In January I will be starting a new sermon series on the book of Revelation. I consider this to be the most difficult book in the Bible to understand, by a long way. This is because:
- Its genre is completely different than any other New Testament book
- One must decide on a school of interpretation (preterist, futurist, idealist, or a combination) in order to have any consistency, but all these schools have strengths and weaknesses
- The Greek grammar is recognized to be the most difficult in the New Testament
- The book is chock-full of symbolism and images. Sometimes it is difficult to tell what is intended literally and what is symbolic. And if something is intended to be a symbol, you must decide what it is a symbol of.
- There is no consensus among New Testament scholars on many of these interpretive questions.
It is for these reasons I have been hesitant to do a sermon series on this book. But alas, I have ordered the commentaries, begun reading and studying it more intensely, and will pray fervently.
chris
12/09/2010 at 10:38 am
I’ve listened to a sermon series on Revelation in recent months and the take on it was much different than anything I’d heard and seemed much more applicable.
Instead of espousing on the standard “end of times” discussions and various interpretations of the passages, it was presented as a vision of the holy and perfect and just and loving figure of God. And thus, with this image, we should treat God with the respect and love that He deserves..through our actions and our prayers.
Daniel
12/09/2010 at 10:46 am
I’d love to hear it if you still have the resource
chaplain mike
12/15/2010 at 6:51 pm
You could always adopt Luther’s view: “About this book of the Revelation of John, I leave everyone free to hold his own opinions. I would not have anyone bound to my opinion or judgment. I say what I feel. I miss more than one thing in this book, and it makes me consider it to be neither apostolic nor prophetic.
…Finally, let everyone think of it as his own spirit leads him. My spirit cannot accommodate itself to this book. For me this is reason enough not to think highly of it: Christ is neither taught nor known in it. But to teach Christ, this is the thing which an apostle is bound above all else to do; as Christ says in Acts 1, “You shall be my witnesses.” Therefore I stick to the books which present Christ to me clearly and purely.”
Daniel
12/23/2010 at 3:43 pm
Yes, I read that when you posted it at imonk. Funny how a man like Luther did not see Christ clearly in a book dedicated to revealing Him. No-one bats 1000, I guess.
Five views of the interpretation of the book of Revelation | Daniel Jepsen
12/17/2010 at 4:33 pm
[...] of the reasons Revelation is (I think) the most difficult book of the Bible is that not only are there disputes about particular verses, but the purpose and the [...]
JR Miller
01/12/2011 at 2:06 pm
In my opinion, the book of Revelation is a spiritual communication from God and Jesus through the Angels to John to the 7 churches in the Christian world. I see the End Times prophecies which lead us to watch for certain events of which we do not know the timing. Besides the End Times discussion, the book reveals the divinity of the Holy Spirit, God, and Jesus. I think this book requires much prayer to understand.
Mike Bull
03/25/2011 at 3:42 am
Hi Daniel
I wrote a book that demonstrates the structure of the Bible means only one view of Revelation can be correct.
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Matrix-Michael-Bull/dp/1449702635
If you’d like a free copy, email me your postal address. It will ship from amazon.
Mike Bull