Last week… The revelation of Jesus Christ, from God to Jesus, and Jesus has given us the right to see it!

How Do I Read Revelation? Week 2: How Do I Read Revelation? (Revelation 1:1-3)

2 Hermeneutical Principles #1 Identify the genre (What kind of book is this?) Epistle (letter) Prophecy Only one in New Testament Consists of both foretelling & forthtelling Apocalyptic literature apokalupsis- unveiling or a revealing

Apocalyptic literature Eschatology- study of end times The part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of mankind Events of the NT ushered in the ‘last days’ Not just about the future; it’s what we think about the future

2 Hermeneutical Principles #2 Intentionality Interpretation based on the author’s intention of meaning and not the reader’s “The text cannot mean what it never meant” There are four different interpretative approaches on the overall timing…

1) Preterist (Meaning “past”) holds that Revelation deals with events that were fulfilled in John's time. It was written primarily to provide hope and comfort to the first century church persecuted by Rome Partial preterism- many (not all) of the Bible's prophecies were fulfilled during the life and time of Jesus and the Early Church

1) Preterist Strength: it is more meaningful to the recipients who received this letter Weaknesses: It doesn't mean anything to us and subsequent readers There are many parts of it left unfulfilled Holds that all prophecy in the Bible is really history to us

2) Historicist Views Revelation as a survey of church history from the first century up to the Second Coming of Christ Passages are identified with major historical people and events Strength: there are many possible parallels between Revelation and things that have happened in Church history

2) Historicist Weaknesses: Has more meaning to other generations than the generation to which it was written The parallels are often in the light of Western European church history Divergence of opinion regarding what these symbols represent among historicists Doesn’t adequately address prophecies

3) Idealist Events are neither past nor future, and don’t depict specific events but principles of spiritual war throughout the church age Spiritual, symbolic, non-literal, allegorical Strength: there is a conflict going on between God and Satan and that would have been relevant to the recipients of this book, as it is relevant to us today

3) Idealist Weaknesses: Everything is symbolic; seen as principles and not as prophecy Failure to see futuristic aspects Denies the correspondence between Revelation and all the other prophetic Scriptures in the OT and NT, it doesn't harmonize them

4) Futurist Most of Revelation awaits fulfillment in a period just before the Second Coming A literal reading of prophecy—not a denial of the symbolism, but they represent real, literal things that are going to happen View that most of us have grown up with, widely held by most modern evangelicals and many of the early church fathers

4) Futurist Strength: it fits the chronological outline that John himself gives us in Rev. 1:19 Weaknesses: There are often many way-out interpretations among futurists Often do not seek what was the initial message to the recipients of the book—if you miss that, you will misinterpret the rest

“…what must soon take place” (v. 1) “…the time is near” (v. 3) Revelation 1:1 “…what must soon take place” (v. 1) “…the time is near” (v. 3) Imminence ‘Imminent' is different than 'immediate' 'Immediate' is something that is going to happen there and then, ‘imminent’ tells us that we can expect it at any moment Prophetic nature

“…to show what must soon take place” Revelation 1:1 “…to show what must soon take place” To show or make known; ‘sign’ or ‘symbol’ We are being told at the beginning, to read this as a book using symbolic language Symbolic vs. Literal John uses symbols to describe reality The Bible is literature which means there are both literal and symbolic aspects to it

Read Revelation on three levels: Read visually: try to picture what it is saying Read biblically: pay close attention to what the Bible says about the symbols Read the story: to understand Revelation you have to know the Bible’s own story

“The Word of God (OT) and the testimony of Jesus Christ” Revelation 1:2 “The Word of God (OT) and the testimony of Jesus Christ” Scripture’s great rule for the interpretation of prophecy: 2 Peter 1:20- “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things.”

“The Word of God (OT) and the testimony of Jesus Christ” Revelation 1:2 “The Word of God (OT) and the testimony of Jesus Christ” Of its 404 verses, 278 contain references to the OT. Over half of this book depends upon understanding the relationship The relationship is not due to quotations but in connections and references The OT is the key that unlocks Revelation

Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is the one…” 3 classes blessed: The one who reads the Revelation Those who hear it Those who take to heart what is written The most blessed will be the most obedient— that runs right through the whole of Christian experience