Revelation
Introduction
By
way of introduction, the author of the book of Revelation is none other than
the Beloved Apostle, John. At this time, he was the last living apostle as that
all of them had already been martyred for the gospel of Jesus Christ. According
to church history all of the other apostles were martyred in the following
ways. Andrew was crucified. Bartholomew
was beaten and then crucified. James,
the son of Alphaeus was stoned to death. James, the son of Zebedee was
beheaded. Judas (not Iscariot) was stoned to death. Matthew was speared to death. Peter was
crucified upside down. Philip was crucified.
Simon was crucified. Thomas was speared to death. Matthias was stoned to
death. Only John died a natural death.
However,
tradition does tell us that one of the Roman Emperors tried to kill John by
boiling him in oil before exiling him to the Isle of Patmos. This may sound a
little rough, but I find a great deal of comfort in that thought, because God
had a reason for preserving John’s life for a future work that He had for him
in writing this book that we are about to study.
The
Lord also has a plan for you. So, the next time you feel that someone is trying
to boil you in oil: just remember that until God is finished with you in this
life, the next will have to wait! Trust me; I have been in the pot a couple of
times myself!
Let’s
get started in our study. As we begin to look at the book of the Revelation, we
must know that there are basically two views on how to interpret it. The first
view of this book is called Spiritual. This view teaches that the entire book
of the Revelation is nothing more than a big spiritual allegory. Those who hold
this view believe that the book should not be taken literally and therefore
does not have any prophetical or futuristic significance. Quite frankly this
view is simply wrong. It’s not even close. By the way, you will find that I
tend to be pretty “frank” when teaching the Bible. As a matter of fact, if you
stay faithful in this study with me, you will probably hear things that
challenge you as well. My admonition to you is that you not get offended. 1
Corinthians 13:5 says that we should not be easily offended or provoked. To be
so proves our own immaturity. Just go to the Bible and compare scripture with
scripture. If you have questions, pray about it and if you desire to contact
me, please feel free to do so.
You
see, I believe that the entire Bible is to be taken literally, except in the
areas where the text reveals that it should not. For example, in Revelation 6:12 it says, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a
great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood.” It is very obvious that John isn’t quite sure what he saw
and was trying to describe it the best he can, so it’s not to be taken
literally. Notice the words “…black as
sackcloth of hair…” and “…became as
blood.” That doesn’t mean that the sun became sackcloth and the moon became
blood. It just means that John didn’t quite know how to describe it so he
compared it to something he knew. Also, look at Revelation 8:8 where it says, “And the second angel sounded, and as it
were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third
part of the sea became blood.” Again, notice the words “…as it were…” that John used to describe the great mountain.
The
second view of the Revelation is what I call the Historical or Literal view. This
view states that everything in the book is to be taken literally as historic or
prophetic in nature. In other words, when chapters 2 and 3 speak of the seven
churches, it is to be taken literally in that there were seven churches that
John wrote to in the area of Asia Minor. As a matter of fact, archaeological
discoveries have confirmed this over the last 30 years. This is the correct
view. Everything that it says either has happened or will happen someday. It is
a book of prophecy.
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