Revelation is the finale of the entire bible bringing gods word to a dramatic conclusion. Parts of the old testament, particularly in the book of daniel, are also written in the apocalyptic genre. Exploring the book of revelation baptist messenger of. The interpretation of the book of revelation has often proven difficult throughout the history of the christian church. Book of revelation for dummies cheat sheet dummies. Second, an interpreting angel is sent from jesus to help john understand what he is seeing. The idealist interpretation could also be called the symbolic or spiritual interpretation. The book of revelation cliffsnotes study guides book. According to preterism, revelation is a heavily symbolic, apocalyptic and prophetic book that was written primarily to warn readers of impending persecution, to encourage them to persevere in the face of suffering, and to reassure them that god is in control and will overcome evil in the end. It also makes the book of revelation applicable and relevant for all. The book of revelation also called the revelation of john or the revelation of st.
But just how is one to understand the book of revelation. Approaches to interpreting the book of revelation devan c. A redemptivehistorical, modified idealist approach to the. The book of revelation was written in the first century a. The book of revelation is the only apocalyptic document in the new testament canon although there are short apocalyptic passages in various places in the gospels and the epistles, and an extended apocalyptic passage in the book of daniel in the old testament. Since the book of revelation is considered in the apocalyptic genre, the text can be extremely difficult to understand. Part of book of revelation for dummies cheat sheet.
The book elijah by michael obrien is faithful to the catholic point of view, while speculating on the events described in the book of revelation, but as mentioned before, there is no actual official interpretation of the book of revelation. It is also a book of glory, depicting the continue reading is the modern interpretation of the book of revelation flawed. The futurist school believes revelation should be interpreted literally. Ten keys for interpreting the book of revelation digital commons.
Here are brief definitions of the four major interpretive approaches. One will interpret revelation according to ones method of interpretation. An overview of revelation multimedia training kit covers the book of revelation verse by verse. The interpretation of revelation has always been a subject of debate among bible interpreters. Hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation. An introduction to the book of revelation, including issues in interpretation, ways to. I spoke of my view as a redemptivehistorical, modified idealist approach to the interpretation of the book of revelation. A 21st century interpretation of the book of revelation. Revelation the dragon pursuing a woman, from the bamberg apocalypse. The interpretation of the book revelation lamb and. Naturally we would like to know when they happened or when they will happen, but these questions divide the greatest specialists in biblical interpretation, so we mustnt imagine that we. What is the idealist interpretation of the book of. Take a look at the basic structure of the book of revelation.
Youll find four major interpretive approaches to the book of revelation that can help you read, understand, and figure out the apocalyptic letter of john. It can perhaps be best understood in distinction from the other major interpretations of revelation. Do our minds become confused when we hear all those sevens and l2s, and all those strange titles applied to jesusthe alpha and omega and the bright morning star. Bible scholars have taken one of four interpretations concerning the book of revelation. Interpretive models for the book of revelation as a whole. The idealist school holds that the book of revelation should be taken as a purely symbolic explanation of our battle between good and evil. This little book is a wonderful resource for teachers, pastors, and all who want to gain a better understanding of the book of revelation. This summary of the book of revelation provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of revelation.
As the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth 1. Jordan click here for audio podcast why have we asked some of the most respected scholars in southern baptist life to address the topic of the various approaches to interpretation of the book of revelation and end times. This paper seeks to define and present the problems or rationale behind each view. Revelation gives a birds eye view of the entire sweep of christian church history. Seven trumpets, the last three of which introduce three woes revelation 8. Chapters 5 and 6 depict him as the lamb slain before the foundation of the world who has power to undo the seals and open the book of god. If youre befuddled by the book of revelation in the bible, dont fret. Like all books of the bible, revelation was written in a particular time and place to particular people. Balancing their predictions are interviews with scientists who examine the phenomenon in a different light and scholars who chronicle the long, rich history of end of the world movements.
