Week 4: Revelation (background info) Flashcards
1
Q
who wrote revelation?
A
John, or someone claiming to be John.
2
Q
Who is revelation addressed to?
A
7 churches of Asia Minor
3
Q
Who “John” could be
A
-Secular scholars don’t agree on when it was written, or who wrote it. -
- John the beloved disciple wrote the book (christian)
- Or there could be another John (John the elder). Some kind of prophet/teacher. Someone who started a school with the name of John/his teachings.
- Some say: Book was falsely written by someone who took the name john.
4
Q
Where?
A
- Whoever wrote the book, listed the 7 cities in Asia minor, in a horseshoe order
- Why did he leave out cities and churches….? There were more than 7 churches…..
- these churches were Congregations made of Jews and gentiles
5
Q
John was placed in
A
- Island of Patmos
- Tried to put John in a vat of oil
- Exiled him
- Revelation doesn’t state why hes there. Maybe he was there to preach?
- Possible he wrote down the visions at a different place from Patmos
6
Q
Ephesus (An ancient city)
A
- Where he might have written Revelation
- Where John may have died. Where he lead a congregation.
- Where John may have taken Mary
- Strong history of Mary being in this place
7
Q
When was Revelation written?
A
- Will depend largely on who you believe wrote the book.
- John the disciple → can’t be past AD 90 or so.
- If it was someone else, then it could be written much later.
8
Q
Using Revelation 17:9, 10 as a clue to dating(?)
A
- 10 horns, 7 kings, 5 kings coming, lists different kings
- These kings aren’t referring to the 1st century
- It says hes “carried away to Babylon…”
- This doesn’t help date the book in any way
9
Q
Genre of Revelation
A
- Apocalyptic is the genre
- The greek word refers to “revealing”
10
Q
Description of “apocalyptic” literature
A
- Claims to be a prophecy
- Claims to have the prophet in vision (into a trance)
- Usually an angel interpreter
- Usually huge amounts of dramatic symbolism
- Scope goes well beyond the time of the reader → A cosmic scope
- Dualism between heaven and earth. No gray area.
- ….John calls it a prophecy
11
Q
John barrows from several types of sources.
A
- Greco-Roman World
- Jewish Apocalyptic
- Old Testament/Judaism
- Jesus as Jewish Messiah (Gospel Narratives)
12
Q
- Greco-Roman World influence
A
- City of Ephesus was beautiful, and large.
- He could borrow from typical Greco-Roman myths
- Things like chimera and creatures.
- Book of revelation would have fit somewhat with this greco-roman worldview
- John is still writing as a Jew, but he wanted to communicate with his audience
13
Q
- Jewish Apocalyptic influence
A
- Similar to other Jewish apocalyptic books
- Wrote it after Daniel was written. He may have known the book of Daniel. And he may have known other books like this.
- John never quotes one of them.
- Jude = Jesus’s step-brother. One chapter book.
14
Q
- Old Testament/Judaism influence
A
- John’s main sources
- Christ event
15
Q
Torah
A
- Primary literature. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
- Genesis = shows a beautiful world then fallen world. Revelation shows a fallen world, then a beautiful end.
- Look for sacrificial language
- Exodus = Moses and the children of Israel
- Levitical law = how they would live their life. Rev shows its still valued.
- numbers = god is going to bring his people into the promised land
- Deut = getting ready to go into the promised land
- Rev = promised land in a bigger way
16
Q
Neviim
A
- Prophets in the old testament
- Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and many others
17
Q
Prophetic lit had a 4 part structure → you will see this in Revelation
A
- You’re sitting. You’re breaking the law (sinning), and doing all the things that bring God’s wrath.
- You need to repent. You have to come back to God, and do the good things.
- If you don’t repent, there will be judgment. Judgment will fall on you, Israel.
- God will restore the fortunes of his people, with a faithful remnant. God will use them to make a whole new Israel.
18
Q
Kethubim
A
- The writings not in Torah or Prophets.
- Daniel and the Psalms are in this category
- Look for the ties between Daniel and Revelation
19
Q
Importance of Genesis
A
- First bookend = Genesis
- Last bookend = Revelation
20
Q
Importance of Daniel
A
Precursor to Revelation
21
Q
- Jesus as Jewish Messiah (Gospel Narratives) influence
A
- Builds on the view that the messiah had come
- God had broken into the physical world, and had revealed himself through Jesus Christ.
- Jacob (james) and John = sons of thunder
- John became the beloved disciple, and he can’t help but write Revelation in this context of deliverance.
22
Q
Where (in the world) was Revelation and its seven churches situated?
