The Symphonies Crescendo.
It is my intention to run 2 identicle ZOOM meetings on Sunday evening and Monday evening at 7pm on the subject of the rules for correctly interpreting the book of Revelation. You may want to join use. It needs to be noted that you cannot understand the book of Revelation without a knowledge of the Hebrew Sanctuary service and many other things from the Old Testament. This 45 minute session will be very enlightening for anyone who is interested. The Zoom details will be sent Sunday morning.
This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John, who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:1-3 NLT
The text says that the events described in Revelation are near and will soon take place. Where did the Revelator come up with that? Would anyone in his right mind say 1900 years is soon? What can he possibly mean by soon?
This “soon” must be understood from God’s perspective rather than ours. After all, as Peter says (2Peter 3:8), to God the passage of a thousand years is only a single grain in the infinite sands of time.
But that is not answer enough for most of us. After all, the Book of Revelation was not written for God’s benefit, it is “to show his servants what must soon take place.” When the angel came to Peter in prison (Acts12:7, NIV) and said, “Quick, get up!” (the same Greek word as “soon” in Rev 1:1), the angel certainly wasn’t suggesting that Peter should snooze for another 1900 years! What would the first readers of Revelation have made of this comment? Was Jesus (or John) mistaken here? How are we to make sense of this?
This seems to be a pattern with God. Even in Old Testament times, you often get the impression that God’s great final act is just around the corner. When you get to the gospels, the sayings of Jesus don’t seem to suggest more than a few years or decades either. Throughout Scripture the time until the End has been portrayed as short. This is the problem the church at Thessalonica had and that Paul had to correct by outlining things that had to happen before Jesus would return.
It is as if God knows that there is something in the human psyche that goes wrong every time the future seems to lengthen. We may know in our heads that every moment could be our last, yet we live as though our personal history will continue for decades at the leastt
Portraying time as short meets a human need. It helps us to focus on the things that matter the most. It helps us to set the right priorities for whatever remains of our lives.
Time is portrayed as short in the Bible because we need it that way!
Having said that we should remember what Jesus and Paul told us about knowing the “signs of the times” and where we are on the grand scale of things. The finale will come!
The book begins with the phrase “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Verse one goes on to report that the revelation is ‘signified’ (Shown) and in verse 2 becomes the testimony of Jesus, something that John can see. So, John testifies concerning two things; the “word of God” and the “testimony of Jesus.” The word of God is likely a reference to the body of literature that we know as the Old Testament. This was John’s Bible. By the time John wrote Revelation Paul’s writings were also considered “scripture” (2Peter 3:16). Peter wrote this in His last year of life, and his epistles were also considered authoritative as were the other writings of apostles, but this was yet to be formalized into what we call the New Testament.
If you took all the Old Testament material from the Book of Revelation, you would be left with almost blank pages. However, the Book of Revelation never quotes the Old Testament, yet it alludes to it hundreds of times, with a word here, a phrase there, a name somewhere else. All the imagery and symbols come from the Old Testament. The places of the Old Testament are recalled: Babylon, Egypt, and Jerusalem. The people of the Old Testament are recalled: David, Elisha, Jezebel, and Balaam. But the Old Testament is rarely on the surface of Revelation it assumes our knowledge of the stories and allusions. The Old Testament is like a current flowing under the surface, yet affecting everything it touches. In its use of the Old Testament the Book of Revelation is like a Russian nesting doll – multilayered. You could read the book without reference to the Old Testament and think you have picked up the whole picture. But when you discover the text behind the surface the deeper truths that were placed in the book are revealed to the reader.
The Book of Revelation is like the finale of the Biblical symphony, drawing all the Bible’s themes together in a thrilling conclusion. Join me on ZOOM either Sunday or Monday at 7pm for a presentaion on the rules of engagement.
Ross will Sunday be repeated Monday or will they be 2 different studies God bless our day 🙏
Identical repeats