Historicism interprets the writing as a prophetic and panoramic overview of history, from the first century until the second coming of christ. Historicism, a method of interpretation in christian eschatology which associates biblical prophecies with actual historical events and identifies symbolic beings with historical persons or societies, has been applied to the book of revelation by many writers. It fittingly has the last place ending the scriptures and gods revelation to man. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online. John was a christian leader of jewish origin who was in exile on the roman prison island of patmos. Historicist interpretations of the book of revelation. The four major schools of prophetic interpretation if we are to have any success in being free of the inertia of preconceived ideas, if we hope to be aware of our own hidden biases, we must first try to identify them. What is the idealist interpretation of the book of revelation. It will be important to keep in mind that although it. The key to bible interpretation, especially for the book of revelation, is to have a consistent hermeneutic. Four times the author identifies himself as john 1. Best commentaries and books on revelation logos bible software.
Exploring the book of revelation baptist messenger of oklahoma. One of the most intriguing books of the bible is the book of revelation. The book of revelation is a fascinating book, and the debate regarding its interpretation will continue. Understanding images and symbols in the book of revelation. Interpreting the symbolism in the book of revelation.
It gives a helpful and sometimes humorous overview of the various positions expounded in the remainder of the book, and it offers a valuable apology for the. More than conquerors an interpretation of the book of revelation by william hendriksen. This book is a tremendous tool for anyone wishing to understand how different schools of interpretation approach the book of revelation. Some christian scholars in later centuries questioned its authorship, objected to some of its doctrines for instance, its teachings about the millennium or its teaching that people would be judged according to their works, and found its.
A wellknown illustration of an historicist reading of the book of revelation is the reformation identification of the harlot babylon in revelation 17 with the roman catholic church and the papacy. There are four major schools of interpretation for the book of revelation. Book of revelation explained scripture by scripture. Is the modern interpretation of the book of revelation. Indeed, some might feel revelation ssymbols and metaphors are so confusing that they. The historicist view follows a straight line of continuous fulfillment of prophecy which starts in daniels time and goes through johns writing of the book of revelation all the way to the second coming of jesus christ. Nov 10, 2014 since the book of revelation is considered in the apocalyptic genre, the text can be extremely difficult to understand. The greek name of the bible book of revelation, apoka.
Seven bowls, each containing a plague representing a divine judgment to be poured out on. Engaging important questions concerning the interpretation of revelation in scholarship today, as well interacting with the various viewpoints scholars hold on these issues, beales work makes a major contribution in the muchdebated area of how the old testament is used in the apocalypse. By the time the writings that are now included in the new testament were assembled in their present form, three letters and one gospel were also attributed to john. Second, the book was written to show how all of prophecy focuses on jesus christ, his person and his program for the world. A commentary of the book of revelation bible truth. Great book to learn more about contrasting views on the book of revelation. The different approaches that various people or groups use to understand the book of revelation called interpretive horizons are generally grouped under four major categories, with some subgroups see the kingdom of god. The parallels are too numerous to detail in this post, but i have described them more fully here.
Beale, new international greek testament commentary nigtc, eerdmans, 1999, 1,309 pp. The recent unprecedented success of the left behind series is evidence of this popular fascination. Larry has authored numerous journal and dictionary articles on biblical and. Luther and subsequent protestants interpreted the book of revelation using the historicist method, which involves the attempt to match various elements in the book with events in church history. Im going to propose what i think is a rather novel and perhaps disturbing interpretation of the book of revelation. This name indicates the meaning of revelation it uncovers matters that had been hidden and discloses events that would happen long after it was written. Revelation speaks of things that are already history. It is commonly read at this, the end of the liturgical year, because it speaks to the passing quality of the things of this world and to the end of the world itself. Pdf more than conquerors an interpretation of the book. Osborne explains, the seals, trumpets, and bowls depict gods judgments on sinners at all times, and the beast refers to all. The preterist school, the presentist school, and the prophetic school. Revelation was written for all believers revelation 1. The book of revelation is a series of visions, but not every vision represents the same thing, nor are they in any strict chronological order. The book of revelation often called the book of revelations, revelation to john, apocalypse of john, the revelation from jesus christ from its opening words, the apocalypse, the revelation, or simply revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the final book of the christian bible.
This book is based on the premise that consistent literal interpretation of prophecy is good hermeneutics. The meaning of the book o f revelation can seem confusing to the average reader. Third, the book seeks to unite all the various lines of biblical prophecy both old and new testaments, and to show how they converge upon the second coming of christ to rule the earth in his messianic kingdom. The book that might give you nightmares at night, in terms of all of these bizarre creatures. Reagans video program, revelation revealed, presents a sweeping overview of the entire book of revelation. In other words, it is the way you interpret scripture. Few biblical topics have captured the imagination of contemporary evangelicals like the book of revelation. Futurist occurs in the future the futurist school holds that everything after chapter 4 is yet to happen in the future.
