Title Introduction to Revelation (2)/Rev 1:1
How to interpret the book of Revelation
Let's look again at the entire Revelation 1:1.
“This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, because God sent and instructed his servant John to give him an angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”
How you understand “something that must be done soon” determines how you approach the book of Revelation. There are four representative interpretations of the book of Revelation, and let's classify the schools that support each method.
First/past interpreters are those who interpret the book of Revelation as an event that happened in the past.
． First-century Christians expected the events of Revelation to happen quickly, and God actually made their expectations through a series of historical events.
However, it is not necessary to understand the word “soon” in verse 1 in a temporal sense. I think the word “soon” was used to emphasize the certainty of the event rather than to refer to time. Let’s take Romans 16:20 as an example. “The God of peace will “soon” crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
Couldn’t the word “soon” be changed to “must be” here? It is meant to emphasize the clarity of the fact that Satan must be destroyed rather than meant to destroy Satan in a minute or a few days. In the same context, consider the following statement by Jesus:
“How much more will God not avenge the wrath of the elect, who cry out day and night, will he be patient with them? Can you see?” (Luke 18:7, 8).
Here too, the word “quickly” can be replaced with the word “must be”. Therefore, it is not necessary to see the word “soon” as a word with a temporal meaning.
Second/Current Interpretations Some people also call them “historical interpreters.” They claim that the book of Revelation shows the entire history of events from the days of the apostles until the coming of Jesus. Those who take these positions have always been tempted to incorporate most of the events into the book of Revelation. So these are the schools that have made more errors about the Book of Revelation than any other school.
Third / Futuristic Interpretation
They are also called prophetic interpreters, and they view the book of Revelation as a book that mainly records the circumstances just before the Second Coming of Jesus. From their point of view, most of the events in the book of Revelation are future events. So they are very sensitive to the events that are taking place on Earth today. They asked, ‘What kind of relationship does the situation in the Middle East have today, and what kind of relationship does Saddam Hussein have
Could this be, how will the problem of Revelation be solved if Saddam Hussein strikes Israel? In particular, I wonder if the European Economic Community (EEC) would have a direct connection with it.
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Fourth/Spiritual Interpretations
Their position is that the book of Revelation was not written with special events in mind. In other words, it is asserted that the book of Revelation is a book that deals only with principles that can be universally applied to all saints at any time. History is always a battlefield between good and evil, and in this battlefield, Revelation is a universal book about how God's people will win victory by relying on the Word of the Lord.
It is said to be a book that records only the principles of human faith. It is said that the book was not written for a specific event or the second coming of Christ. They misunderstood the Bible by misinterpreting the Bible too much rather than receiving the lessons it conveys literally.
． Also, they made the mistake of completely ignoring the prophetic character of the book of Revelation.
If the four methods listed so far all have their own weaknesses, how on earth are you supposed to interpret the Book of Revelation? I do not think my interpretation method is necessarily correct. Human interpretation is always subject to error. However, by comparing the various attitudes our seniors had when they approached the book of Revelation in the past, I personally established several ways of interpreting the book of Revelation.
First, we need to think of a historical approach that is faithful to the context of the first century, keeping in mind what God meant when He spoke to the Christians of the first century through the Apostle John.
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Second, I think it is appropriate to read the book of Revelation without ever overlooking that it was written to prepare us for the ultimate coming of Christ. In that respect, the Futuristic School has strengths. I'm trying to take that part.
Third, I think the book of Revelation was intended to emphasize at the same time a principle that can be received and applied by all saints at any time.
I would like to summarize the advantages of three of the approaches mentioned above. So my interpretation is eclectic. I also know that there is a good chance that this method will not cleanly satisfy any position. However, I do not believe that the interpretation of the people who have approached the book of Revelation in the past is entirely right or wrong. I don't have much to take on the second interpretation method, the current interpretation school.
I think. However, it is necessary to fully consider the heart-pounding waiting for the coming Lord, emphasized by the Futuristic Hermeneutics School, and the historical context of the first century, which the Past Hermeneutics School emphasized. And I think we still need to listen to the universal principles the Bible is trying to say, both to Christians in the first century and to us in the twentieth century.
Presupposing these principles of interpretation, I believe that the focus of the Book of Revelation is ultimately twofold. One is the emphasis on Christ who is the true victor of history, and the other is the emphasis on the victory of the church, which must share in the same victory through trust in Christ the victor. In the midst of studying the book of Revelation, the apostle John is emphasizing these two things with a beating heart.
Please do not miss it.
Together with the ruler, I must stress that he is one of the victors, who are the ones who should reign as kings and rule history, and who are still participating in the world of rule with the Lord. ) The root of David said, "Because he has overcome, he will open this book and its seven seals." (Rev 5:5).
After receiving the crown, he went out and said, “He tried to win over and over again” (Rev 6:2).
“The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, “The kingdoms of the world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of Christ, and he will reign as kings for ever and ever. Behold, there was something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who “conquered” the beast, its idol, and the number of his name, and those who escaped, stood by the sea of glass: 2) and had the fifteen harps” (Rev.
If you miss the word “overcome”, which is repeatedly emphasized in the book of Revelation, you miss the heart of the book of Revelation. In particular, if we look at Revelation chapters 2 and 3, there is an expression that is never left out in the last part of the letter to the seven churches. It means “to him who overcomes”. In spite of the darkness of history and countless trials and persecutions surrounding us, ancient Greece
The Lord who urged the believers to win! He was the one who showed that he was the victor who conquered death by rising from the dead and that he was the one who conquered the end of Christ as the one who ruled history. As I did, in this twilight where the darkness of history is getting darker, this message from the Revelation toward our lives, where we still have to win at this moment
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