Intro to Revelation
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The book of Revelation is one of the most feared and even neglected books of the Bible.
Yet this book is vital for God's people who truly desire to understand God's eternal purposes.
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
God wants us to know this book, and He will bless us for the study of it.
Many people study this book with the question, "Where are we today?"
"Thoughtful people are insisting that if we are not living in the age of the Apocalypse, we must at least be living on the threshold of that age. So many significant things are happening. Consider the rebirth of the state of Israel; the rise of Russia to the status of a world power and her domination of the Middle East and key parts of Africa; the rise of the nations of Europe to increasing collective consciousness; the awakening of China and the nations of the Orient; the sudden wealth, importance, and influence of the Muslin, Arab world based on their control of much of the world's oil; the resurgence of militant Islam; the political and moral bankruptcy of the nations and their international institutions; the rise of a sodomite society; the constant, brooding threat of nuclear war; the rising
tides of lawlessness; the apostasy of the professing church; the vast changes within the Roman Catholic church; the emergence of the drug culture; the revival of the occult; the staggering strides being made in science and technology; the trend toward totalitarianism; the ecological threat to the planet. These and similar pieces are all a part of the jigsaw puzzle of our age. Thoughtful people believe that if any clue to the picture is to be found, it must be in the book of Revelation." Phillips-1974
But, the book of Revelation is more than a commentary on today.
In fact, it shows us the completion of God's plan for the ages.
Revelation Shows the Completion of What Commenced in Genesis
1. Genesis The commencement of Heaven and the earth. (1:1)
Revelation The consummation of Heaven and the earth. (21:1)
2. Genesis The entrance of sin and death. (3:1-19)
Revelation The end of sin and death. (21:27; 21:4)
3. Genesis The dawn of Satan's activities. (3:1 -7)
Revelation The demise of Satan's power. (20:10)
4. Genesis The expulsion jfrom paradise. (3:23-24)
Revelation The entrance to paradise. (21:23-24)
5. Genesis The plan of redemption foretold. (3:15)
Revelation The plan of redemption fulfilled. (20:6)
6. Genesis The Tree of Life relinquished. (3:24)
Revelation The Tree of Life restored. (22:3)
7. Genesis The curse engulfs creation. (3:13-20)
Revelation The curse eliminated from creation. (22:2)
8. Genesis The beginning of sorrows. (3:16)
Revelation The banishing of sorrows. (21:4)
9. Genesis The formation of all nations. (10:1-32)
Revelation The finality of all nations. (21:24-27; 19:15)
10. Genesis The formation of Israel. (12:1-4)
Revelation The finality of Israel. (20:1-6)
{Revelation Made Plain and Illustrated — Tim LaHaye)
I. The Method of Interpretation
I. The Method of Interpretation
A. Incorrect Methods
A. Incorrect Methods
1. Preterest (Past Tense) Method
1. Preterest (Past Tense) Method
This view says the prophecies are already fulfilled.
They say the prophecies were fulfilled when Rome was destroyed in 70 A.D.
2. Presentest View (Present Tense)
2. Presentest View (Present Tense)
This view believes Revelation is symbolic of all human history. They place the date of writing at 66-69 under Nero.
They prefer this view because they do not want to identify Revelation 17 as Papal Rome.
3. Allegorical View
3. Allegorical View
This view says this book is merely a struggle between good and evil.
It says there is no specific day of judgment.
B. Correct Method — Futurist View
B. Correct Method — Futurist View
This view believes the Bible should be interpreted literally, in its historical context and in its grammatical context.
This view regards the Book of Revelation as being YET FUTURE in time and PROPHETIC in nature.
All events in the book are actual, and are either plainly understood as stated or symbolized.
Note: "Take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context and comparison to similar passages would dictate otherwise."
In other words, there is figurative language; it has a meaning that is understandable.
We consider the futurist view to be correct because the book is called a prophecy (1:1) and because the book was written after Nero was dead.
Those who reject literal, futurist interpretation often reject the doctrines of Hell, judgment, and the second coming.
II. The Meaning of the Name
II. The Meaning of the Name
A. The English Word - Revelation
A. The English Word - Revelation
From the Latin "Re" & "Velum" - Unveiling
B. The Greek Word - Apocalypse
B. The Greek Word - Apocalypse
"Apo", "Kalypto" - uncovering
This book is the uncovering of the person and eternal purpose of Christ.
Here we see the final answer to Matthew 6:10.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
We see God's will in Heaven and its fulfillment on earth.
Most of the book's fulfillment takes place after the church is removed from the earth.
III. The Man God Used
III. The Man God Used
A. His Name
A. His Name
The Apostle John.
He probably wrote while banished on the isle of Patmos.
B. His Experience
B. His Experience
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
John was transported to a different point in time called the Lord's day.
He saw "The Lord's Day" which is an extended period of time beginning with the rapture of the church and ending with the Great White Throne Judgment.
(I Thessalonians 5, II Thessalonians 2)
He then wrote the things which:
1. He had seen, (church age) Rev. 2:1-3:22
2. Which are. (Day of the Lord) Rev. 4:1-20:15
3. Which shall be. (New Heavens and New Earth) Rev. 21:1-22:5
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
According to John's vision, I believe we are a part of what was past (church age).
I believe we're coming to the end of the church age. The Day of the Lord is Imminent,
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,