The apocalypse, or revelation to john, the last book of the bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant. The holy bible book 66 revelation kjv dramatized audio. That there are differing views on the interpretation of the apocalyptic writings in the book of revelation is no secret. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading four views on the book of revelation counterpoints. For each, he presents the basic approach, strengths of the approach and weaknesses of the approach. The basis for these views, many of which sound strange and fantastic, is found in the. And i saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll. Of all the books of the bible, few are as fascinating or as bewildering as revelation. Because such a view presents current problems in an eschatological context, the message of revelation. In fact, the development of history has been shown to fit the outline of the book of revelation so nearly that, in the days when this view predominated, it was said that a missionary might go to heathen lands armed only with a copy of gibbons decline and fall of the roman empire in one hand and barnes notes on revelation in the other, and. Many have wondered if the third temple will ever be built. Background information, origins, sources, pros and cons are all provided in introductions and sidebyside analysis. Summary in the book of revelation, the apocalyptic hopes of the early. The fourcolumn format makes this an easy read for lay people, pastors, and scholars alike.
Four views on the book of revelation explores the four main views in which revelation is understood. I have also just recently finished a work for zondervan edited by marvin pate. Because its more of an overview, the only negative is it never went in depth on exegetical matters. The book of revelation, by all accounts, is the most difficult book in scripture. Essay paper on four views on the book of revelation summarize and evaluate three of the four views presented in four views on the book of revelation, edited by c. I am not the only one promoting revelation studies from a nondispensational, propreterist perspective. Nov, 2016 bishop myers discusses the truth about the book of revelation and also teaches us how to remember the 10 commandments using a pictorial mnemonic device. It is the first book that many new to the bible want to study, while it is often neglected by mature. On the book of revelation and the ten commandments youtube. Why the modern view of the book of revelation may be flawed. Ask most people christian or nonchristian what they think the book of revelation is about, and chances are they will tell you it is a book about the end of the world.
Outstanding overview of the four different views of interpretation for the book of revelation. For example, the futurists are correct in pointing out that some events described in revelation have yet to be fulfilled 2nd coming of christ, final judgement in chapter 20, renewal of all things in chapter 21,22. The four views and their proponents are 1 the preterist view, by kenneth l. That book allowed the proponents of each of four different views to present an overall summary of their approach to the book of revelation. Historicist interpretations of the book of revelation wikipedia. Its title is derived from the first word of the koine greek text. It was refreshing to read a book about how to approach revelation in its entirety. Returning the book of revelation to its historical context st. Apr 01, 1998 of all the books of the bible, few are as fascinating or as bewildering as revelation. Revelations symbolic visions are similar to what youd see in the old testament prophecies of ezekiel, daniel, and zechariah. Preterist views revelation s prophecies as reflecting actual historical events in apostle johns near future, which have been. Four views on the book of revelation counterpoints logos bible.
This is a paper written for my seminary class be107 hebrews revelation. The other three systems are the historicist, the preterist, and the spiritual or idealist. As i read the four views, the preterist view fascinated me. Revelation, four views, a parallel commentary steve gregg. Revelation to john, last book of the new testament. What is the futurist interpretation of the book of.
Aug 03, 2010 four views on the book of revelation explores the four main views in which revelation is understood. To state again, the common modern and majority view is that the context of this book is the persecution against christians by domitian emperor. A parallel commentary covers the traditional views in an evenhanded fashion. Of course, even after going over the books content, it can still be difficult to know what revelation is all about. This view uses the allegorical method to interpret the book of revelation. The idealist approach mines the book of revelation for timeless theological truths that.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and summarize three of the four views based on the book, four views on the book of revelation, edited by c. Preterist views revelations prophecies as reflecting actual historical events in apostle johns near future, which have been. John the divine, although the godgiven title is at the very beginning of the text, the revelation of. The plethora of views, however, can be distilled into essentially four main categories. Is the book of revelation a blueprint for the future that needs decoding if we want to understand current events. Here we may examine the question by looking at the views of several of the most notable recent scholars on revelation. I knew basically what revelation meant back in 1977, having been briefly introduced to a sound view of the book in a general eschatology course taught by greg l. Reviewed by alex soto when a marriage covenant has been breached by harlotry, offended spouses can pursue divorce. Revelation, four views, a parallel commentary steve. Daniel for example appears to have witnessed john receiving part of revelation 22 in daniel 12, while john appears to have heard details in rev.
