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Modern critical scholarship tends to view Revelation as deriving from Jewish apocalyptic literature, especially the Book of Daniel, from which it borrows freely. It is addressed to the "angels" of the seven churches of Asia, meaning Asia Minor, in today's Turkey. Interesting enough, even though John was an eyewitness to this event he chose not to write about it in his own gospel. "Come up here," a voice declares, "and I will show you what must take place after this." Now another beast emerges from the earth, this one with "two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon." Terrible smoke and fire arise, causing the sun to be darkened and allowing hordes of horse-sized locusts to escape. In addition to the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, a wealth of apocalyptic writing exists in the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. One of the greatest of these happened when they were with Jesus on the mountain and saw his transfiguration. (Chapter 9), At this point a new angel intervenes, descending from above and standing on both the sea and the land. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. John describes in detail a period of tribulation that will come upon the earth, that will be unmatched when compared to any other time in human history. Interpreted in light of these characteristics, the Revelation of John is comparatively easy to understand. Come, Lord Jesus.". At the same time, Revelation's vivid descriptions of "woes" and punishments for the vast majority of mankind has led many to despair, as so few seem to be counted among the elect. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, Domitian had started the persecution referred to in the book. It is "prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband," and a voice declares: "Now the dwelling of God is with men." Some argue for an early date of the Apocalypse by asserting that the enigmatic 666 (13:18) is a reference to Nero. John states that he was on the island of Patmos when he heard a voice commanding him to deliver this message to the churches at the following cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. For one, the author of Revelation identifies himself as "John" several times, but the author of the Gospel of John and the writer of the epistles of "John" never identify themselves by name. Again he declares, "Yes, I am coming soon," to which John adds: "Amen. Gog and Magog What Is the Meaning of Revelation 20:8? But much of this is accounted for by the fact that it was probably written down, as it was seen, in the Spirit, while the ideas, in all their novelty and vastness, filled the apostles mind, and rendered him less capable of attending to forms of speech. Another angel calls the people of God to come out of her and not to share in her sin. Protestant founder Martin Luther at first considered Revelation to be "neither apostolic nor prophetic" and stated that "Christ is neither taught nor known in it. He has also just released his new book The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. Today we want to look a little bit closer and learn more about the person who wrote Revelation. Inspirational Bible Verses and Scripture Quotes, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. I pray that we would all labor for the cause of Christ until he comes. Still others consider it the work inspired more by hysteria than true prophecy. Christ commends those churches whose members have endured persecution and, in some instances, even death rather than declare their allegiance to Roman rulers, who proclaimed their own divinity and demanded that they should be worshipped along with the other gods of the empire. (Chapter 7) Now the seventh seal is opened, and a "silence in heaven" ensues for half an hour. Sores break out on the people who have the mark of the beast and worship his image. Remember John had a very unique perspective of Jesus. And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Irenaeus seems to be unaware of any other view for the date of the book of Revelation. The second vision, which makes up the rest of the book (422), begins with "a door opened in the sky" and describes the end of the worldinvolving horrifying wars, famines, plagues, natural disasters, fantastic creatures, mass martyrdoms, harsh punishments from God, and the great battle at Armageddon, the final defeat of Satan, Second Coming of Christ, and the establishment of God's kingdom of peace. (Chapter 5) The Lamb opens the first four seals they reveal the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, riding a white horse symbolizing one who conquers, a red horse symbolizing war, a black horse symbolizing famine, and a pale green horse symbolizing death. Yet, when Revelation was written, in spite of the fact that the Ephesians had been patient (2:2), they had also left their first love (v. 4), and this would seem to require a greater length of time than seven or eight years, as suggested by the early date. For the whole scene is laid in heaven, and the temple that is measured is the heavenly temple (11:19; 15:5). (Chapter 10) The revelator is instructed to measure the Temple of Jerusalem. In A.D. 60, though, Laodicea had been almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake. I guess the many symbols and images can be overwhelming and somewhat scary. When Christians refused to worship the emperor, they were accused of all sorts of crimes and subjected to the most severe penalties. It would be difficult to imagine anything more appropriate for the members of Christian churches at that time. It is just a reminder that your circumstances dont limit God from using you or revealing truth to you. The speaker is "one like the son of man," a magnificent spiritual being who is described in impressive detail. He promises that those of the "synagogue of Satan" will bow before the Philadelphian Christians, and assures them "I am coming soon." Dionysius of Alexandria (247 C.E.) 2022. Although it might appear to be relatively unimportant, people's attitudes toward matters of this kind indicate the way in which they will behave toward weightier matters. Patmos was a small penal colony to which John was banished. [5] Lastly, the Gospel of John is written in nearly flawless Greek, but Revelation contains grammatical errors and stylistic abnormalities which indicate its author was not as familiar with the Greek language as the Gospel's author. In the Book of Revelation, the apocalyptic hopes of the early Christian community find their clearest and most complete expression. The messages are for the benefit of the persecuted and are usually conveyed by means of symbols that only the faithful can understand. Jesus is coming soon. