Part 1 | Introduction

I) Where We Are Headed

Journey through Revelation in bigger chunks.

Goal: to get the main message with out focusing on the details of each verse

This will not be open discussion like normal Wednesday Nights.

You can email your questions to me: [e-mail]

There are a few different approaches to interpreting revelation (More Detail to Come)

Most of these views fit within the framework of Christian Orthodoxy

You can disagree with me

II) Fill in the Blank

Revelation is _______.

A) Revelation is Difficult

Relies greatly on the OT.

Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Zechariah, Psalms...

If you do not know your OT, you will have trouble with Revelation

It employs the use of a lot of symbols

Numbers, such as 3, 7, 10, 12, 666, 1,000, 144,000 (I will speak more on this next week)

John sees colors that represent certain truths: Like white, red, scarlet, purple, gold, and black...

Persons, such as elders and the prostitute of Babylon...

Animals, such as the beast, the dragon, horses, and lamb...

Objects, such as lampstands, stars, crowns, jewels, robes, trumpets, a sea, a sword...

Places, such as Babylon, Egypt, Jerusalem, and Sodom

Sometimes John tells us what the symbols represent (such as the lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia minor.

Other times, the meanings of the symbols are not found in Revelation, but 9 times out of 10, the answer can be found in the OT.

B) Revelation is Ignored

There is a popular western belief that the Church will be Raptured before the tribulation

That means that chapters 4-19 do not apply to us

Thus, churches tend to ignore a massive part of the book (tragically)

C) Revelation is Abused (Dr. Shane Wood)

Some Hyper focused on this book, where everything becomes about Revelation

If they are reading Matthew, it is about Revelation

If they are reading the epistles, it is about Revelation

If they are reading a newspaper, it is about Revelation

If they are watching CNN or Fox News, it is about Revelation

Both ignoring revelation and abusing Revelation are unhealthy, spiritually and practically.

We need to read it, take it seriously, but refuse to abuse it.

D) Revelation is a Blessing

1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Seven Total Beatitudes in Revelation

Revelation 14:13 (ESV): 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

Revelation 16:15 (ESV): 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)

Revelation 19:9 (ESV): 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Revelation 20:6 (ESV): 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:6 (ESV): 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:6 (ESV): 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Revelation 22:14 (ESV): 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

III. Historical Context

A) Author: John

The author identifies himself as John

3 Times in Chapter 1

1:1, 4, 9; 22:8

Simply Refers to himself as John

Though there is a bit of debate on which John this is, the general and historic consensus is that this is John the apostle.

John says he wrote the letter from the island of Patmos

Why scholars believe this is, in fact, the apostle John (Schreiner)

An author who didn’t mention his authority would have been someone of prestige, making it unnecessary to include his office. This is also a sign of humility as he refers to himself as servant rather than apostle.

The common view among the early church fathers (including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria) was that the apostle John wrote the book.

Best Argument Against John

Stylistic differences between Revelation and other letters

(The Gospel of John, 1, 2, 3 John)

This is not a strong argument, though, because this is a different type of literature than his other writings.

This would be like someone having my academic papers and then receiving one of my sermon manuscripts (which just has my first name on the top). Someone could argue that I didn’t write the sermon because the writing style is so different than my academic papers that they have. Obviously, though, these two types of writing would be quite different in regards to style and content.

So, it is extremely likely that Revelation was written by John the Apostle.

B) Date and Occasion: 90’s AD to Persecuted Churches

Some scholars believe that Revelation was written in the 60’s AD while Nero was emperor (54-68)

Many scholars believe that it was written while Domitian was emperor (81-96AD)

The Latter View is most likely for three reasons:

The Early Church Father, Irenaeus, is interpreted as saying that the book was written during the rule of Domitian.

It is extremely likely that the pressure to worship was increased under Domitian’s rule. When you consider the persecution evident in Revelation, it certainly fits into this reality.

Dr. Schreiner points out that “Laodicea is described as a rich city (Rev. 3:14–21), but it suffered from an earthquake in AD 60–61, and a date in the 60s would have been too early for the city to have recovered its riches.”

