads of the posts will be drawn closer and tighter. Soon, you'll see a continuity. I would add that there won't be many posts about what Larry is doing right this minute (you'll need to see twitter for that). And a post about the death of a beloved pet will be an exception to the rule.

Did you read the italicised mission statement under the name of the blog (the fine print)? That should tell you more about the Blog, its direction, and eventual destination.

Next, a word about Black Swans.

4. The Passing of a Pet - letter to family & friends

Dear Family and Friends,
It’s with great sadness that I tell you that today (Saturday 6/13/09) Mollie entered doggie heaven (or the long sleep as we also call it).

It all started when I (Larry) got up this morning, and found out that Mollie was having the problem again of not being able to get her hind-quarters up off the floor. It had been four weeks since her cancer surgery, and we had hoped we would have had longer with her. Still, we are very thankful to God for the time we had with her after her major operation. And for those four weeks, after the initial recovery, she was the old Mollie, with the same sparkle in her eyes, and the same bounce in her walk.

This time we knew what the problem was – her blood pressure had dropped drastically, apparently from internal bleeding. This morning the period of not being able to stand lasted 2 hours, compared to 45 minutes the other times it had happened. It was obvious that she was in a lot of misery.

So we made the arrangements at the vet, and like we did with Patchy (three years earlier), the doctor gave her the first shot to make her sleep, and we stayed with her and told her what a good girl she was and gave and got lots of goodbye kisses and pats. But where Patchy stayed awake about 10 minutes after the shot, Mollie fell asleep after about three minutes. The doctor came in to give her the second final shot, and at that point we left, leaving her there peacefully sleeping. Her last thoughts were how much she loved her family, and how much we loved her.

She had 15 wonderful and happy years, a long life, and only about two bad weeks – and that is a deal that I’d take any day!

Thanks for the prayers and concern, and yes, at some point in the future, perhaps a month or two we’ll get another dog. But as there will never be another Patchy, there will never be another Mollie.

Love from us both,
with sad hearts,
Larry (Dad, Grandpa, & Uncle), and Jeannine (GranJeannine, Sister, & Aunt)

A joyful P.S. : On 4/18/10, Jeannine and I went to pick up Sugar, our new adopted rescue dog, a senior golden retreiver, who is now the delight of our hearts. (added Jan 4, 2011)
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3. What shall we trust for our future history?

In late 1972, as a new believer, I bought the edition of the National Enquirer's annual prophecy issue, where seers, prophets, fortune tellers, and the like, predicted what was going to happen in 1973.

My plan was to squirrel the issue away until the end of 1973, to see how they did -- particularly in comparison to the Bible.

It turned out to be not much of a contest. It has been widely pointed out that there are approximately 150 prophecies (some say even more) about the first coming of Jesus Christ in the Bible, most of them written 500-1100 years before he was born. And they were all 100% fulfilled. (One such list is in the back of Tim Lahaye's Prophecy Bible, where it lists each old testament prophecy and how it was fulfilled)

How did today's prophets in the National Enquirer do in comparison? They listed 68 prophecies for 1973, and I gave them a score of one and a half correct. Let's see. That would be 2.2% correct. What ones did they get right? One was about Elvis's comeback continuing, and the half one was a prediction that Edward Kennedy would get a divorce in 1973. Actually, he and his wife separated in that year, so I gave that prediction a half-right vote.

So what about the many Biblical prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled? In Future History posts we'll be looking at those prophecies, among other things.

2. Future events cast their shadows backward

It is my strong conviction that future events cast their shadows backward into the present day. There are things that are going to happen in (for example) 2017, 2018, and 2021, that are starting to show their first evidences now, one, two, and five years earlier. The certainty of the YEAR, however, is harder to predict than the certainty of the EVENT.

Here's what I mean: Hitler invaded Austria in 1938, as seen, for example, in The Sound of Music, and as written about in "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". But few people were surprised. Those who weren't surprised were generally students of history, and knew Hitler's history from 1932 to 1938. The signs had been obvious for years. The YEAR was uncertain, but the EVENT was sure.

On August 20, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The signs had been implicit for months, explicit for weeks. The DATE was uncertain, but the EVENT was sure.

And while the World Trade bombings on 9/11/2001 were not as easily seen in advance, it turned out that in retrospect a lot of evidence pointed to the fact that something big was going to happen. The DATE and PLACE were uncertain, but AN EVENT was sure.

The point is, for those who are watchful and wise in the ways of the world, future events can often be predicted. But for those with 'inside information', future events can be predicted with much greater accuracy -- where the EVENTS are spelled out beforehand.

And so, over the next few weeks, months, and years (as much time as we have...) we'll look together at the events that seem most certain -- as well as the relative timing. (Where we don't know when event "A" will happen, but when it does, "B" will surely follow.)

1. To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question

Many of you are now using twitter, as I have been for a while. You probably know you can use up to 140 characters in a single message -- but no more than 140. I've decided that sometimes I need 141 characters -- or 1410, or 14,100 to say what I want to say (hopefully not 141,000). So, I'll continue to use twitter, and when I need to expand, I'll link over to here.

As I begin posting, I'm going to start with my early tweets (a single message on twitter), and expand on them.

Down below, I've listed a number of labels that will be themes throughout the posts.

Hope to hear from you soon.