Maurice A. Williams
Maurice A. Williams is a retired director of
Research and Development for a
company that does business all over the world. He has traveled
to many countries himself. He is a technical writer experienced
in researching literature. Coming from a different field with no
preconceived bias, he believes he sees a more logical
interpretation of Revelation than others have seen. Williams
found a clue to interpret Revelation from authors who claim that
Chapters 4 through 11 come from John the Baptist as the Baptist
announced Christ and warned of consequences should Christ be
rejected. If true, then historical events predicted by the
visions would shift from modern times to a much earlier period.
Williams is the only author to thoroughly link these visions to
events experienced by John's audience.
Williams traces Israelite and Judean history before Christ and
Judean history after Christ. He discusses Church history. He
shows how the Judean people came back to their ancestral
homeland. He outlines the growth of Islam. Williams is the only
author who prepared an easy-to-read, sensible, logical linking
of at least half of Revelation to the preaching of John the
Baptist.
Williams prepared a second book "Prophet and Historian: John and
Josephus," which is a condensed version of the above book. The
second book is meant to serve as a companion volume to the
popular "Last Disciple" series. It contains the history that
forms the background worked into "The Last Disciple" series.
Williams also authored many
technical articles in scientific journals around the world and
has contributed chapters to six international text books. He
also writes poems and inspirational articles.
Williams still serves as a consultant for his employer, speaking
at conventions and helping out where needed. He has four
children (one deceased) and six grandchildren who bring him
great pride and joy, and lives at home with his wife. Visit
Maurice online at
http://www.geocities.com/mauricewms2003
PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading
and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and
why?
Maurice A. Williams: I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. I was always an avid
reader. By time I was in high school, I tried my hand at writing. I was
also always interested in nature, always inquisitive about animals and
woodlands, and I read many books about these topics. I had a typical
youthful interest in being free and being part of nature. In my youth, I
was very much influenced by authors such as Ernest Thompson Seton,
Martin and Osa Johnson, Ivan T. Sanderson, Immanuel Velikovsky, Jack
London, and Ernest Hemingway, among others.
PageOneLit.com: Why do you write?
Maurice A. Williams: I like the challenge of writing. I like the
opportunity to contribute my thoughts and experiences for others to
examine and consider. I hope what I write is as entertaining and
informative to them as writings by other people have been to me.
PageOneLit.com: Briefly describe your book "Revelation: Fall of Judea,
Rise of the Church"?
Maurice A. Williams: The Book of Revelation has been interpreted many
different ways throughout history. "Revelation: Fall of Judea, Rise of
the Church" focuses on three concepts from Scripture: John the Baptist
announced who the Messiah is; those who try to destroy the Messiah's
mission will themselves be destroyed ( Judea ceased to exist as a nation
from A.D. 135 until recent times); and Satan will be released after one
thousand years to deceive the nations. Unlike many popular
interpretations of Revelation that predict a future rapture and
tribulation, I propose that many of the predictions happened during the
early Church age as unbelievers tried to destroy Christ's Church. Satan,
as predicted, was released to deceive the nations approximately one
thousand years after the Church was firmly established. As a result, the
world today is filled with thousands of conflicting Christian sects and
with non-Christian, occult, even anti-Christian movements that have
propelled humans to as dangerous a rebellion against God as the one
before the flood.
PageOneLit.com: Discuss your experiences and research that helped and
motivated you to write "Revelation: Fall of Judea, Rise of the Church"?
Maurice A. Williams: I had a conversion experience in 1978. My view of
life had been a contradictory mixture of revealed religion and
scientific theories of evolution. I earned a degree in biology, so I
have had more than a cursory introduction to evolution. I was also
educated in church-sponsored schools, so I was well-informed about
Scripture. I could never reconcile the two in my mind. Finally, I
reached a crisis in my view of reality where I had to decide what is
really true and what is conjecture. I started reading books by Hal
Lindsey and wound up reading most of them. I was very much impressed
with his books, and he did lead me back to God, but I had reservations
about the rapture, the tribulation, and the future millennial kingdom to
be established on Earth with Christ reigning in the flesh.
PageOneLit.com: "Revelation: Fall of Judea, Rise of the Church" is very
well written -- Who was John the Baptist? Who were the Judeans?
Maurice A. Williams: John the Baptist is the prophet who preceded Christ
by a couple years. His mission was to prepare people to recognize Christ
when Christ began his ministry. He is the prophet who baptized people in
the Jordan River and criticized Herod Antipas for marrying his brother's
wife. Herod's wife encouraged her daughter Salome to request the
Baptist's head on a platter. I deliberately used the word "Judeans" to
signify the Jews living during the time of Christ. I didn't want to use
the word "Jews" because too much prejudice has already been directed
against the Jews, and I didn't want my readers to think I am implying
that today's Jews are in the slightest way responsible for the decisions
other people made two thousand years ago. I found out after my book went
to press that "Judahite" would have been a better word. It would have
been specific to people who, at that time, descended from the tribe of
Judah, just as "Israelite" is specific to people who descended from
Israel (Jacob who was given the name "Israel" by God) who was the
patriarch from whom the twelve tribes of Israel descended.
PageoneLit.com: From your perspective what makes "Revelation: Fall of
Judea, Rise of the Church" different and new compared to other books in
the genre of religious interpretation?
Maurice A. Williams: I'm one of the few authors who argue that many
prophecies in Revelation were meant for the people who first heard the
prophecies preached and that there are historical events that show how
many of those prophecies were fulfilled in first and second-century
Judea. I'm the only author who includes an account of Bar Kochba in my
commentary. Bar Kochba led a rebellion against Rome in A.D. 131-35.
Unlike the rebellion in A.D. 65-70, the Judeans were unified under the
single leader Bar Kochba and liberated all of Palestine early in the
rebellion. Rome crushed the Judean nation in A.D. 135, killing most of
the combatants, exiling most of the non-combatants, and bringing in
different peoples to settle in Palestine. I argue that this is the
fulfillment of the third woe "the end is here!" Judea ceased to exist as
a nation of people settled in their own land. As late as 1856, there
were only 10,500 Jews residing in all of Palestine.
PageOneLit.com: What did you learn from writing "Revelation: Fall of
Judea, Rise of the Church"?
Maurice A. Williams: I learned a lot of history and enjoyed reading many
interesting early historical writings. I have a much better perception
of early Roman history now that I had when I finished my schooling. I
also came to a better understanding of Scripture and why God has let
humans experience so much grief during our earthly lives.
PageOneLit.com: What do you hope to achieve with "Revelation: Fall of
Judea, Rise of the Church"?
Maurice A. Williams: I hope to encourage a reexamination of what the
Book of Revelation might really have predicted.
PageOneLit.com: What's next?
Maurice A. Williams: At the moment, I have no plans for another book,
but I plan to continue writing book reviews and posting my thoughts on
forums and blogs.
PageOneLit.com: What was the last book you read?
Maurice A. Williams: The last book I read was "The Upright Ape" by Dr.
Aaron G. Filler. I posted two differently worded book reviews about this
book, one on BookIdeas.com, the other on Revish.com.
PageOneLit.com: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they
enhance your writing?
Maurice A. Williams: In my younger years, my hobbies were hunting,
fishing, taxidermy, photography, and bookbinding. Now my hobbies are
reading and writing. I especially like non-fiction writings that explain
what nature is all about. I'm still very interested in nature, science,
and, later in my life, religion, in the sense of "What did God really
reveal?" I write and post book reviews both fiction and non-fiction. I
think all the study and experience I gained through my hobbies very much
shape my perception of the books I review, and, of course, my own
creative writing.
