Book of Revelations
When will the end come? It is human nature for humans to ask questions. Many of these questions are without answers and there is no possible way to come up with one. A common question that plagues the human race is “When will the world end?” For thousands of years, astrologers and psychics have been trying to come up with clues to when it all will end. There is a source, the Bible, which aids humans, specifically Christians, in trying to come up with some answers. Many places in the Bible such as Revelations, Ezekiel, Matthew, Daniel, and I Corinthians all give some clues to how and when the end of the world will come. Two articles that give some insight on this subject are “Visions or Heaven, Dreams of the End” by Barbara E. Bowe and “Are We Living at the End Time?” by Alfred McBride and O. Praem. These articles help to aid us with the answers to such questions as: How will the end time happen? Does the Bible tell more of a symbolic happening or are all of those horrible things going to happen? They also give details and hints that happen all over the Bible, such as the number seven. In the article “ Are We Living at the End Time,” authors McBride and Praem look at the end time from a millenarian’s perspective and backs up their claims with the Bible. Instead of using the Church’s four end time happenings: death, judgement, heaven and hell, the millenarian uses it’s own four criteria: Rapture, tribulation, millennium, and the Second Coming. Looking at these questions in a theological way, by asking questions, the authors make these four criteria easier to understand (McBride & Pream, 58). The first question asked is “When will we experience Rapture?” The millenarian looks specifically at Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians and to the Corinthians. In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he uses imagery to describe to them what Rapture will be like when Christ returns. He tells the Thessalonians in 1Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we’ll be with the Lord forever.” (New International Version) This is what millenarians call the Rapture ...
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..., John speaks of a new heaven and a new earth. This vision was not at all new, as its mentioned in Isa. 65:17. This vision is available to the reader to make a future for their world. He describes the new heaven and the new earth as a place with no evils, filled with the presence of God. The new earth in Revelations is not some burning fire pit with poison spitting animals, but a place of paradise. The author then goes to say that this was the view that we should all have had for the millennium. This is the view that I have always had for the end time. I am not one to sit around and be scared. I am so excited to meet my God in his paradise. Unlike the millenarian in the first article, I could really care less when or how I get to be there with him. The whole purpose of this paper was to come up with an answer to when the end time would be. However, I think through reading both of these article, I have come to find out in my mind, that no one knows but God. It is pointless to sit around and wonder if this 10-horned beast, rode by a past prostitute, is going to fall out of heaven in the end time. What I think is more important is making yourself ready for the coming of the end time.
Much of Revelation is the source of debate. Many passages are symbolic in nature, and the exact meaning of the symbols can be difficult to determine. Some passages can be interpreted in various ways. The identity of the Four Horsemen, the 144,000, and Babylon the Great in particular are points of contention. Nevertheless, proper hermeneutics and careful study can illuminate these difficult passages.
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.
Both in the Old and New Testament, the Antichrist is described as this wicked individual who appears at the end of the age. Rising up politically to become the most powerful man on the planet, he will be regarded a Hero — the world’s Savior. Out of a power block of ten nations (or territories) rooted in the old Roman empire, he will establish some type of world government. Under his authority, Babylon (Iraq) will be rebuilt into the commercial center of the world. Through his mystical right hand man, a commercial mark will be instituted, enabling the Antichrist to control all buying and selling on earth. Peace between Israel and her surrounding Arab nations will be established when he institutes a seven-year treaty allowing the Jews to rebuild their holy temple; a temple he will later defile when he stands in its midst and proclaims himself — god. Satan himself will possess him. An anthropomorphic image, called the Beast will be created — through great signs and wonders — that all will be commanded to worship. Towards the end of his reign, he will bring the armies of the world together in Israel for the great battle known as Armageddon. The globe will experience what is called the Great Tribulation leading up to this time involving terrible cosmic and supernatural judgment. This seven-year tribulation starts when
Martyn, J. Louis. "The Apocalyptic Gospel in Galatians." Interpretation 54.3 (2000). 09 Jun. 2002 http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/tel_a/mmcwml.
And the End Time: First the events of the final judgment should not be called the “End Times” it is the End Time. The End happens once, if I say End Times I sound like a Hindu who believes in an endless cycle of recreation and judgment.
