Understanding the Book of Revelation. Introduction. Revelation is a confusing book to most people despite the many commentaries written. The reason most commentaries fail to enlighten the book’s contents is because they violate one or more of the three basic principles of sound biblical interpretation. These are the following: 1) acceptance of the Scriptures as God- breathed (θεόπνευστος), 2) correct placement of the text within the framework of God’s progressive revelation, and 3) sound and consistent hermeneutic or interpretative method. The first word of the book is “revelation” (ἀποκάλυψις)–hence its title. The word means to “unveil,” or “reveal.” The first phrase of the book is (Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ) “Revelation of Jesus Christ.” The “revelation of Jesus Christ” should be interpreted as both a subjective and an objective genitive.
The book reveals Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible, in His role during the Tribulation and as King of Kings (subjective genitive) and is the revelation from Jesus about the events that will transpire during the Tribulation and afterwards (objective genitive). God wishes us to understand His Word (cf. Revelation 1. 3). The goal of this study is to reveal to whom the book was written and the purpose of the book. Summary. Title. The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1. Meaning“Revelation” (ἀποκάλυψις) means “disclose,” “unveil,” “reveal.” Subjective and objective genitive: Christ is revealed and He reveals things to come. Message. Overcoming (νικάω) in the Day of the Lord (Revelation 2.
Author. The Apostle John (Revelation 1. Location. Written from the isle of Patmos (Revelation 1.
Occasion. The Day of the Lord: ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ (Revelation 1. Audience. Seven Jewish assemblies in Asia Minor (Turkey) (Revelation 1. Literature. Prophetic with many symbolic expressions, i. Lamb, Beast, etc.
Hermeneutic. Normal reading and literal interpretation. Symbols have literal antecedents, many of which are found in writings of the prophets. Date. About 5. 0- 5. A. D. 1. Interpretative Schools. Four Major Interpretative Schools.
Preterist. Events were fulfilled by 7. A. D. Historical. Events were fulfilled throughout history. Idealist. Events symbolize the battle of good vs. Futurist. Events remain future. Preterist and Historical schools of interpretation face insurmountable obstacles in identifying events described in Revelation with events in history. To overcome these obstacles they imagineer passages and interpret them in a figurative manner.
Under such a system the text can mean almost anything the interpreter wishes. This weakness was summarized by E. W. Bullinger: “The historical interpreters differ so much among themselves that we may well ask, ‘Which one of them are we to believe?’ It is this very diversity which has caused so many earnest students to put the Apocalypse aside in despair.”2. An example of such confusion is the teaching that the seven “churches” represent successive stages of Church history. This is represented by charts similar to the one below: While this interpretation is widespread in Christendom it has no Scriptural basis.
It is fantasy. The seven “churches” in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation are Jewish assemblies, not Christian churches. The language associated with them is wholly Jewish; no Pauline or Church language is present. Everything the Lord said was associated with Israel and concerned God’s judgment and how to obtain salvation during those seven years. The Idealist school suffers from similar inadequacies. It is so broad and general an approach it cannot provide helpful insight into the meaning of the events in the book other than to say that forces of good are at war with the forces of evil and that good will conquer evil. For serious students of the Scriptures, only one interpretive school has hermeneutical rigor and merit: the Futurist.
This method alone can integrate and interpret consistently the hundreds of Old Testament prophesies and the words of our Lord concerning end- time events (cf. Matthew 2. 4). Interpretive Methods. Another essential factor in understanding Revelation is its method of interpretation. Those who engage in a figurative hermeneutic wrestle the text into almost any shape they wish. For example, a figurative approach declares the two witnesses of Revelation 1.
Church. This is pure imagination. Nothing in the context of the passage would lead to this conclusion. A normal reading of the text is the two witnesses are just that, two witnesses, i. God will use during those days.

Much of the language in Revelation is figurative or symbolic. So are passages in Isaiah. Isaiah wrote, “all flesh is grass.” Did he mean skin is bermuda, zoysia, fescue? No, everyone recognizes Isaiah was using a figure of speech to communicate our bodies are mortal.
The story of Xenu is covered in OT III, part of Scientology's secret "Advanced Technology" doctrines taught only to advanced members who have undergone many hours of. A few years after I had left the ministry, a co-worker came and asked if I wouldn’t mind talking and praying for her friend who was going through a challenging time.
Breitbart TV is the home of the hottest video on politics, world events, culture, and media. Doctrine.org - 1 Cor. 15.1-4 † Rom. 4.4-5. An examination of these passages reveals that Paul’s preferred meaning for τέλειος was “mature” rather.
The literal point remains: life ends. We die. The text will usually indicate when a passage is a figure of speech by its context or the use of “like” or “as.” In other cases, when symbolic language is used, one can understand the literal sense behind the symbol.
In Revelation, we know the Lamb is Christ. We know the Beast is the Antichrist, the one who comes in the place of Christ and opposes Him. This is straightforward. In the same way, who are the two witnesses? The most natural interpretation is the two witnesses are two men God has commissioned as servants to reveal Him and oppose the Antichrist. In other words, the two witnesses are two witnesses. Lastly, since Revelation is a Jewish book, many of the symbols in the text allude to events and language of the Old Testament.

Must Watch Documentaries What They Won't Show You On Television. The documentaries below reveal the parts of reality that we are not supposed to talk about; the parts. World events from a Biblical perspective. Discussion board, articles and receive by email. Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
The meaning of such passages can be found by comparing Scripture with Scripture. If one is open to a normal reading of the text and will allow the Scriptures to speak plainly, Revelation is quite forthright.
Only when one applies a non- literal interpretive method and tries to identify events to past history or impose ideological constructs or theological presuppositions does it become complex, difficult, and impossible to verify. Structure of the Book (Governed by Groups of 7)Introduction and the Seven Assemblies. Revelation 1- 3. Praise of God. Revelation 4. The Seven Seal Judgments. Revelation 5- 6. Sealing 1.
Jews of 1. 2 Tribes of Israel. Revelation 7. The Seven Trumpet Judgments. Revelation 8- 9. The Seven Thunders. Revelation 1. 0The Two Witnesses. Revelation 1. 1War in Heaven and Earth. The Short Films Of David Lynch Full Movie. Revelation 1. 2The Beast and the False Prophet.
Revelation 1. 3The Six Angels and the Son of Man. Revelation 1. 4The Seven Bowl Judgments. Revelation 1. 5- 1. Babylon: World System of Satan.
Revelation 1. 7- 1. The Return of the King. Revelation 1. 9The Judgment of Unbelievers. Revelation 2. 0The New Heavens and New Earth. Revelation 2. 1Concluding Words and Warnings. Revelation 2. 2Chart is refurbished from original artwork by H.
A. Ironside. Audience. Everything in Revelation concerns Israel and the nations. The Tribulation is the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 3. God’s judgment of the nations. Paul wrote the Church, the body is Christ, would not go through the wrath of the Day of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 1. Thessalonians 2. 1- 1. Romans 5. 9; Ephesians 5.
Colossians 3. 6). Therefore, no Church language of evidence of the Church is present in Revelation. Paul warned that those who teach the Church will go through the Tribulation were false teachers (2 Thessalonians 2.