How should we interpret the book of Revelations?

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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on January 8, 2010 at 11:02pm

Michael,

I completely understand what you are saying, and to no disrespect to you or in any way trying to diminished your doctrine, it happens to be one way of looking at it among so many, yours does stay consistent with the symbolisms, unlike other explanations.

Thank you for taking the time to explain and I will go a little deeper in some issues you have brought up in your post next time.

Permalink Reply by Tia Darling Martin on June 26, 2010 at 3:44pm

Ummm... I kinda skipped thru a lot of these discussions sorry guys but there is a lot of info, which is definitely good. I might come back and read them over more. But in my reply I'm not going to explain or decode the book of Revelations or anything I'm just going to give a short opinion about the subject being discussed, And since I haven't read every bodies replies yet I'll paint a broad stroke and if I miss the point plz fill me in.

But the book of Revelations is the result of a man who was given a vision by God and who was told to write down everything he saw. Well I haven't read it recently but just by rule of thumb every vision God has given (and still gives) is usually completely weird and the recipients mind is totally blank about what the heck is happening, and then when the vision is over he receives a kind of "debriefing" about what exactly went on and then EVERYTHING makes total sense. (I believe this is to confirm in our hearts it is a God given vision, because He withholds the knowledge from you, and then when He gives you the understanding, you have to admit that you had NO idea, it confirms in yourself that you didn't just create it out your own imagination.)

So if there is an answer to all the symbolism (Which it most definitely is) it would come from within the book itself. But that doesn't let all us Christians off the hook, we still have to do our homework. We need to know what the current cultural inside info was at that time, especially for the words written as letters to men, because if it is heavenly symbolism God does his job of explaining, but the natural worldly stuff, we gotta figure out on our own (God doesn't spell out His scientific, and historical validity for His every interaction with the world, that's left up to us.)

i.e. In those letters to the churches they never tell them "Hey guess what I got a message from Jesus Himself in a vision!" they say things like I have a message from the lamb of God who was slain and returned. (They did that on purpose because back in those days you were an outlaw for being a Christian so they had to straight up talk in code to each other, so no outsiders would find out what they were talking about) which isn't much help to us because it ADDS to the mystery of the book.

umm... one thing I remember being taught is that everything the churches were told correlated in relevance to their civilization. Like one of the churches was told that they are "neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other. But if you stay this way I will swallow you up and vomit you out of my mouth" (I'm rephrasing forgive me) but historians have found evidence that there were two water supplies that that civilization used, one was hot the other cold and they combined at a point and if they happen to be unlucky enough to gather the part of the water that was luke warm, it would literally cause them to throw up. Now imagine getting a letter from a man in a desert miles and miles away saying God says this, etc. this church (or community of believers) must have been stunned!

All I'm saying is it is necessary to do your own research and also to read the books of Christians who have done theirs, you can widen your understanding without leaving your living room. You can understand as much as a historical Archeologist, A scientist, a religious philosopher, even what an atheist understands or what a atheist turned Christian understands, or a Christian from child hood knows, these are all ways we can educate our spirituality AND our own understanding of the Bible and even God. But ALWAYS read your bible, nothing a man writes should contradict that Word.

~Peace~

Wow... not as short as I planned lol

Permalink Reply by Ruel Z Chavez on May 26, 2011 at 4:44am

The best book I read so far on Revelation is "Reversed Thunder," written by Eugene H. Peterson. I selected 5 reviews from Amazon, which I believe serve as an accurate appreciation of the book.

1. By Isabel:

Have you become immersed in interpretations of the varied and even gross symbolisms in the Book of Revelation? Have you missed the introductory statement that it is "the revelation of Jesus Christ"? He gave His revelation, His last words, through the listening ears and the seeing eyes of His devoted friend, St. John, theologian, poet and pastor. The author of Reversed Thunder has caught the sweep and practicalities of Revelation through his insights into Jesus' last words, His ultimate words, on such subjects as the church, prayer, evil, politics, heaven. Jesus' call for us in the here and now is to worship God and to this theme we can respond, "Amen." This book invited repeated reading, always with an open Bible, time for meditation, prayerful worship. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

2. By R Schwartz

Simply the best book I have read on Revelation. Peterson's book is about about God, the person. The focus on revelation is about the revelation of Jesus Christ. So many people get interested in everything except God, loosing themselves in symbol hunting, last day prophecies, intrigue with numbers, speculating with frenzied imaginations on times and seasons, despite Jesus' severe stricture against it. (Acts 1:7) Our salvation, our focus, is on Christ. Our timing is the looking at our present, the silence within us, God's very presence living within ourselves. The timing and sense of urgency of God is not the same as living with the sense of hurry, as it is urgent for us to look inside ourselves, use our imagination with God's Spirit and discern the revelation of Jesus Christ in others through Him and in Him in ourselves.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Reversed-Thunder-Revelation-Praying-Imaginati...

3. By Jerry J. Sweers

G.K. Chesterton once remarked that "though St. John The Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators." For about 55 years I have been looking for a study of Revelation that would not drag me into the eschatology wars, that would not force me to take sides in a war that cannot be decisively won. Gene Peterson has written such a book. His perspective is that this is the last book of the Bible, that God's last words on everything important are here, and that every believer can profit from it no matter what the believer's eschatology is. As a Pastor, Poet, and Theologian himself, Gene closely identifies with John and brings a comprehensive understanding to the Book of Revelation that is rare, if not unique.

4. By L. Joann Paul

This book is one of the best commentaries I have ever read. It presents a balanced and well-grounded approach to the Revelation, using the Old Testament visuals to present a profound and, in my opinion, accurate interpretation. "Reversed Thunder" describes the effect and impact of the believer's prayer on the universe. I used this book as one of many while preparing to teach a series on the Revelation. Eugene Peterson's beautiful use of the English language to describe the first century church's reception of the Revelation is extremely helpful and inspiring. This writing clearly shows how and why the Revelation is meaningful and instructive to the church today, just as it was in the first century.

5. By Donner C. S. Tan

This is the book that got me hooked on Eugene Peterson's prolific works. Back in my younger days, wrapped in all the scholastic debates (or more accurately 'confusion') about the genre of Revelation, cryptic imageries and numbers, theories about the Beast and the Millenium, crystal-balling the times!, this book rescues me from all of that and puts me in a completely different country where one begins to make sense of this highly misunderstood book of the bible. It is more like a drama, a powerful liturgy and hope-filled imagination enacted by and for those with eyes to see - beyond the present turmoil and horror and tragedy the world finds itself inextricably stuck in. Every chapter presents Peterson's masterful reflection on God's last authoritative speech on a different theme - scripture, church, worship, witness, evil, judgement, heaven and more.

'Oh death, be not proud!... One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die. ' says John Donne. This book is a thunder bolt that speaks back to a broken, tumultous world: evil and death do not have the last word, God does! Reversed Thunder remains one of the most scholarly and edifying commentaries on what John saw on the island of Patmos - that should make us all fall flat on our faces as though dead. Maranatha!

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Reversed-Thunder-Revelation-Praying-Imaginati...

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