Hey there!
Even a few sentences in, we can tell the Book of Revelation is unlike anything else in the Christian Testament. But the truth is, there is really nothing like it in the Hebrew Scriptures either, although there are many references to various prophetic imagery and events from the Hebrew scriptures.
APOCALYPSE
Typically, this sort of document would be called an Apocalypse, which literally means, “uncovering” or “revealing,” and references the complete and final destruction of the world, leading to a new world. The uncovering or revealing is the parting of the curtain to show the heavenly or divine perspective of what is happening now and what will come.
But the Book of Revelation is so much more, for it is a letter containing seven more letters. And at regular intervals throughout the whole of this epic document we are given to understand that is prophecy, and we must pay it heed.
But how? As spiritual allegory? As predictions of actual future events? As prophecy already fulfilled long ago, yet with truths still relevant for today?
Answering these questions is all part of the adventure as we read these ancient pages together.
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From the blog
Revelation 1: In the Spirit on the Lord’s Day
I was in [the] Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a voice loud as a trumpet saying, “Write what you see into a book
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Revelation 1: Α and Ω
It was a huge question for the early church, one of the first questions the church councils sought to answer. Was Jesus a human being? Was Jesus divine?
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Revelation 1: He Comes in the Clouds
BEHOLD! He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him, and they will beat their breasts with grief over Him, all the peoples of the earth. Yes! Amen!
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Revelation 1: The Branch and the Spirit
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Revelation 1: Significance of Seven
Seven represents all that is—the sum of the physical cosmos (the number four) and the spiritual realm (the number three). This was not unique to Judaism, but was also well-established in the Greco-Roman world.
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Revelation 1: Apocalypse of Jesus Christ
For this study, I’m going to be reading from the Greek text, so my translations will retain an “accent,” so to speak. But I am convinced the gems are easier to find in the original language, and my decision was immediately rewarded as I opened to the first page and read the first three words.
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Revelation: A Basic Outline
How do we outline a book that’s a letter, but also prophecy, but also apocalypse? It’s the Word of the Lord, highly symbolic, yet also (in parts) plain speaking and historical.
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Revelation: Over-Arching Story
Growing up, I did not realize good would triumph in the end. In my young life, it seemed clear evil was the stronger, and evil would prevail. Good would tragically die.
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Revelation: Historical Background
Revelation was written in the setting of Asia Minor, just off the coast of the Aegean Sea, towards the end of the first century, under the reign of Emperor Domitian.
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Revelation: Who Was The Author?
So who did write Revelation? Can we even answer that?
Thankfully, yes, to a great degree, just from what is contained within the book itself.
Revelation: Historical? Idealist? Futurist?
What approach do we take, perspective do we use, and hermeneutic do we employ when reading Revelation? It’s not a slam-dunk answer.
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Revelation of Jesus Christ to John
Even a few sentences in, we can tell the Book of Revelation is unlike anything else in the Christian Testament. But the truth is, there is really nothing like it in the Hebrew Scriptures either, although there are many references to various prophetic imagery and events from the Hebrew scriptures.
Keep reading
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About Me
My passion for the Bible began when I was eight or nine years old, somewhere in there, when on occasion my dad would take me to synagogue, where he sang. I remember watching the men in synagogue pray the words of scripture, murmuring and weeping, lovingly touching and kissing the Torah, and I wished I could read what they were reading.
Imagine, then, my wonder when I was given a Bible of my own! Read more
Let’s hang out
[Image above: Matthias Gerung, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]
Grace and Peace, Joanne 