Revelation Study 1. Video introduction, preliminary questions

 1. What are your first impressions about John's style of writing? (Does it seem more like a documentary, a theater production, cartoon animation, a logical essay? Is it fun or difficult? Why?) What are your impressions of his tone or mood (optimistic, pessimistic, angry, joyful, fearful, calm, cynical, excited ...)?

 John seems objective in his account, and yet he is clearly greatly affected by what he sees. He falls at Jesus' feet though dead (1:17), weeps (5:5), and worships the mediating angel (19:10, 22:8). He “marvels”.

“Like a movie” “with soundtrack”

 “A lot of repeated structures” “very descriptive”

“Action packed” “plot twists” “good ending” 

There are tough times for Christians and non Christians.

“Like a play with acts”. There is scene change. There are protagonist and antagonists 

“Like dreams” with scene changes. “Hard to keep up”

“Acid trip”

“How big God is”

 

2. Repetition is a clue to the ideas an author wants to emphasize. What words and phrases recur often in Revelation?

God, Satan

Lanb, Beast

Seven

Amen

Book 

Fire

Throne 

Behold 

"I am coming soon/quickly" (22:7, 12, 20) 

"The time is near" (1:3, 22:10)

"He who has an ear, let him hear" (Chapters 2-3)

Tribes, tongues, peoples, and nations" (5:9, 7:9, 11:9, 13:7, 14:6)

Alpha and Omega (22:13) first and last (1:17, 2:8, 22:13) 

"I looked" (4:1. 5:11, 6:5, 6*, 6:12, 7:9, 8:13, 14:1, 14:14, 15:5)

"opened" (11:19, 15:5, 19:11)

 “Patient endurance”

 

3. What questions about the book arise from your first reading? What would you like to find out more about as you study in detail?

 What is future and what is present? How to tell?

666

Why do people give such prominence to the millenium?

Videos here. https://fairfieldmc.org/revelation

We are prone to being deceived because of our desire to know the future.

The basic interpretations of revelation fall into 3 types

Preterist - the book is all about events already past when the book was written

Idealist - the book is concerned with timeless truths about the battle between good and evil

Futurist - the book is all about  the future after the writing of the book, for  the final generation of Christians

But we can combine the good in these 3 schools. 

Do we want to listen to what God wants to say

John cannot have written a closed book. It is written to be understood.

We avoid preconceived ideas - let the book speak for itself

Read as the first audience would have heard it. Revelation must be relevant for believers in all ages. 

Consider the book as a coherent whole. Be attuned to the plot of the entire book.

How does the book apply to us?

The extrinsic connections of what happens in the world must be subservient to the intrinsic connections of the book. 

Clues for interpretation:

John is writing an apocalypse/revelation. (1:1), a prophecy (1:3, 22:18-19), letter (1:4)

“Apocalypse” can refer to the future, or how God sees the present, the meaning of the present is revealed. 

Apocalyptic is full of symbols and images to be interpreted by inherited tradition (e.g. OT) or current context (of John’s day). God is intelligible because the symbols and images are understandable by certain principles. 

“Prophecy” is always singular, not plural. The entire book is one long drama.

There is foretelling (prediction) and forthtelling.(preaching)

Revelation is the climax of biblical prophecy.

“Letter” is meant to be relevant to the readers. The first century situation must be taken into account 

There will be lessons on Christian living. 

Revelation is interested in the future, in the situation of its first readers and there are lessons for edification, applicable for all times 

Revelation is a composed book. It is not a diary. John was guided by the Spirit to put everything articusticak,y, coherently, with a plot.