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com. For a period of a thousand years, Satan will be bound, and the earth will be desolate. Toward the end of the first century of the Christian era, emperor worship was fairly well established, not only in the city of Rome but in the outlying regions that formed a part of the empire. Upon the basis of external evidence, therefore, there is little contest between the earlier and later dates. of He is commanded by an angel to "Take your sickle and reap" the earth. The martyred saints, meanwhile, come to life and reign with Christ. Previous New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article Drawing an analogy between the twelve tribes of ancient Israel and the Christian community regarded now as the new Israel, he gives the number of 144,000, or 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel. The church in Ephesus, for instance, was not founded by Paul until the latter part of Claudiuss reign: and when he wrote to them from Rome, A.D. 61, instead of reproving them for any want of love, he commends their love and faith (Eph. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. (Chapter 14) Seven more angels appear, each of them with a plague. For 42 months, he is given authority over the earth, uttering blasphemous words against God. Its promise of the immediate Second Coming of Christ and the establishment of the New Jerusalem has led believers in nearly every generation to interpret its symbols as referring to their own time and to see themselves as part of the 144,000 who will resist the power of the Antichrist and reign with Christ for 1,000 years. He provides the revelator with a small scroll that he must eat, for: "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." Nero, the Roman emperor, charged that Christians were to blame for the burning of Rome. Unbeknownst to him, he was writing about things that would happen thousands of years into the future. In both the Gospel of John and in Revelation, Jesus is referred to as "the Word of God" ( ). The opening of the fifth seal reveals the souls of the martyrs who had been slain "because of the word of God," who cry out that God should soon "avenge our blood." Removing #book# Its many references to angelic beings, its elaborate description of Christ as he appears in the heavenly courts, its use of such mystic numbers as three, seven, twelve, and their multiples, the accounts of strange beasts, symbolic names, and definite time periods all suggest some hidden and esoteric meaning that supposedly can be detected only by an expert. He shares the church's hatred of the heretical Nicolaitans, a group traditionally believed to have practiced sexual promiscuity in the name of Christianity. The Book of Revelation has produced many interpretations and much speculation. Imagine if you lived in the 1930s and you had to describe at that time the internet, smartphones or even drones. John was confident that the great day of divine intervention would occur within a comparatively short time, but in accordance with the apocalyptic literature with which Jewish Christians were familiar, he knew that many terrifying events would take place first. Christians in Syria rejected it because of the heretical Montanists' heavy reliance on it. No other book in the Christian Bible has produced greater hope or greater fear than the Book of Revelation. A river of life flows through the city from God's throne, and the Tree of Life stands on each side of it, bearing 12 kinds of fruit. Nor does it need the sun or the moon, for God provides its light through the Lamb, who is its lamp. When the sixth seal is opened, "the sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place." Another internal evidence of a late date is that this book was penned while John was banished to Patmos (1:9). These schools of thought are not mutually exclusive, and many Christians adopt a combination of these approaches in the manner they find most meaningful. "[1] Many people mistakenly call the book "Revelations" or "The Book of Revelations" due to the long series of apocalyptic events which unfold throughout the manuscript. You can read about it in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9. Members of more mainline and liberal churches tend to prefer the historical-critical and aesthetic approaches. If you are on Jesus side, here is good news you win. The revelations are usually through dreams or visions in which coming events are symbolized by strange figures, the meanings of which are sometimes disclosed by an angelic messenger who was sent for that particular purpose. Following Christ's messages to the seven churches, John describes the seven seals, scrolls on which is written an account of the events that are about to take place. His evil character is manifest in the cruel persecutions that are being inflicted upon Christians. The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John or Apocalypse of John, is the last canonical book of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. These four horses and their respective riders symbolize the conflicts that will mark the beginning of the final destruction of the Roman Empire. Other people have taken an opposite attitude and have found in this book what they believe to be predictions of whole series of events, many of which have already occurred and the remainder of which are about to take place in the near future. "-Thomas Jefferson, letter to General Alexander Smyth, January 17, 1825.

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