A
- Whoever wrote the book, listed the 7 cities in Asia minor, in a horseshoe order
- Why did he leave out cities?
- There were more than 7 churches
- Congregations made of Jews and gentiles
23
Q
What was the primary language(s) of the Greco-Roman world?
A
…Latin,…
24
Q
Book of revelation is like an upside down “U”
A
Stable → unstable → stable
25
Q
Plot orientation (james resseguie)
A
- John interacts with narrative
- There is a plot subtly
26
Q
Tale of two halves (John paulien)
A
- This is broadly correct
- Ch’s 1 - 11 → Reflect historical prophecy of john that reflects the growth and fall of christian church
- Then ch’s 12 → second half is eschatological.
- So…span of history and end
- Springboard verses → verses that summarize where we’ve come (11:18 is one!!!)
27
Q
Three scrolls (david barr) → yes there were actually 3 scrolls
A
- Letter scroll. Everything john sees in vision. Ch’s 1 - 3. All sent to 7 churches
- The worship scroll. Ch’s 4 - 10.“One like a lamb, is actually a lion” comes to someone sitting on throne. Lamb takes a book from hand of one seated on the throne. Sealed with 7 seals. 144,000 + angels + 24 angels + creatures = all worshiping.
- The war scroll. ch’s 11 –> end. Little book that lies open in the hand of an angel, eats the sweet in mouth but bitter in stomach. Then scenes of war and destruction.
- The three scrolls are not what revelation orients itself on
28
Q
Sanctuary imagery and cycles of seven
A
- Number 7 shows up a lot
- 7 trumpets = take us to the halfway point, where there is a hinge verse → launches into second half where 7’s leave and the number 12 takes over
- Each cycle of seven have some overlap. Begin with a different picture/article of furniture from the Hebrew temple. Based on a picture of a hebrew sanctuary.
29
Q
Sanctuary imagery and cycles of seven (cont.)
A
- Many pieces of furniture mentioned. That are from the temple image.
- 7 churches referenced w/candlesticks
- Thrones references. Show bread = symbolize the throne
- Ch 8 =alter of incense
- Latter = ark of the covenant
- Step by step structure that follows the sanctuary structure
30
Q
No temple (all is most holy): 21:1 - end
A
- Basically yeah no temple
- Helpful image of temple in notes
- The most holy place
- then the holy place
- then the courtyard
31
Q
Details about the Sanctuary
A
- The sacrifice was eaten/barbecued. Epic barbecue sacrifice moment.
- Blood of lamb was taken to sanctuary
- Courtyard not as valuable. More gold the closer to the most holy place you get
- Gold angels were woven into the purple veil that separated the holy place from the most holy place
32
Q
Kenneth strand → cycles of 7 follow the structure of the sanctuary really well. Chiastic structure:
A
- Prologue then →
- Candlesticks and seven churches: 1:9 - 3:22
- Throne (Table?) and seven seals: 4:1 - 8:1
- Altar of Incense and Seven Trumpets: 8:2-11:18
- Ark of the Covenant and Seven Angels: 11:19-14:20
- Intercession Ends and Seven Bowl-Plagues: 15:1-20:15
33
Q
Early christian church
A
Applied the book of revelation into their current greco-roman oppression
34
Q
Augustine
A
- Argued book of revelation was not about rome/christian oppression
- About personal experience and a general desire to have church “take over” the world
- Thought it was symbolic of personal experience → what are your own “beasts”
- A sense in which he thought theres always been evil empire out there (beasts) that the church needs to overcome
35
Q
Dark ages
A
- Only people who could interpret were the leaders of the christian church
- If you owned a bible as a layperson, then you could be killed
-There were people who would smuggle the word of God - Revelation = it continued to be interpreted in how Augustine said it was, and 7 deadly sins
36
Q
Protestant revolution
A
- Affects every church on the planet
- If you read the documents for yourself, amazing things start to happen
- Realized that Rome’s interpretation was wrong → we shouldn’t pay to save our souls
- Earthly priest? → god is our only mediator to forgive sins
- Revelation then = our own church is the beast. The christian church is acting beastly.
37
Q
Martyrs and protestant revolution
A
- The church killed people
- Killing martyrs purified the movement, and planted seeds for the church
- The movement became more committed and far more vocal in their disagreements with the church
- Rome found it was losing its influence
38
Q
Counter-Reformation
A
- The blood of the martyrs was seed for continued rebellion
- These two Jesuit scholars below had interpretations of revelation that opposed each other
- The church of Rome maintains a perspective that contradicts each other
39
Q
Francisco Ribera
A
- Went to Daniel/Rev, and said that the big beast in revelation that have to be end time. It can’t be Rome. 1600s.
