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Do not forget the context of this book.
This book was first written as a letter to the Seven Churches, and the further away from Chapters 2 & 3 we get, the easier it will be to forget this fact.
The temptation will be to completely disregard and separate the rest of the book from here on out from chapters 2 & 3.
Don’t give in to that temptation.
I suggested at the beginning of this series that it might be beneficial to sit down once per week and take an hour and a half and read straight through Revelation without/ignoring chapter/verse divisions.
Because there’s something about ignoring artificial divisions that makes it easier to grasp the context of the book.
For those of you who are, keeping in mind the context of chapters 2 & 3 throughout the rest of the book will be easier.
For those who aren’t, now might be a good time to start.
Many people might get frustrated with interpreting Revelation in light of its historical context because in doing so, we admit that Revelation is not linear in the way it presents information.
To read this book as though it were a roadmap to the end of the world will lead you to some awkward conclusions and will force this book to answer questions that it doesn’t.
And I’ll come back to the structure of this book as we go, but let me suggest that Revelation has what is called a recapitulatory structure.
Emphasize and define
Revelation uses recapitulation, which is a pattern of thought that shows the same events from a different point of view, often times with intensification, to make a point.
And I’ll come back to that point over and over in Revelation, but let me just show you this quote about this approach so that you know that contrary to the rapture, this view is ancient:
1.
The Recapitulation Theory.
The theory that the book of Revelation describes the same events several times from different points of view is an old and venerable interpretive strategy.
This position was taken by Victorinus of Pettau, the author of the oldest surviving commentary (d.
ca.
304).
He stated that both the trumpets and the bowls predict the eschatological punishment of unbelievers (Haussleiter 1916: 84, line 14–86, line 7).
This approach was adopted by Tyconius in his lost, but heavily cited, commentary and by Augustine.
It dominated the interpretation of the book for centuries.
That being said:
Do not read this book with your Bible in one hand and your newspaper in the other.
If you do, you will begin to read all kinds of things into the text that don’t belong there.
Today we’re going to get a glimpse into heaven and it’s going to be full of symbolism.
Remember this:
Revelation is language stretched to the breaking point.
Revelation 2-3 set the stage for why the rest of the book is necessary.
But here in Revelation 4 and into chapter 5, we’re going to see the veil pulled back a little bit to show us that worship is war.
Who you worship in Revelation is how you wage war.
It is how you declare your allegiance.
So let’s dive into this text together and see what God has to say through his Revelation to John:
Add commentary as you go through.
Even in calling John up, we should be reminded of Exodus 19, and we’ll look at it in a bit.
God described as looking like precious stones.
He is sovereign.
He is precious.
The question of the people in the first century to whom John is writing.
And the Romans say "Caesar reigns," and John says, "No.
Jesus reigns."
That’s why in their worship, the Romans would confess that Caesar was Lord, and Jesus came along and said, “No, I’m Lord.”
We are appropriating worship symbols when we confess that Jesus is Lord.
And the precious stones here communicate that there is nothing that compares to the value of God, not even all the riches of Caesar.
Is God literally precious stones?
No. Revelation is language stretched to its breaking point.
His value is incomparable.
His value is incalculable.
I wish that this rainbow was the same word used in the LXX in Genesis 9:13 after the Flood, but it’s not.
It’s like a green glowing circle of light being described here.
It’s not a picture pointing to his mercy, but his majesty.
24- Why?
What does this represent?
This symbol makes me think of two groups of twelve specifically:
12 Tribes, 12 Apostles as representatives of the whole people of God, and that’s the symbol the only other time we see a group of 24 in Revelation in Revelation 21:12-14.
Crowns- It is significant that they cast their στέφανοι before the throne, not their διαδεμα.
They are promoting the idea that salvation is secondary.
All that matters is who God is, and in his presence, what he has given them is worthless compared to the worth of who he is.
What's the white robes?
Righteousness.
How do I know?
It is important that these elders are clothed in the passive sense.
They did not clothe themselves.
Friends, our righteousness is borrowed.
END AFTER “CRYSTAL”
What are the flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder?
These should remind us of Exodus 19, right before Yahweh gives the Ten Commandments in his own voice.
These thunders and lightnings represent God’s approval of that which is taking place.
And we’ll see them in a few places in Revelation in Rev. 8:5, 11:19, 16:18 at the end of the Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls- God’s judgments on humanity that has rejected him.
This is recapitulation.
Retelling of same events with a different perspective for a different purpose often times with intensification.
-Last Seal
-Last Trumpet
-Last Bowl
Completion of the judgments.
God's stamp of approval.
And this is evident by the presence of the Spirit of God on the seven torches.
Because it is apocalyptic literature, in Revelation, we do not measure with numbers, we weigh them.
Seven, Four, Twelve:
Seven days in a week- complete cycle of work/rest comes in 7.
Four seasons- all of creation happens in cycles of four seasons.
Twelve months in a year- 12 in OT to represent the people of God.
It’s not because John says so or a culture says so that these numbers represent completion- it is because we are CREATED to experience completion in these cycles.
Then we get to my favorite symbol in the entire book of Revelation: the Sea.
What does Sea symbolize?
Chaos.
START AT “IN THE CENTER”.
Lion- Jewish culture ruler of wild animals.
Ox- ruler of domesticated animals.
Man- ruler of all animals.
Eagle- ruler of all animals of the air.
In Revelation, we weigh numbers, not measure with them.
Four- number attached to completeness with regards to the earth (four corners of earth, four winds of the earth, etc.)
Who is worshipping God?
All of creation.
Eyes?- Knowledge.
Holy, Holy, Holy- what does that mean?
It would be a shame not to mention Isaiah 6:1-7 here
Set apart.... x3!
What does three mean?
This is the only attribute of God that is repeated thrice.
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