The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: Extrapolating Towards the Apocalypse
The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter
Blog to discuss the book "The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation" and current events that point to the events described therein.
In an excerpt from The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter by Steve Paul, the author explains how demographic trends, specifically the depopulation of Christian Europe, can be used to extrapolate to a time when the numbers add up to the scene in the Apocalypse at the beginning of the second woe. In the attached article by Don Feder, the numbers are updated a bit.
From Chapter 5
Twice directly, once indirectly, John mentioned that "the third of mankind" was killed; this percentage is literal, but approximate. There are now six billion people in the world. If the event of the 200 Million Horsemen began today, TWO BILLION human beings would die. As for the number of the injured, homeless, starving...it is a question.
Until the invention of the train, the horse was the swiftest means of movement for human beings. The symbolism of the "horses" was intended to convey the idea that the combatants will spread violence quickly from nation to nation, from region to region. The implication, then, is that the third of mankind will be killed in a relatively short span of time.
Bear in mind John's use of the definite article: it refers to the people living at that time when the event begins. Indeed, the phrase carries the meaning of "THAT third of THOSE people."
Common sense understands that some of the total population will die from natural causes, but also that the total population will increase because of births; this means that demographics is useful more towards reckoning the event's geography, not its duration.
In round numbers, Asia has a population of 3.35 billion, Europe 1.0 billion, Africa 0.65 billion, South America 0.52 billion and North America 0.38 billion: the total human population of the earth is approximately 6.0 billion. The populations of Asia and Africa, combined, account for two thirds, or 4.0 billion; if that of Europe is added, then the amount becomes five sixths, or 5.0 billion.
At present trend, Europe's ratio of births to deaths is -1/2%; hence, even without compounding the negative rate, it is expected that Europe's population will decrease from 1.0 billion to 0.75 billion by 2050 AD. On the other hand, if the populations in Asia and Africa increase for the next fifty years at only half the rate of the past fifty, then, their populations combined will increase from 3.35 billion to 6.0 billion.
Thus, their total population in ratio to Europe's would be 8 to 1; and, if their historical rate of increase continued for that same period, the ratio would become, at least, 10 to 1. Whatever set of figures is used, the result points to Asia as the main location for the event. It is most ominous that the four evil angels are bound at the Euphrates River in southwest Asia.
