76 – Mythbusting Revelation | D. Thomas Lancaster

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Jun 24, 2025

D. Thomas Lancaster, an author and teacher specializing in Jewish apocalyptic perspectives, shares intriguing insights on interpreting Revelation. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the text's historical context, arguing that many modern interpretations, like associating biblical locusts with helicopters, miss deeper spiritual meanings. Lancaster clarifies symbols like the mark of the beast and the beast itself, linking them to first-century Rome. He challenges listeners to see Revelation as a timeless spiritual guide rather than a mere prophecy chart for current events.

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ANECDOTE

How Prophecy Media Sparked Interest

Jacob recounts being homeschooled and drawn into dispensationalist prophecy media as a teen.
That media made the Bible exciting and gave him a framework to interpret scripture events as modern signs.

ANECDOTE

Early Eschatology Memories

D. Thomas Lancaster recalls learning eschatology from films like A Thief in the Night and community showings.
Those early impressions faded as he later rediscovered Scripture through Jewish roots study.

INSIGHT

Wormwood Shows Spiritual Causes, Not Timelines

Revelation's third trumpet (Wormwood) can signal spiritual forces behind physical calamities.
Lancaster warns against treating modern events like Chernobyl as fixed timeline markers in prophecy.

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For decades, eagle-eyed prophecy aficionados have scoured the headlines and the Scriptures hoping to find clues as to where we’re at on God’s prophetic timeline and how much longer we’ll have to wait before the glorious return of our Master, Yeshua. But does the Bible really predict Apache helicopters, Patriot missiles, the Chernobyl disaster, and nuclear weapons? In this, the first of a multi-part series on the end times, this podcast episode features a discussion with D. Thomas Lancaster, author of the forthcoming End of Days Torah Club study track. Jacob and Daniel explore some of the apocalyptic imagery in the Bible to find out what’s really going on behind the veil.

👉 Takeaways

► The First Rule for Interpreting Revelation: Understand the text in its historical context. The book of Revelation was written to real people at a real time in history. Our understanding of its future application comes after we first understand what it meant in their time.

► Apocalypse Means Unveiling: Explore how apocalyptic texts reveal the spiritual forces influencing physical world events. Instead of looking for direct correlations with modern occurrences, learn about the spiritual power behind what you observe.

► Develop a Robust Prophetic Framework: A Jewish apocalyptic understanding creates a robust, biblical, and resilient framework for interpreting end-times prophecies, as highlighted by the End of Days Torah Club study track. This approach provides a reliable anchor for your faith, independent of current headlines, offering a stronger foundation than sensational interpretations.

🔖 Chapters

(00:00) Starting frameworks for understanding Bible prophecy
(09:07) Chernobyl, Wormwood, and nuclear disasters
(19:05) The Fifth Trumpet and Apache helicopters
(30:57) Zechariah 5 and nuclear bombs
(40:46) Who is the Beast of Revelation?
(46:50) Babylon and the Roman Catholic Church
(51:36) Did Jeremiah foresee modern smart missiles?
(56:15) Is broadcast television required for the end of days?
(59:05) What is the mark of the Beast?

👉 Resources

Torah Club
https://torahclub.org

End of Days: Torah Club Study Track
https://endofdays.org

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