Lesson 9 - Revelation (Part 1)

Question 1

What genre is the book of Revelation and what are its characteristics? What evidence would you cite to show this?

Answer 1

3 Genres in 1

1. ) Prophecy
   - - 1:3 - in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day
   - - Written by a prophet, dually inspired by God, bringing God’s message, about the future
2. ) Apocalyptic
   - - 1:1 - Revelation
   - - specific style/type of prophecy
   - - Source of message: transcendent/vertical/heavenly
   - - Message mediated by heavenly being (not directly given)
   - - Symbolism, visions, dreams
   - - Eschatological focus: not just about future, but end times
3. ) Letter
   - - 1:4 - letter to 7 churches
   - - traditional style: greeting/closing

Question 2

How does the genre of Revelation affect your hermeneutical approach to the book?

Answer 2

1. ) Genre impacts how we interpret
   - - not just chronological (history told in advance)
   - - not just literal
   - - have to see the figurative of symbols/numbers
   - - not just a puzzle to solve, but a heavenly/future picture of things to impact how we live in the present
   2) OT connections
   - - look at other apocalyptic books: Daniel, Ezekiel
2. ) Letter
   - - not just future oriented, but has impact on the present now
   - - for warning and encouragement

Question 3

What interpretive approach should we take to the book of Revelation and what are its characteristics? What evidence would you cite to show this, and how does this affect your hermeneutical approach?

Answer 3

1. ) Iterist (Eclectic)
   - Book deals with both present and future because Revelation covers entire inner-advent Period
   - Symbols/Numbers have multiple historical applications (not just one to one correpsondence)
   
   • • Ex. Beast = human government/state that are against God and persecute the church (Rome, Islam, ISIS, etc.)
2. ) This view is the strength of the other views
   a. ) Preterist - Revelation does apply to pre-70 situation (situation in early church); just not that only
   b. ) Historist - Revelation does apply to the inneradvent period (but not just one historical manifestation)
   c. ) Futurist - Revelation is talking aobut the future (but also the present)
   d. ) Idealist - Revelation covers inner advent period as is figurative (but is also connected to reality and history)

Question 4

What are the other interpretive views? Show examples in how they interpret the Beast in Revelation 13?

Answer 4

1. ) Preterist: Revelation is about pre-70 (already fulfilled)
   - - Beast = Apostate Israel
2. ) Historist = Revelation is a chronological outline of church history
   - - Beast = whatever is the threat to the church (9th c. = Islam)
3. ) Futurist: Revelation is only dealing with the future
   - - Hyper chronological/Hyper literal
   - - Left Behind
   - - Beast = someone in the future
4. ) Idealist = Revelation is not about history but pictorial representation of the war of good vs evil
   - - Beast = Satan/Evil

Question 5

How is the book of Revelation divided up, and how are we to interpret these sections? Provide evidence to support your claims

Answer 5

1. ) 7 Sections (Completion) with 7 subsections
   - - Parallelism/Recapitulation = 7 different sections that repeat each other (not chronological) about the inner-advent period and Jesus’s coming
   - - Progressive = intensifies as it goes (watching the same play from different angles)
2. ) Further Evidence
   - - 2 major divisions of book parallel each other (Rev. 1-11: Church persecuted by world; Rev. 12-22: Christ persecuted by Satan)
   - - Specific time period for different sections are the same (Rev. 8-11 - 42 months, 1260 days; Rev. 12-14 - same time frame)

a. ) The 7 Churches (Rev. 1-3) - characteristics of churches in inneradvent period
b. ) The 7 Seals (Rev. 4-7) - picture of the saints in glory
c. ) The 7 Trumpets (Rev. 8-11) - seals are opened; judgement comes; 7 trumpets are within 7 seals
d. ) Persecuting Dragon (Rev. 12-14) - begins with birth and ends with 2nd coming again
e. ) 7 Bowls (Rev. 15-16) - God releases his wrath
f. ) Fall of Babylon (Rev. 17-19)
e. ) Great Consummation (Rev. 20-22)

Question 6

Explain how the Seals, Bowls, and Trumpets parallel each other.

Answer 6

1.) The 7 Trumpets are inside the 7th seal. The seal is the will of God/plan and the trumpets are his judgment coming:

a. First trumpet and bowl affect the earth (8:7; 16:2)
b. Second trumpet and bowl affect the sea (8:8; 16:3)
c. Third trumpet and bowl refer to a river (8:10; 16:4)
d. Fourth trumpet and bowl refer to the sun (8:12; 16:8)
e. Fifth trumpet and bowl speak of the Abyss and the throne of the beast (9:1; 16:10)
f. Sixth trumpet and bowl speak of the Euphrates river (9:13; 16:12)
g. Seventh trumpet and bowl speak to the second coming (11:15; 16:17)

Progressive Parallelism = same thing repeated over and over again, but there is an increase, intensity, added detail, until the final culmination.