Since we have seen that Revelation is a book of prophetic visions, the elements of which are symbols of spiritual realities, it makes sense that the numbers present in the book would be symbols of something else, not just random quantities. Leo Checkai. Opening the Book of Revelation. Others in Christianity state we should interpret or explain these detailed events in the Book of Revelation using what is known as the literal-grammatical method.
This means the words that are in the Book of Revelation should be taken in their plain and normal sense, in relation to the context of the paragraph. This does not mean that a person who observes a literal-grammatical method of reading the Bible does not recognize figurative language, as website explains: This means that we start out by taking the words in their most normal meaning. If I say My house is red, you will understand what I mean. There would be no question about it. However, if I say Listen to this parable about the Homeowner , or used comparative words like the word like as in like a roaring lion , you would understand that my words might not be meant to be taken literally, but possibly figuratively.
The Literal Grammatical Historical Method. Let us examine some of the biblical reasons why the historical-grammatical method is not only the best way, but is the way of interpreting the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is prophetic : John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, points out that book is prophecy in verse three: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
In addition to the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, a wealth of apocalyptic writing exists in the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament.
A careful study of these writings shows that they have a number of common characteristics: They were produced in times of crises; they describe the conflict between the forces of good and evil; future events are made known through dreams and visions; the end of the conflict is to come shortly; and those who remain faithful through persecution and trial are promised a reward in the messianic kingdom soon to be established.
The messages are for the benefit of the persecuted and are usually conveyed by means of symbols that only the faithful can understand. Interpreted in light of these characteristics, the Revelation of John is comparatively easy to understand.
In many respects, it is the least original of any of the New Testament writings. In its style of writing, the number and kind of symbols that are used, and the purpose for which it was written, the book closely follows the precedent established in the older apocalyptic writings.
The unique feature about Revelation is the particular occasion that caused it to be written. Toward the end of the first century of the Christian era, the attitude of the Roman government toward Christianity became especially hostile. Nero, the Roman emperor, charged that Christians were to blame for the burning of Rome. Although the charge was false, it was sufficient to cause many people to regard the new Christian movement with suspicion. Jews and Romans alike resented the fact that Christians condemned so many of the things they were doing, and they especially disliked the belief on the part of Christians that their religion was superior to the older faiths that had been honored for centuries.
The Christians often held their meetings in secret places, and their critics imagined that they were doing all sorts of evil things.
It was easy to circulate rumors of this kind, and along with other things, Christians were charged with plotting against the Roman government. As the opposition to Christianity became more intense, the followers of the new movement were asked to prove their loyalty to the Roman government by denouncing Christ and by worshipping the statue of the emperor.
When they refused to do this, they were tortured and even put to death. Under these conditions, the Revelation of John was written. It would be difficult to imagine anything more appropriate for the members of Christian churches at that time. They needed encouragement and the assurance that their trials would soon be over, that the evil powers of the earth would be destroyed, and that the triumph of righteousness would be established in the world.
The message of Revelation was intended for this particular time and set of circumstances. Christians familiar with the older apocalyptic writings would understand the book's symbolism, for practically everything John said to his contemporaries was said before to people who suffered under similar circumstances.
It is a mistake to suppose that John was predicting events that would take place in the later centuries of Christian history.
Writing to the people of his own day about events that would happen while they were still living, he states that Christ will return while those who put him to death on the cross are still living. The permanent significance of Revelation lies in the author's conviction that right will ultimately triumph over evil.
Previous The Letter to the Hebrews. Next The Gospel of John. Removing book from your Reading List will also remove any bookmarked pages associated with this title. Are you sure you want to remove bookConfirmation and any corresponding bookmarks?
My Preferences My Reading List. New Testament of the Bible. Summary and Analysis The Book of Revelation. Adam Bede has been added to your Reading List! To learn the trade of turning human life into property.
