Back ground of the book:
Revelation
“Revelation” is from the Greek word apokalupsis which means, “A disclosure, an unveiling.” The book of Revelation is an unveiling of the Character and program of God.
Author
Four times the author identifies himself as John (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8)
Date and origin
The traditional view for the date of revelation is during the reign of Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-90). The early church fathers affirmed this and most scholars since have agreed. The date has been traditionally set between A.D. 94-96 (during the final and most severe years of Domitian’s reign). It is likely that John wrote Revelation during his exile on the island of Patmos.
The purpose
The stated purpose of revelation is to reveal Jesus Christ (1:1): His
James 1:12
For these believers who endure trials, tribulations, and severe suffering, even unto death. Revelations 2:8-11. This crown is also referred to as the martyrs’ crown.
This crown reminds me of the Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp was denounced to the government, arrested and tried on the charge of being a Christian. When the proconsul urged him to save his life by cursing Christ, he replied: “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved ME?” the magistrate was reluctant to kill a gentle old man, but he had no choice. Polycarp was sentenced to be burned. As he waited for the fire to be lighted, he prayed; “Lord God almighty, Father of your blessed and beloved child Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and hosts and all creation, and of the whole race of the upright who live in your presence; I bless you that you have thought me worthy of this day and hour, to be numbered among the martyrs and share in the cup of Christ, for resurrection to eternal life, for soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. Among them may I be accepted before you today, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, just as you, I bless you, I glorify you, through the eternal heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, your beloved child, through whom be glory to you, with him and the Holy Spirit, now and for the ages to
Kenneth Gentry begins with a quote, “The closer we get to the year 2000, the farther we get from the events of Revelation.” This sentence summarizes the Preterist view nicely. The Preterist places weight on the historical aspect of Revelation by relating it to its original author and audience. The author was mainly concerned with the seven churches of Asia Minor who were facing difficulties during that time. John’s target audience was neither churches nor the 21st century. As most evangelical scholars would affirm, Revelation contains prophecies which were fulfilled in John’s near future. Their manifestation might not have been as graphic or literal as one might imagine, because John uses “poetic hyperbole,” yet these events were actually fulfilled in history. He argues that the use of highly figurative speech and symbolism is “not a denial of historicity but a matter of literary genre.” These were events that were to take place soon because the time was near. Then Gentry uses study of Greek language to support this. He argues that lexicons and modern translators agree that these terms indicate temporal proximity indicating that they expected to see the events in their lifetime. As much as a word study can be helpful, it can also be limiting. One certainly cannot base interpretation of the whole book on a loosely used term. Similarly, while the Apostle Paul spoke to the Thessalonians with urgency in plain language, we know that the Second Advent is yet to happen.
Revelation chapter thirteen is the most well-known of all the biblical references to the Antichrist. It is the chapter that pop culture pulls its imagery from, including the Mark of the Beast and his number, 666. Ironically, because of its position in God’s end-time program, it will not have as much of an immediate direct connection to Donald Trump. Most of its details regard events that happen well into the tribulation period. Until we arrive at such a time, the particulars more or less still await fulfilment. That said, because of its central focus on the subject at hand, it would be worthwhile taking a closer look at the chapter. Except for the final verse, I will keep my comments brief. I strongly recommend getting a commentary on the Book of Revelation. Just make sure that it is from a futurist (Premillennial) perspective. Any Historist perspective that interprets the book as already fulfilled (called Preterism) is frankly in error and although may offer some biblical insights, is pretty much a waste of time.
...corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be." He said a silent prayer to GOD and then signaled the executioner. With one clean chop the head of a king rolled on the cold hard ground.
I had multiple preconceptions about this article and the book of Revelation. Before reading the book I just thought of it as strictly apocalyptic. In church that...
The book of Revelation gives us our greatest insight to the use of God's name in the New Testament. The imagery of the book of Revelation is very similar to the prophetic books of the Old Testament where the name was used frequently. But even more, the book of Revelation can be used to disprove most theories as to why the divine name was not used in the NT. The book uses many references to God's name. These are not just some kind of reference to God's character, since we are told this name is written on something on a number of occasions. You can not write someone's character on a forehead. These must be references to a literal name.