Occassion:

It is likely that Revelation was written to the communities of believers (the seven churches in Asia minor) who were experiencing: (1) physical persecution from the imperial cult, (2) religious discrimination by Jews who rejected Jesus as the Christ, and (3) social pressure to conform to the pagan practices of the Roman world. John encourages them to stay true to Christ and endure to the end.

This is relevant to today’s world:

Think of the the believers in Afghanistan who are experiencing extreme physical persecution.

Consider the discrimination Christians experience all across the world: we are seen as bigots, elitists, and fanatical people.

Finally, consider the social pressure we are under (in our own country) to conform to the secular world: to the LGBTQ agenda, to accept abortion, and the temptation to live by the loose morals of the secular culture. The influence really impacts us… and, we do not like being peculiar.

Revelation, then, is relevant to all of us… it encourages us, under any level of persecution, to endure to the end. It reminds us that God’s redemptive purposes are at work, and that one day, justice and peace for Real Followers of Jesus.

C) Genre

Before we can correctly interpret a book of the Bible, we must consider “genre”

We do not read Psalms as narrative, we do not read narrative as poetry. There are different literary rules for different genres.

Common Example: The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom. The Proverbs are NOT promises… they are snippets of wisdom that show how the world normally works.

* Illustration of the importance of genre: (Professor)

Newspaper Headline: Tigers Massacre Indians

Sports Section: I would assume that the headline means that the Detroit Tigers blew out the Cleveland Indians.

International Section: then I would assume the article is talking about actual Tigers killing people in India.

Local Section: Could be that Native Americans had an unfortunate experience at the zoo.

The reality is this: the way we interact with this headline depends on what section of the newspaper we are in.

The same rule should be applied when reading the Bible. This should be obvious.

Revelation is a combination of 3 Genres

1) Epistle (Letter)

Revelation 1:4–5 (ESV): 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

This means that Revelation was written to Real People at a Real Time about a Real Situation.

Revelation was NOT written to us, but it was written for us.

2) Prophetic Genre

Revelation 1:3 (ESV): 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

We normally associate prophecy only with prediction

To be sure, Biblical prophecy does include future events.

But, according to Dr. Wood, only about 17% of prophecies in the Bible are related to the future.

Prophecy often addresses three questions:

Who is God?

What Does God Desire

What Does God Demand of His People

Prophecy normally emerges when there is an issue with God’s people, particularly when they have turned from Him. We see this constantly in the OT books such as Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Through the prophets, God He normally calls them to repent, to turn from their wickedness and back to Him, and he tells them the consequences if they refuse.

This is what we find when John addresses each of the seven churches in Asia minor.

This book is calling each of us, too, to evaluate our own walk with the Lord, to turn from the ways of the world and give wholehearted devotion to Jesus Christ.

3) Apocalyptic Literature (Letter)

This is a very familiar genre that would have been understood by the 1st century audience.

= A revelation of transcendent realities (realities beyond what we can see) often communicated by other wordly beings. In revelation the message is communicated to John through an angel who acts as Jesus’ messenger.

So you remember the movie ‘Dead Poets Society’ where Robin Williams plays an English teacher? There is a particular scene where he has each of his students stand on his desk so that they can see things from a different perspective.

That is essentially what Revelation does. It helps us see our current situation from a different perspective, showing us in the midst of our chaos, that God is working behind the scenes.

One of the questions that is asked when we approach Revelation is “is it literal or is it symbolic.”

But we know that apocalyptic literature uses symbols to communicate certain truths.

So, if we are going to correctly interpret Revelation, we must take genre into consideration.

D) The Message

1) A Willingness to Suffer Persecution for the Sake of Jesus Christ

2) God’s Sovereignty Throughout History

3) The Culmination of All Things: The Consummation of the Kingdom of God

Watch Tim Mackie Videos (If time permits)

Closing

Approach Revelation with Humility

Approach Revelation Prayerfully

Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees

Those who do not bear the fruit of salvation, read with trepidation (horror).

Those who are Real Followers of Jesus: Read with joy.