So the book of revelation is both symbolic and literal. Hence, its primary message was, at least originally, for believers in jesus. It is necessary to look beyond the literal meaning to see that these images mean to convey a sense of gods wrath at sin in the former case and trust in gods providential care over the church in the latter. According to many scholars as well as many christian laypeople, the jesus we find in the book of revelation engages in a great deal of violence. Reading the book of revelation can be challenging the storyline twists and turns and isnt strictly chronological. The book of revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the final book of the christian bible. The book of revelation is also known as the apocalypse. How do i distinguish the literal from the figurative. The black horse represents capitalism the white horse represents catholicism.
The language is literal if the sense does not force a contradiction, an impossibility, or an absurdity. And when you see the symbolic terms, very often theyre actually interpreted for us. Literary structurea key to interpreting the revelation. Indeed the gospel is an historical narration of what jesus said and did, so it seems logical to me to interpret it literally.
The following definitions are what the spirit has revealed to me. Finally, i think that if we look at the words of jesus christ then we will see that many of the events in the book of revelation are literal. Interpreting the book of revelation the rock of offence. Parts of the old testament, particularly in the book of daniel, are also written in the apocalyptic genre. The beast, the false prophet, who has the number 666, the antichrist, is. Stephen pauls attention to use of metaphorical and literal statements makes the cryptic book of revelation astoundingly comprehensible in the contemporary context. This is the apocalyptic vision which the biblical book of revelation says will come to pass, according to the understanding of many christians. If one has not studied the old testament, they probably dont understand the definition of the symbols, which means that they cannot understand the literal fulfillment. Revelation contains literal matters, symbolic matters, allegorical matters,and things which are signs. A blessing and curse of johns apocalypse are the many commentators who have attempted to interpret the book. Should the book of revelation be interpreted literally or. The book of revelation is not a literal book, it is not even a partial literal, and no where in its pages is there any mention of this yet gods people do. This means the words that are in the book of revelation should be taken in their plain. Depending upon what elements of the book are seen as most determinative in outlining the material, different results are obtained.
The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. If anyone adds to these things, god will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. Revelation always implies the unveiling of something previously hidden, in. Take a look at the basic structure of the book of revelation. The greek word for revelation is apocalypsis, so the title of the book is a translation of that word. But as for the matter of interpreting the messages in the revelation, the results seem as diverse as ever, if one is to judge by the various. God accepts the human decision to accept or reject the gospel of jesus christ, but reserves the right to set the time of final reckoning for himself. Is the modern interpretation of the book of revelation flawed. The numeral twelve, as used here, cannot be literal, for there. Nobody interprets the book of revelation literally, as the word is normally understood. Revelation apocalypse symbols defined, literal explanation. We then follow standard rules of grammar, according to the book s particular genre, to arrive at an interpretation. You need an understanding of the whole bible to get the correct.
Revelation contains both literal content toward the first few chapters, and then it contains highly figurative language mixed in with literal language. Contents consistency of interpretation in revelation the usage of current news events the dirty word of spiritualizing revelation is a literal vision with an allegorical meaning a note on numbers the order of events in the book of revelation the importance of correctly interpreting the scriptures cannot be underestimated. If youre befuddled by the book of revelation in the bible, dont fret. The book was written by a christian for christians. One of the characteristics of this type of literature is how imaginative it is and. The revelation of jesus christ is a book of prophecy on the end times and comprises the final book of the new testament and of the bible. The rest of the book, really the last half of the book is about the overthrow of this system. Divine judgment in the book of revelation loma linda university. John the divine is an example of apocalyptic writing a form that delivers a message using symbols, images and numbers.