The apocalypse, or revelation to john, the last book of the bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism, which at best appears unusual to the modern reader. Unfortunately many evangelicals do not realize that there are different ways in which the book of revelation has been approached by christians. Approaches to interpreting the book of revelation scholars have approached interpreting the book of revelation through four major methods. The book of revelation, the last book of the bible, has fascinated and puzzled christians for centuries. Revelation is first and foremost a revelation about jesus christ 1. A further implication is that we simply cannot have a sound and objective system of doctrine. The revelation of john is the one book in the new testament that claims john as its author. Though it is little more than a piece of scholarly gossip, some have even suggested that the reformer john calvin, one of the best interpreters of the scriptures the church has known, shied away from writing a commentary on the book of revelation for this very reason. The detailed outline of revelation the interpretation of revelation the interpretation of revelation has always been a subject of debate among bible interpreters. According to ladd, theology, 671, the preterist interpretation rests partly on the assumption that the genre of revelation is very similar to other jewish apocalyptic literature such as the apocalypse of enoch, the assumption of moses, 4 ezra and baruch and is therefore interpreted similarly. The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope.
Paul lee tan is a pastor, christian educator and author. The book of revelation is not so intimidating once you understand what the author was up to. In fact, there is actually a lot of repetition in the book that operates like different chapters of a book or scenes of a movie. Why have we asked some of the most respected scholars in southern baptist life to address the topic of the various approaches to interpretation of the book of revelation and end times. Historicist interpretations of the book of revelation wikipedia. A less wellknown historicist interpretation is the medieval churchs identification of the beast from the sea in revelation with the rise of islam. And the implication is simply that everyone comes up with a different interpretation, especially with the book of revelation. Futurism sees the visions with the exception of chapters as related to end times events still to come in the future. The interpreters of revelation are divided into three main schools. Is the author speaking of past events or future events. The real meaning of the bibles book of revelation is a popular, ongoing debate.
Each view attempts to interpret revelation according to the laws of. A 21st century, secular interpretation of the book of revelation now, even though the realms of religion and science in themselves are clearly marked off from each other, nevertheless there exist between the two strong reciprocal relationships and dependencies. John the divine is an example of apocalyptic writing a form that delivers a message using symbols, images and numbers. Principles of interpretation, in symposium on revelationbook 1. Bible for many christians, yet one of the most difficult books to understand. The other mode of interpretation is what we might call a literalist mode, where it is assumed that at least some events in the book of revelation are literal historical events that have played. Scholars assign four basic schools of interpretation to the book of revelation. A series of visions, each one leading into the next. The book of revelation is johns record of that vision revelation 1. The book depicts him as the risen, glorified son of god ministering among the churches 1. Different schools of interpreting revelation evidence unseen. This view maintains that the words in the entire book have.
The four parallel columns allow the reader to compare the views and hopefully identify the strengths and weaknesses of each. The various misinterpretations of the revelation of john did not stop with the experience of montanus. In daily mass we have recently been reading from the book of revelation. Is the modern interpretation of the book of revelation flawed.
Despite our various views, there are some common threads upon which christians agree. Our purpose in this article is to lay a foundation and generate an interest in what is probably the most unique of all our books of scripture. Under this view, the book of revelation is mostly a book of future prophecy. The book of revelation brings to us great changes in the course of the history of the world. Many evangelicals dont realize that the futuristic interpretation of revelation. In this understanding, the contents of the book are not seen to relate to any historical events at all, but only to symbolize the ongoing struggle. You often hear the complaint that you can prove anything you want to with the bible. Since consistent literal hermeneutics naturally results in the premillennial, pretribulational system of eschatology, the later will also receive vindication. This mode of interpretation, which sees later events in christian history as fulfilling predictions in the book of revelation, is known as the continuous history view. Subscribing to the latter, strauss holds that the largest part of the book of revelation is prophetic, and thus it applies to a period still future. Reagans book, wrath and glory, covers the book of revelation chapter by chapter. The author identifies three distinct systems of interpretation of revelation. Are we to take prophecies literally or allegorically.
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