The book of revelation often called the revelation to john, apocalypse of john, the revelation from jesus christ from its opening words, the apocalypse, the revelation, or simply revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the final book of the christian bible. In fact, there are some striking parallels between revelation and john s other works. Book of revelation for dummies cheat sheet dummies. The book of revelation also called the revelation of john or the revelation of st. Only john s gospel and revelation refer to jesus christ as the word 19. In the first verse of the book, the apostle john recorded christs words, the revelation of jesus christto show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. Recognize that the central part of the book is a prophetic vision given by god to john. While helpful, this does not go a long way in identifying with absolute certainty which john wrote the book. Assumptions common to many who participate in discussing the i ssue incl ude the authorshi p of t he book by john the ap ostle, the date. The book of revelation explained by pastor allen nolan is a teaching series on how to unravel the mysteries of the book of the revelation. Dec 14, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of revelation, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought.
It fittingly has the last place ending the scriptures and gods revelation to man. Some general comments about the book of revelation and its uniqueness. John the divine is an example of apocalyptic writing a form that delivers a message using symbols, images and numbers. The book of revelation closes its awful description of the judgments which are coming upon the earth by inviting to the sinner, come to christ, and, after one reads and understand the book of revelation, he too will close the book and invite the sinner to, come, and receive, jesus christ as you savior. The prophet daniel was told to seal up the words of his prophecy until the time of the. Therefore it is futile to compare the style of the language of the book of revelation to the style of the language of the gospel of john or the epistles of john. Unlike most books of the bible, revelation contains its own title. Therefore, the material in this book is the final revelation from god addressees the things that john had seen in the past. The fourth part has five chronological sections in which the events occur in sequential order. God reveals a basic framework for understanding future events. John is given a vision of god seated on his throne 4.
People have shied away from this book because of its use of symbolism and its cryptic references. Revelation has proven more susceptible to fanciful interpretations than any other book in the bible. Commentary to revelation free online downloadable pdf. The book the preterist archive of realized eschatology. It is the revelation about jesus christ as ultimate judge, which gives us a synthetic view of. Studies in the book of revelation project gutenberg. Editor of reading the book of revelation wilsons charts on the book of revelation synthesizes an enormous amount of material relevant to the study of the revelation of john and makes it available in a clear, useful, and unusual format for students of the bible. The book of revelation explainedvolume 1 1 c hapter o ne p art o ne the introductory verses revelation 1.
In the new testament, this word describes the unveiling of spiritual truth rom. An easyenglish bible version and commentary 2800 word vocabulary on the book of revelation. No one can understand the book of revelation who does not understand the book of. For more on john the apostle, see the introduction in the life application bible commentary on the gospel of john. This view was very common among the reformers at the time of the protestant reformation. John of revelation is the apostle john, no other viable alternative has been offered.
Readers dont have to guess or research where revelation was written. Physically attend at least 80% of all classes unless given special permission by. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, 2 who testifies to eve rything he sawthat is, the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ. Those who will receive the sign of identification on the hand or on the forehead will be thrown into hell. Naturally, catholic scholars have liked this view because the. A word list at the end explains words with a star by them. He writes very clearly about the sovereignty of the one eternal god all through the book. Four main parts there are four parts in the structure of revelation. While i believe in a literal interpretation of scripture, the genre of apocalyptic literature demands we use a different set of rulesrules. If you want to better understand the book of revelation. This is the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ. The fitting capstone of gods revelation to man in the bible,the book of revelation unveils the future history of the world,all the way to historys climax in the return of christ and the setting up of his glorious earthly and eternal kingdom.
Revelation greek apokalupsis means an uncovering, an unveiling, or a disclosure. In the new testament, jesus gave seven parables in. It is not, as some assume, merely a description of the end times. The secret book of john is a complex developmental mythology that has been made more complicated because, over the years, versions of it have been improved by. Read through the book of the revelatuion twice by the end of the semester 2. Naturally we would like to know when they happened or when they will happen, but these questions divide the greatest specialists in biblical interpretation, so we mustnt imagine that we. Although prophecy is scattered all through the bible, two books focus almost entirely on symbolic representations. It is not a revelation of events but of a person, jesus christ. The revelation to john new international version the prologue 1. We will now consider the subject matter of the book of revelation. Preterist interpreters hold that the book was written solely for those of john s day. The book ends with confirmations of authenticity by god, christ and john. Chapters cover the seven lett ers to the seven churche s of asia and are explaine d in. In short, the book of revelation is arguably the most important book you will read in your life time.
Thus, we have no substantial reasons to doubt that the apostle john was the one who witnessed the remarkable visions recorded in this book, appropriately titled revelation. It is christ, not john, who does the explain ing, the revealing. And no other book of the bible promises blessings to those who read it, hear it and take to heart what is written in it. The revelation to john new international version the prologue. Parts of the old testament, particularly in the book of daniel, are also written in the apocalyptic genre. The book of revelation explained takes you on a easy to understand and eyeopening journey through the book of revelation. Revelation 1 1 the revelation of jesus christ, which god gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.
It is most important to understand that the book of revelation does not list the scenes and events in the same order in which they will actually occur. Revelation is meant to produce in you comfort, courage, hope, and praise. The revelation of john the divine the argument it is manifest, that the holy ghost would as it were gather into this most excellent book a sum of those prophecies, which were written before, but should be fulfilled after the coming of christ, adding also such things as should be expedient, as well to forewarn us of the dangers to come, as to. There are differences in style between revelation and john s other writings, but they are insignificant and do not preclude one man from writing both. Book of revelation explained scripture by scripture. The book of revelation is the only book in the new testament that begins by specifically stating its source, the revelation of jesus christ, which god gave to himand signified it by his angel to his servant john rev.