This essay will argue that the eschatology of the Book of Revelation forms an integral part of John’s attempt within the pages of his book to form a literary world in which the forms, figures, and forces of the earthly realm are critiqued and unmasked through the re-focalization of existence from the perspective of heaven. It will attempt to show that, in response to the social, political, religious, and economic circumstances of his readers, the Book of Revelation forms a counter imaginative reality. Through drawing upon an inaugurated sense of eschatology and evocative imagery, John is able to pull the reader in and show them the true face of the imperial world and consequences of its ideology, forcing the reader allegiance to fall with either ‘Babylon’ or the New Jerusalem.
It is possible that readers of Revelation might have approached the text of revelation, not via Judaism or the Jewish scriptures, but through the literary conventions of the Graeco-Roman world.it is suggested that the amoenus locus motif would have provided an introit for such readers to engage with the heavenly visions found in Revelation 21.
The Book of Revelation and the movie WALL-E serve as distinct forms of apocalyptic literature to expose the reality of the human condition beneath the surface. Even though there are blatant disconnects between the two, they both share common ground as criticisms of society and to warn humanity of its coming judgement. The Book of Revelation and WALL-E offer a frightening yet rectifiable future for humanity by remaining loyal to its “core values”.
The first two parts of the book discuss the kind of theological-historical perspective and ecclesial situation that determines the form-content configuration of Revelation. The first section attempts to assess the theological commonality to and differences from Jewish apocalypticism. Fiorenza focuses of the problem that although Revelation claims to be a genuinely Christian book and has found its way into the Christian canon, it is often judged to be more Jewish than Christian and not to have achieved the “heights” of genuinely early Christian theology. In the second part of the book, Fiorenza seeks to assess whether and how much Revelation shares in the theological structure of the Fourth Gospel. Fiorenza proposes that a careful analysis of Revelation would suggest that Pauline, Johannine, and Christian apocalyptic-prophetic traditions and circles interacted with each other at the end of the first century C.E in Asia Minor. She charts in the book the structural-theological similarities and differences between the response of Paul and that of Revelation to the “realized eschatology”. She argues that the author of Revelation attempts to correct the “realized eschatology” implications of the early Christian tradition with an emphasis on a futuristic apocalyptic understanding of salvation. Fiorenza draws the conclusion that Revelation and its author belong neither to the Johannine nor to the Pauline school, but point to prophetic-apocalyptic traditions in Asia Minor.
According to the American Heritage dictionary, revelation is “an act of revealing” or “a dramatic disclosure “(American Heritage dictionary). The current definition given does not provide any real information, if the word reveal is not
As defined by Migliore, Revelation means an “unveiling,” uncovering,” or “disclosure” of something previously hidden. Today, Community of Christ affirms the Living God is ever self-revealing to the world through the testimony of Israel and Jesus Christ. Revelation provides important decisions about who God is and how we are to understand the world and ourselves. In seeking to understand, as a member of Community of Christ, we must explore the historical and contextual response of the leaderships to revelation within the setting of the Restoration and the Reorganization era.
Revelation identifies itself as “both an “apocalypse”…and as prophecy”, making it distinctly different from the rest of the New Testament. “Jewish apocalyptic literature flourished in the centuries following the completion of the OT canon”, and it is scattered throughout the Old Testaments in books such as Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Apocalyptic literature is full of “visions that dramatize the prophet’s admission to God’s heavenly council”, and convey their meaning primarily through symbolism. John brings a “balanced message of comfort, warning, and rebuke” in Revelation, testifying to the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Apart from the OT literature, Revelation shows a distinct optimism toward the end of days, for “Christ’s death has already won the decisive victory over evil”, with the Kingdom of God already among believers. This book was written in “approximately A.D. 95 on the island of Patmos”, which is still standing to this day. It was written under the emperor Domitian, with Roman authorities exiling John “to the island of Patmos (off the coast of Asia)”. The events in Revelation are also “ordered
The religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are alike in many ways but they also share many differences. Judaism and Christianity use the bible in their holy scriptures, while Islam does not. Jesus Christ is a part of all three religions as Christianity and Islam developed from Judaism. Many believe that the three religions worship, pray to, and focus on the same god. They believe this as many of the prophets are they share much in common as they share many beliefs. However, the followers of the three religions pray differently and in different places. the religions believe that their god created the world and everything in the world. The three Abrahamic religions have different histories, yet they share many similarities and difference.
Spirituality can have many different definitions, depending on who is asked. It can be something as simple as looking for a higher meaning to life, or something so complex that one can base their beliefs, religion and overall life around it. There are several different ways to express one's spirituality; rituals, songs, dances, stories, and writings are all common methods of expression.
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