NT – Revelation

• Introduction

– Your initial response to reading Revelation?

– “revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1)• “revelation” – unveiling or open display• “of Jesus Christ” – both about Jesus and from Jesus

– In this “final chapter” of the Bible, God pulls back the curtain to give his people a glimpse of his plans for human history—plans that center around Jesus.

• Historical context

– Persecution of Christians is becoming more intense and widespread.• 1:9; 2:3, 9-10, 13; 3:8; 6:9• Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-96)

“Caesar is Lord”

or

“Jesus is Lord”

Historical Context

“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

Revelation 1:9

Historical Context

I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. (2:9-10a)

Historical Context

I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

Revelation 2:10b

– But some Christians are turning away from Christ and compromising with the world system.

– Revelation has a double-edged message

Comfort for those suffering persecution

Warning for the complacent and compromising

• Literary genre? – A letter • Opens and closes like a NT letter (1:4-5; 22:21)• Whole book is a letter, not just chapters 2-3 • Like other NT letters, Revelation is situational• One important theme is overcoming

Promise to those who “overcome” at end of the seven messages in chapters 2-3

Revelation 2-3

Believers “overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death”

Revelation 12:11

“He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son”

Revelation 21:7

Literary Genre

– A prophetic letter (1:3; 22:6-7, 10, 18-19)

“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” —Revelation 1:3

• Includes both prediction and proclamation with an emphasis on proclamation.

• Revelation is not just about the future; it is about what God wants in the here and now.

– A prophetic-apocalyptic letter

“The revelation [apocalypsis] of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.

—Revelation 1:3

• “Apocalyptic” – Literature in which God promises to intervene in human

history to overthrow evil and establish his kingdom– Intensified form of Hebrew prophecy written during time

of crisis– Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah in the OT– Abundance of strange and bizarre images (picture

language)

Further on apocalyptic

• Message is given in the form of visions and dreams.

• Lots of symbolism • High degree of angelic mediation.– Why?– Ans.: Due to emphasis on God’s transcendence.

(cf. Rev. 4)

Further on apocalyptic

• Mixing of metaphors: same person or idea described with different metaphors:– Ex: Rev 5: 5-6• Jesus = lion of tribe of Judah• Jesus = lamb that was slain

– Ex: Rev 17: 9-10 • Seven heads of the beast are “seven mountains” (v 9)• Seven heads of the beast are “seven kings” (v 10)

Further on apocalyptic

• Many allusions & references to OT: – Gordon & Fee: over 250 allusions to the OT– Ex: • Rev 10: 8-11

– John commanded to eat the scroll / – OT background: Ezek 2 -3

• Rev 13: 2– The beast: like a leopard, bear and lion. – OT background: Daniel 7

• What is the purpose of Revelation?

– Readers enter the symbolic world created by the images of Revelation to get heavenly perspective on their own world.

– Revelation uses prophetic counter-images to answer the question: “Who is Lord?”

– Main message: “God will win!”

Other major themes

• Jesus Christ, who is equal with God, is the one through whom God’s purposes and victory are established:– Rev 5: the only one worthy to break the seals;

worshipped at the center of God’s throne.– Rev 19: the coming judge– Rev 20: the one who rules over God’s kingdom.

Major themes

• The present time (until God sets up his kingdom) is a time of intense opposition to Christ and His people by the Satanic realm and those who oppose God but God is still in control.– Satan attacks the church through persecution and

deceptive teaching (2:1-3:22; 13: 1-18; 17:1-18:24)– Towards the end of the age the persecution will

intensify but Jesus, the Lamb of God, will defeat and destroy all his enemies (16: 12-16; 19: 11-21; 20:7-22:5)

Major themes

• The church overcomes by being faithful to Christ and his new covenant despite opposition. – And they have conquered him by the blood of the

Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death (Rev 12: 11).

• Interpreting Revelation

– Traditional approaches:

• Preterist • Historicist• Futurist• Idealist

Basic outline

Intro & initial vision - chap 1

Message to the seven churches: chaps 2-3

Vision of God & the Lamb on the throne: chaps 4-5

Basic outline

The seven seals (6:1-8:5)• Parenthesis btw 6th and 7th seal:• 144,000 (7:1-8)• Great multitude out of the “great tribulation” (7:9-17)

The Seven Trumpets (8:6-11:19)• Parenthesis between 6th and 7th trumpet• A scroll John is instructed to eat (10:1-11)• Two witnesses (11: 1-14)

Basic outline

Seven signs (12:1-14:20)

Seven Bowls (15:1-16:21)

Triumph of God (17:1-21:8)

The New Jerusalem (21:9-22:9)

Conclusion (22:10-21)

Relationship of seals, trumpets & bowlsChronological:

Seals 1-7 Trumpets 1-7

Bowls 1-7

Relationship of seals, trumpets & bowlstelescopic:

Seals 1-6

Seal 7: Trumpet 1-6

Trumpet 7: Bowls 1-7

Relationship of seals, trumpets & bowls:progressive recapitulation

Seals 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Trump. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Bowls 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

– Guidelines for reading Revelation:

• Read Revelation with humility.• Try to discover the message to the original readers.• Don’t try to detect a strict chronological map of future

events.• Take Revelation seriously, but don’t always take it

literally.• Pay attention when John identifies an image.• Look to the OT and historical-cultural context when

interpreting images and symbols.• Above all, focus on the main idea and don’t press all

the details.

• Conclusion

– A prophetic-apocalyptic letter …– Using powerful picture language … – To comfort the suffering and warn the

comfortable. – Revelation answers the question: “Who is Lord?”– Revelation gives us the heavenly perspective we

need to overcome.– God will win!