We will look at luke 21 after the 70 ad portion so people cannot claim these events are referring directly to 70 ad. This violence reaches a zenith in chapter 19 where we find jesus going out to make war on a white horse v. The book of revelation is not literal or partial literal. Others in christianity state we should interpret or explain these detailed events in the book of revelation using what is known as the literalgrammatical method. Literal to the book of revelation or the book christian. My guest, elaine pagels, is the author of a new book about what she describes as the strangest book in the. Charts on the book of revelation is the first of its kinda charts book that does not seek to support specific interpretations of endtimes prophecies. That is, we try to find the plain literal meaning of the words based on an understanding of the historical and cultural settings in which the book was written. One of the complex things in the book of revelation is that there is indeed a mixture of symbolic terms along with more literal terms. Why do daniel and revelation give varying counts of 1,260, 1,290, and 1,335 days for the tribulation. Literary structure commentary a testimony of jesus. The book of revelation is written in a specific literary style called apocalyptic. My suggestion is to ponder these definitions, pray about it. Harlot and beast beasts with seven heads revelation has three beasts with seven heads and 10 horns.
Should the book of revelation be interpreted as a literal or metaphorical event. What are the seven seals and seven trumpets in the book of revelation. Spiritual definitions of the book of revelation pure. Here we have the part of the bible that many people say describes the end times and the rapturing of christians. The book of revelation often called the revelation to john, apocalypse of john, the revelation from jesus christ from its opening words, the apocalypse, the revelation, or simply revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the final book of the christian bible. Book of revelation for dummies cheat sheet dummies. Reagans video program, revelation revealed, presents a sweeping overview of the entire book of revelation. I have a christian friend who was a green beret in viet nam. The book of revelation uses symbols it explain the things that are happening today. Literal interpretation of revelation does not deny figures of speech in the book. The book of revelation is an example of the literary genre of apocalyptic literature. The bible contains many references to the last days.
There are other examples of it in the biblefor example in parts of the book of daniel and elsewhere in the prophets. An overview of revelation multimedia training kit covers the book of revelation verse by verse. Over the years, the book has been called by all different names the apocalypse, the revelation of saint john the divine, fire and brimstone r us. In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural. The interpretation of the book revelation lamb and. Do you think the book of revelation is literal, or. The key to understanding the book of revelation is to interpret it as literally as possibleit says what it means and means what it says. Understanding the book of revelation with afolabi dollars 2 still on our foundational study of the book of revelation. One of the major reasons many of us get confused and blank in our understanding and interpretation of this book is because we see or sometimes take many of the things written in it to be literal, instead of metaphorical. The street of gold mentioned in the book of revelation is. Maybe john thought titling his letter was a little bit pretentious. I think that it is our fathers way of testing us to see if we read his whole word. The book of revelation course lecture notes dominican scholar. In this view, revelation is a sort of crystal ball that gives a timeline of literal future events.
There are parts of the book of revelation that literal and parts that are figurative. Who are the two witnesses in the book of revelation. The author of the book of revelation, saint john the divine, offers a transcription of seven letters and later describes strange beasts, visions of judgments, governments, demonic battles, heaven, and a new world order a prophetic. Lesson 2 is the book of revelation literal or symbolic. Literal interpretation is a consistent literal interpretation of the book of revelation valid. The apocalypse, or revelation to john, the last book of the bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant. Literary form the book of revelation also called the revelation of john or the revelation of st. While the list above is not by any means exhaustive, every chapter of the book of revelation contains symbolism. Reagans book, wrath and glory, covers the book of revelation chapter by chapter. In the book of revelation, the final abode of the redeemed is depicted as a holy city cf. God would not have given it to us if its meaning were entirely a mystery. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. Signs pointing to more profound realities that they signify.
Most every word in ancient scripture has a spiritual counterpart to its literal meaning. So, one applying literal interpretation methods will necessarily misinterpret the entire book. When the bible says like a it is clear that a figure of speech is being employed and that we should try to understand what the author meant by that figure. The book of revelation cannot be adequately understood except against the historical background that occasioned its writing. The key to understanding the intent of its meaning is through revelation. This revelation timeline decoded bible study provides a table of symbols that were used by john in the book of revelation these revelation symbols are from the peoples new testament study notes by barton w. One of the features of that city was its wall, that rested on twelve foundations, upon which were written the names of the twelve apostles rev.