Madigan and Levenson quote Dale Allison that Jesus was seen and saw himself as the “last prophet in the cosmic drama whose mission it was to prepare his people for the eschatological finale.” This shook my foundation because prior to reading this book, my understanding was another cosmic drama to occur at the end of the age. The end of the age however, is not something to come but something has occurred at the cross and we are living in the world that has come. While this is correct and makes sense to me through reading this book and in the light of the Second temple Jewish restoration eschatology, it will not be an easy sell to my congregation. There is a running line that pulsates through seminary grads when we are pastoring and
Brooks and A.J Gordon (Balmer 34). Dispensationalism has been gaining followers for many years and its popularity can be seen in many places, such as in the Left Behind series which has captured the minds of many people around the world (Pagels 1). Now with historical context in mind, it is time to see what Dispensationalism teaches. Dispensationalism has three distinct characteristics: Rapture of Christians, Millennium Rule of Christ, and the Unfulfilled Prophecies of the Bible. For the purpose of this paper they will all be examined separately. The Rapture is the belief that Christians will be brought up and not have to endure the Tribulation (Robinson). The term “rapture” does not occur in the Bible but instead comes from a Latinized version of the word arpadzo which comes from “caught up” (Witherington 94). The belief in the Rapture for Dispensationalists is based on 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 which they claim describes an event where living Christians return to heaven with Christ (Robinson). Secondly, the Millennium Rule is the belief that Jesus Christ will literally rule over earth for 1,000 years after the Tribulation (Robinson). The key here is that (as opposed to the Post-Millennial views) the believers have no part in setting up his reign
New flowers blooming, baby animals, and the cold giving way to warmth, the season of spring embodies the idea of rebirth. Like nature, people have the ability to be reborn, becoming someone completely different than who they were before. In the novel, The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, the theme of rebirth is prominent throughout the story, allowing the characters to develop into who they are supposed to be.
Unlike other views that believe the second coming will be in two phases, amillennialists feel it will occur in one stage; within the time between the first and second coming (459). They fuse the two resurrections spoken in Revelation 20:1-6 into one stage. In this one stage, a general resurrection will occur in which all believers and unbelievers will be gathered. They understand that Satan will be bound during the in-between time and at the second advent he will be released for a short time to cause havoc (458). Christ will return after the heavenly millennium reign and all believers and transformed believers will be taken up to the clouds to be with Him.
This essay argues that the eschatology of the Book of Revelation is an integral part of John’s attempt 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 attempts 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 pulls the reader in and shows them the true face of the imperial world and consequences of its ideology, forcing the reader's allegiance to fall with either ‘Babylon’ or the New Jerusalem. Before beginning this essay proper, it is important to first comprehend some of what is meant by the term eschatology, and how it is understood in the Book of Revelation. Eschatology is that part of theology which deals with conceptions of the ‘end times’ and of the final things of the world and humanity.
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
No part of the Bible and its interpretation is more controversial than the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the last profound book in the New Testament. It conveys the significant purpose of Christianity by describing God’s plan for the world and his final judgment of the people by reinforcing the importance of faith and the concept of Christianity as a whole. This book was written by John in 95 or 96 AD. What is, what has been, and what is to come is the central focus of the content in Revelation.
The term millennium does not appear anywhere in Scripture. The idea originated from a thousand year period of time that characterizes the reign of the Messiah. In fact, the phrase “thousand years” is stated six times in Revelation 20. There are three main schools of thought based upon one’s view of the thousand-year reign of Christ. These views are: Amillennial, Postmillennial and Premillennial. Over the centuries these prophetic differences have caused conflict within the body of Christ and are still currently widely debated. Instead of the book of Revelation being the basis of comfort (1 Thess. 4:18) among Christians it has become a bone of contention. However, this controversy should not deter Christ’s disciples from receiving the blessings that Revelation has to offer (Rev. 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14). Rather, one should study prophecy under the Spirit’s guidance and look at the data provided within the full context of the Word assessing each of the views for correct motives and presuppositions. Therefore, this paper will examine the nature, timing, and duration of the millennium as well as the occupants of the millennial kingdom and the relationship of Israel and the Church to the millennial kingdom. The aim of this paper is to address “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1, ESV).
From the time of the creation of God’s Kingdom and the earth until present day in the eternal life, God has intended for His people to live as full human beings in order to live a fulfilled life, and a life of salvation and redemption through His son Jesus Christ. Through living the eternal life and living within God’s Kingdom, the anticipation of the return of Christ and the beginning of the New Heaven and the New Earth is what Christians are currently living for and anticipating. New Heaven and New Earth are both goals Christians work towards through their faith in Christ, along with the anticipation and work towards the eschatological goal as we work and live towards the future and end result, while some aspects of life will continue and some will discontinue in the New Heaven and the New Earth. While the New Heaven and New Earth is an opportunity to refresh our spirituality and redeem ourselves in a spiritual way through the work of the Holy
What happens when we die? What happens in the end times? Questions like these have been asked countless times by the Christian community and, like many other things in the Christian faith, there has not always been a clear answer. Will things play out as described in the book of Revelation? What does the promise of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ offer to us in the “end times”? I had the opportunity to consider some of these questions while sitting at the wake for one of my great aunts who had passed away suddenly from a severe stroke. Those present were certainly in a stage of mourning her loss, but there was also a strong feeling of joy and hope. This seemed to come from everyone observing all of the many young (even newborn) children who ran about the space pladying with one another, each oblivious to the reality of the room’s purpose and present state. When reading William J. La Due’s The Trinity Guide to Eschatology, I found myself drawn to the section on Jürgen Moltmann’s eschatology of hope. I believe that, like Moltmann, in the end God will save everyone, all creation and all humanity, as a fulfillment of God’s promise through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.