It is humbling and sobering that the lord has committed such a great task to such a small man. Write a running verse by verse commentary of a chapter of your choice of the book of revelation should be at least 3 pages 3. The real meaning of the bibles book of revelation is a popular, ongoing debate. Charts on the book of revelation is a useful supplement to. Both testaments can be divided into history instruction prophecy revelation is the only book of prophecy in the new testament. It was held by john wycliffe, john knox, william tyndale, martin luther, john calvin, sir isaac newton. He does this from the very beginning of the book of revelation. Revelation was written by john during the reign of domitian. Secondly, i had to study the nature of apocalyptic genre.
But god is working out a supreme master plan, involving every human being. The greek name of the bible book of revelation, apoka. Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. The purpose of revelation many people either fear the book of revelation or have an unhealthy interest in it. The revelation of jesus christ, which god gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. In revelation, as in johns gospel and first epistle, the. All those who worship satan and bear the sign of sin on their souls, will be lost. Ultimately, the prophetic truths contained in the book of daniel, the olivet discourse, and the revelation can be traced to our lord. The book of revelation brings to us great changes in the course of the history of the world. Very important we note this and realize we cannot study revelation in the same way we study the book of romans.
No one can understand the book of revelation who does not understand the book of daniel. It is the only book of the new testament classified as apocalyptic literature rather than didactic or historical, indicating thereby its extensive use of visions, symbols, and allegory, especially in connection with future events. The book of revelation, often called the book of revelations, revelation to john, apocalypse of john, the revelation, or simply revelation, the revelation from jesus christ from its opening words or the apocalypse, is the final book of the new testament, and therefore also the final book of the christian bible. A commentary on the book of th e revelation edgar cayce readings 1971, 19932015 by the edgar cayce foundation 8 by the physical attributes of. Those eight books are now combined into the onevolume bridgeway bible commentary, which is a companion in size, style and format to the bridgeway bible dictionary, an a to z of biblical information. The author of the book of revelation identifies himself simply as john 1. Study guide to the book of revelation framepoythress. Because of the contradictory nature of the external evidence, i place more weight on the internal evidence evidence from within the book itself.
John, information vital for the understanding of the last days. A commentary on the book of the revelation edgar cayce readings 1971, 19932015 by the edgar cayce foundation 8 by the physical attributes of that progenerated from those bringing such an action. A commentary of the book of revelation bible truth. And many religious people believe that the book of revelation offers no help anyway, because it cannot be understood. Essex assistant professor of bible exposition the relevance of the book of revelation to the issue of the timing of the rapture is unquestioned.
Before beginning to go through the content of revelation, we recommend that you read through the introduction, overview, and hermeneutical sections to familiarize yourself with the framework concerning this incredible book of god. The evidence for dionysiuss john of ephesus is slim. Therefore, the material in this book is the final revelation from god. The prophet joseph smith described this focus of the book of revelation. Constables notes on revelation 2020 edition was the last of john s inspired writings. The seals of gods book, the breaking of which call up the horsemen and. This is to correspond w ith the chap ters in revelati on that deal with the seals series. The most widelyaccepted position regarding the specific identity of this john is that he was the apostle of the same namethe son of zebedee and. But god designed this book for a very different purpose. Revelation, even though the basic message of revelation comes through to all the servants of christ. The book of revelation explained volume 1 the gospel trumpeter.
Volume 2 of apocalypse explained continues swedenborgs versebyverse exposition, or commentary, of the biblical text of the apocalypse, commonly known as revelation or the revelation of john. Mar 01, 2007 macarthurs explains the book of revelation in such a manner that satisfies the readers desire for deeper understanding of end times. Revelation depicts the reality of god, thereality of the existence of man, and the reality of the flow of history more precisely in its use of poetic illustrations than human realism could ever achieve. The book of revelation explained, volume 2, begins with chapter 4, not chapter 1 and en ds with chap ter 8, verse 2.
This name indicates the meaning of revelation it uncovers matters that had been hidden and discloses events that would happen long after it was written. Volume 1 of apocalypse explained begins swedenborgs versebyverse exposition, or commentary, of the biblical text of the apocalypse, commonly known as revelation or the revelation of john. Revelation timeline chart pdf book of revelation explained. Youll find four major interpretive approaches to the book of revelation that can help you read, understand, and figure out the apocalyptic letter of john. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, 2 who testifies to everything he saw. What did john s revelation mean to the first century mind. As was the custom in his day, swedenborg referred to the psalms as the book of david. Jun 17, 2018 the book of revelation explained takes you on a easy to understand and eyeopening journey through the book of revelation. A commentary on the book of revelation southside christian. The revelation of this book is the revelation of jesus christ. In johns time, many people thought that rome and the emperor had the greatest power. We hope this dynamic commentary is a beneficial study tool in your devotion to the word of god. The book of revelation bold type and underlining of scripture text have been added for emphasis your questions and comments are welcome note. By way of introduction, john lists eleven characteristics of this.
This is not the revelation of john, it is the revelation of. It has always seemed to me that the secret book of john evolved to be more difficult to read than it originally was. John and the book of revelation a bible study in easy english. The patriarch job portrayed this truth as well when he penned the words of elihu, the only comforter to whom god laid no. The eight handbooks were dedicated to people who, in different ways, had a. This commentary has been through advanced checking. The bible is a history book, it tells the pastbut like no other history bookit tells the present and future just as clearly. In revelation, john s visions reveal that jesus has overcome evil by.
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