PROPHECY New Testament Revelation Dr. Joe Harvey Freshman Cornerstone Experience (2015)
FROM EUSEBIUS Thus Nero publicly announcing himself as the chief enemy of God, was led on in his fury to slaughter the apostles. Paul is therefore said to have been beheaded at Rome and Peter to have been crucified after him. And this is confirmed by the fact that the names of Peter and Paul still remain in the cemeteries of that city even to this day. 2
INTRODUCTORY MATTERS Author: John (author of gospel and epistles) Date: 96 AD Location: Patmos (Roman exile) Occasion: persecution under Domitian Literary Type: Prophecy with Apocalyptic Content: Four visions (things that are and things that are to come)
THEMES Second coming of Christ Sovereignty of God in history Wrath of God against evil Holiness and justice of God Limited, but vicious power of evil Person of Christ: slaughtered lamb & conquering king
Revelation did not appear in a time-space vacuum. It is not to be read first and foremost in light of our historical situation but read in light of the one Christians faced at the end of the first century. The book was written by a real person to real people who identified themselves with congregations in Roman Asia. Every effort must be made to understand the culture in which the original author and recipients lived. -Robert A. Lowery, Revelation s Rhapsody 5
OUTLINE LEWIS FOSTER, PAGE 24. I. Things That Are A. Introduction chapter 1 B. Letters to Seven Churches chapters 2-3 II. Things That Are to Come A. Heaven chapters 4-5 B. Seven Seals chapters 6-7 C. Seven Trumpets chapters 8-11 D. Woman, Dragon, and Beasts chapters12-14 E. Seven Bowls chapters 15-16 F. The Judgment chapters 17-20 G. New Heaven and New Earth chapters 21-22
USE OF SYMBOLS NUMBERS fractions: incompleteness four: the earth five: punishment six: evil seven: God or heaven ten and twelve: completeness 666: ultimate evil 1000: completeness (10 cube) 144,000: faithful on earth (12x12x1000) COLORS white: purity emerald green: life pale green: death gold: value red: sin black: famine
SNAPSHOT THE VIEW FROM ABOVE After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. (Rev 4:1-2 NIV)
FOUR SCHOOLS OF INTERPRETATION Late first century persecution under the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96) AD Past Ideas Continuous Historical Events between John s day and the return of Jesus Events associated with the end of time/return of Jesus Future
MILLENNIAL VIEWS Amillenialism First Coming Millennium (heaven) Tribulation Second Coming Rapture judgment, final state Postmillennialism First Coming Tribulation Millennium (earth) Second Coming Rapture judgment, final state Historic Premillennialism First Coming Tribulation Second Coming Rapture Millennium (Christians) judgment, final state Dispensational Premillennialism First Coming Rapture Tribulation Second Coming Armageddon Millennium (Israel) judgment, final state
TIMELINE OF MILLENNIAL VIEWS Historical Premillennialism (held strongly during the first four centuries) Postmillennialism (held by many North American Christians during the 1800s) 100 400 1500 1800 2000 Amillennialism (held by near all Christians from the 400s to the 1500s) Dispensational Premillennialism (extremely popular in the United States since World War I)
PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION Figurative Language: Figures of speech are normal in all written language, and should be recognized and interpreted according to first-century understanding. Simplicity of Meaning: The simplest explanation of complex information is generally preferred in science as well as interpretation of scripture, unless there is some compelling reason to do otherwise. Telescoping of Time: A biblical prophecy may refer to both a near and a remote event (Isaiah 61:1-3). Time Lines: Chronology can not be established with absolute certainty, but the need to make Jesus one s first love can. After all, Revelation both opens and closes with promises of blessing to those who heed its teachings (1:3; 22:7), not to those who intellectually decipher its prophetic landscapes. -Holman New Testament Commentary: Revelation, Kendell H. Easley, page 8.
OCCAM S RAZOR A scientific and philosophic rule that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily which is interpreted as requiring that the simplest of competing theories be preferred to the more complex or that explanations of unknown phenomena be sought first in terms of known quantities The best theory is the one that explains the most and has explain away the least. Revelation 4:1-2 and Occam s Razor