- Church of Rome said thank you we’ll accept your review
40
Q
Luis de Alcazar
A
- Said that the interpretation should all be for the churches in Asia Minor
- Could never be the church
- It was the state power of Pagan Rome
- It was commentary on the 1st century
41
Q
This is where three of our main methods come out of (Luis de Alcazar)
A
- Reformation = roman church is apostate from God
- Then the other two interpretations
42
Q
Historical-Criticism
A
- Applying a scientific approach to literature.
- We’re gonna analyze biblical literature and question everything
- We won’t take things at face value
- We have to understand the culture of when things were written
- Arguing that Revelation only has meaning in its original setting
- Continues today
43
Q
Evangelical Christianity
A
- He means people who believe that Francisco is right
- A last day antichrist
- They take Daniel 9 and say it’s about the end of time
- Secular = luis
- Evangelical = Francisco
- All 1st century OR all last few years of Earth
44
Q
Reader-response theory
A
- The belief that meaning does not lie in the intention of the writer, it lies only in the mind of the reader
- Thus you can read and interpret any text in any way you want
Irrelevant what the author intended - Its just up to you
- Legitimate to do that for yourself….but then its just ur opinion,,,,,
Not a scholarly approach - 3 main groups use this method
45
Q
Ultra-feminism and reader response theory
A
They claim that it is hate literature and that nothing about it is prophetic. That its talking about women who have been abused.
46
Q
People who have been enslaved and reader response theory
A
Resistance literature. Many enslaved people have seen revelation as a book to motivate resistance.
47
Q
LGBTQ studies and reader response theories
A
- They read revelation, and see Jesus as queer. 144,000 are male virgin Jews.
- You would be stoned in the time when John wrote this, if you were gay.
48
Q
Allegorical method
A
wants to apply symbols in a personal way so we don’t use this rn
49
Q
Categorical Methods
A
- Stefanovic notes these four interpretive methods →
- Important to remember these → Preterism, Historicism, Futurism, Idealism.
50
Q
Preterism
A
- The view of Luis. The belief that revelation should be interpreted from its original historical context. Its a commentary on the 1st century struggles. The kings can’t be later on kings, only that 1st century government.
- Anything that feels like prophecy is just John’s wishful thinking (including new heaven)
- Most secular scholars believe this
51
Q
Historicism
A
- The view of the reformers. The protestant reformation said it looks like its calling out evil from the centuries, prophecies unfolding christian history. Uses Daniel as a template with the Kingdoms.
52
Q
Historicism argues…
A
- …that Daniel and Revelation should be interpreted the same way.
- Doesn’t mean they’ll call out each event in history.
- Covers span of history, wherever you find yourself historically determines how much is past/future.
53
Q
Historicism - Who believes this today?
A
- In the 1800s most Christians were. Wasn’t until later that people started looking into futurism.
- the great disappointment (1844) caused people to stop using this method.
- Right now = SDA
54
Q
Futurism
A
- Francisco’s view. Primary focus is on the last days. Building people up for Christ’s coming
- Assumes there is a rapture of the church. Then there will be 7 years of trouble on this Earth. Baptist or Pentecostal churches believe this.
- That 7 years = most of what Revelation is talking about, explains events that will happen.
- Most evangelical christians follow this group
55
Q
Idealism
A
- Expansion of the allegorical method.
- God is so good at telling the future through symbols, that these symbols can explain any particular event in history etc. “Maybe I’m the beast here.”
- “However you want to apply it, apply it.” So accepting it means nothing.
56
Q
Narrative analysis
A
- Looking at plot and characters
- Resolution of the plot
- All it does is to feed into one of the main four mentioned earlier
57
Q
Eclectic (Heretical historicist) - Berglin is this one
A
- Brant says “Text based, eclectic” lens
- If John seems to suggest a way to interpret the text,,,then we should see it that way
- Example: It was written to 7 churches and so I need to read it in context of how they would understand it
58
Q
Eclectic (Heretical historicist) (cont.)
A
- Context: what was the world like? We agree with the Preterist to a point
- Futurist? There’s a lot that does seem to point to the very end. Waiting to see when it applies. 2nd half is definitely eschatological.
- Personal? Revelation does have a way of speaking to people in an individual way. Maybe I need to hear a different message, than what others in a big group may need to hear.
- “To one who has ears to hear”
59
Q
Daniel and Revelation….
A
fit like a glove in how they’re interpreted