Evil and conspiring men formed the secret combination, which then swept across oceans and survived through time. The seer shows that this power will stoke the destructive forces of the latter days. Slowly genuine humility and brotherhood will be surpressed under a vast and complex coercion of sophisticated and bewitching propaganda and the brutality of pragmatism and unrestrained egotism.
The real issue is worship. The battle is for the hearts and minds of mankind. The objective of the false lamb is to get men to worship the beast. Thus, the false prophet takes on a priestly role with pseudoreligious authority. A false religion drives the people, blinded by selfishness and lust, into the worship of secular power that is able to explain away real miracles. The result is the universal victory of secular humanism in which God is denied and mankind is exalted. Such miracles have deceived many into false faith and blinded many into a false security.
Willingly, the deluded follow the ways of the first beast. No discussion of Revelation would be complete without at least mentioning the one number most associated with the work, John associates the number with the mark of the beast.
Understanding the nature of the mark opens the meaning of the number. It also describes the brand a master places upon an animal or a slave.
No one is to be free of the mark. This mark stands in contrast to and is the converse of the seal placed upon the faithful followers of the Lamb see The mark of the monster consists of the letters of its name written in its numerical equivalent.
Most ancient people did not have a separate numbering system and alphabet, so letters also served as numbers. Generally the first nine letters of the alphabet stood for numbers one through nine, the next nine for numbers ten through nineteen, and so on.
Anciently, some had fun making up riddles by translating a name into its numerical equivalent. Scholars and amateurs both have suggested many ingenious solutions ranging in possibilities from single individuals to whole institutions.
First, there are two manuscript traditions. The majority give the number , but a significant number of others give Historically, the one man who has left his mark as the arch-persecutor of the Christians because he was willing to use the full force of the state against the people of God was Nero. This was Domitian. As emperor, he sought to exterminate the Church of God. To John he may have seemed to be Nero reincarnate.
But a specific historical entity may not be what John had in mind. It may be that he was portraying a spiritual condition. As the mark and the number cannot be separated, so, too, the mark and the worship of the beast cannot be separated.
The mark stands for the beast. The number 6 would then be that which comes the closest to perfection, and falls short in each of its digits. In that light, it represents a trinity of imperfection: the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet see chapters 12 and It designates those who throughout time have been bitten by the serpent from the sea and who carry its venom in their veins. We can see that although symbols make Revelation difficult to read, they also give the book a depth and richness when properly interpreted.
For example, at the end of his vision, John saw the future celestial kingdom and those who gained it. One feature of the vision is arresting. John specifically states that the river represents the waters of life. But there is more to it. The source of the water is important. The point seems to be that there is only one source of life—God Himself. Thus both the Father and the Son occupy the same throne, for life flows from both.
There is, however, yet another and more significant symbol for water. Herein lies the power of the water. It bequeaths and sustains life because it is love—pure and unaffected. On one level they have protected the message from being lost or diluted through two millennia by corrupted hands.
On another level, one based on insights from the Restoration, they have provided the message with a richness and depth of understanding that allows the Latter-day Saints to appreciate the Lord and His work more fully. John the Divine , ed. Therefore, he incorporates similes frequently using like or as to draw comparisons. Since he uses these similes all throughout the book, the absence of these indicators might mean that literal interpretation is warranted.
Too often we get so caught up in heated debates about end times prophecies , the Mark of the Beast , and the Antichrist , that we forget the main purpose of the book of Revelation. For churches who were struggling under persecution from the outside and conflict from within, the words of Revelation provided bedrock confidence in the sovereign hand of Jesus Christ.
In the opening pages of the book, we see Jesus Christ both as a conquering King and the sacrificial Lamb. Revelation gives a purpose and a plan to the suffering we face. Jesus reminds his followers that he will soon come again, and all things will be restored. Aaron Berry is a co-author for the Pursuing the Pursuer Blog. You can read more articles from Aaron and his colleagues by subscribing to their blog or following them on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram.
Aaron currently resides in Allen Park, MI with his wife and two children, where he serves in his local church and recently completed an MDiv degree at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary.
0コメント