Heretofore, my discussions on the book of revelation have centered around the rapture if and when it will happen, the millennium, and who the antichrist is. Preterist idealist classical dispensationalist futurist progressive dispensationalist the interactive counterpoints forum allows each author not only to present his view, but also to offer brief commentary on other views presented. Four views on the book of revelation counterpoints. Chances are, they have never heard any other way to understand this book filled with strange beasts, symbolism and ominous signs of doom. Four views is an invaluable resource that will help anyone who wants to explore and understand the book of. It looks at four interpretations of revelation, and why those particular interpretations are held. The interactive counterpoints forum allows each author not only to present his view, but also to offer brief commentary on other views presented. How can we understand the book of revelation and its many interpretations. No other book gives such extensive coverage of how the church has understood revelation over the centuries. Jul 18, 2016 why doesnt christianity remove the book of revelation from the bible. The book of revelation introduction the revelation of jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servantsthings which must shortly take place. The assignment was to write a paper that explains the four major interpretive views of the book of revelation and explains their strengths and weaknesses. Four views is an invaluable resource that will help anyone who wants to explore and understand the book of revelation. Revelation books four views on the book of revelation.
What is the futurist interpretation of the book of revelation. Careful, unbiased summaries of the views of over fifty commentaries and commentators put you in touch with outstanding representatives of each view from throughout much of church history. The book of revelation page 1 of 4 preterist idealist classical dispensationalist progressive dispensationalist ideology historic. When people read the book of revelation they encounter this vast array of symbols. The traditional view that john the apostle wrote revelation is also implied by its inclusion in the list of the muratorian fragment from rome c. Its supposed prophesies of end times and armageddon are not good for modern society. Normal topic hot topic more than 10 replies very hot topic more than 25 replies locked topic sticky topic poll. Nov 19, 2012 this is the holy book of revelation, known as the revelation of st. The current view is that revelation was composed in the context of a conflict within the christian community of asia minor over whether to engage with, or withdraw. Great for any believer who wishes to deepen their understanding of the book of revelation, this is a great read. The four major schools of prophetic interpretation if we are to have any success in being free of the inertia of preconceived ideas, if we hope to be aware of our own hidden biases, we must first try to identify them. Patrick zukeran presents a summary of four of the major approaches to interpreting the book of revelation and its meaning for the end times. These four views are carefully and evenhandedly analyzed and then applied to each verse and passage in revelation.
Shmoop bible guide to book of revelation characters. Then i saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. One modern day interpertation of the events of revelation is a. Book of revelation overview insight for living ministries. In this section i will briefly summarize the different approaches as well as commenting briefly on my own approach to the book. Four views on the book of revelation focuses specifically on the book of revelation and the primary ways in which it is read and understood today. Revelation, four views, by steve gregg, provides a parallel commentary on all of these four major views without any apparent bias. Revelation 5 niv bible then i saw in the right hand of. The allegorical approach to revelation was introduced by ancient church father origen ad 185254 and made prominent by augustine ad 354420. Come explore the works of temple scholar frank shallieu. So the book clearly is to all of gods people in every generation. Johns antagonism towards the roman empire is not a view that other.
Four views on the book of revelation zondervan counterpoints series does the book discuss other books that overlap revelation. This is the holy book of revelation, known as the revelation of st. The book of revelation is a glorious gift of god to his church. The author of revelation mentioned his name, john, four times throughout the book revelation 1.
Speaking through the exalted christ, and of the exalted christ, he uses a multitude of visions and prophecies to instruct, warn, and comfort his pilgrim people as they make their way through the wilderness of this evil age, past the consummation, and into the new heavens and the new earth. This book by gregg, on the other hand, is a detailed, versebyverse commentary, with the text divided into paragraphs, and each paragraph followed by four parallel columns. The four major schools of prophetic interpretation if we are to have any success in being free of the inertia of preconceived ideas, if we hope to be aware of our. The first view of revelation is the idealist view, or the spiritual view. But the futurist view that revelation is predicting events yet to be fulfilled is only one of four traditional christian ways of looking at the bibles most enigmatic book. The book of revelation often called the book of revelations, revelation to john, apocalypse of john, the revelation from jesus christ from its opening words, the apocalypse, the revelation, or simply revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the final book of the christian bible.
There have been many different interpretive approaches to the book of revelation. Why doesnt christianity remove the book of revelation from the bible. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The book of the revelation pastor david legge 4 reign of righteousness. Christians throughout history have given almost unanimous affirmation to the identity of the books author as john the apostle, who had been exiled to the island of patmos by the authorities for preaching the gospel in asia. The historicist view follows a straight line of continuous fulfillment of prophecy which starts in daniels time and goes through johns writing of the book of.
It was only supposed to be 10 pages, and when i finished the first view, i was 6 pages in, so i cut it back a little bit and seriously scaled down the remaining three. Bishop myers discusses the truth about the book of revelation and also teaches us how to remember the 10 commandments using a pictorial mnemonic device. This book allows proponents of each of the four major interpretive views on revelation to present an overview from their perspective. Preterist, which means gone by, is derived from the latin word praeteritus. John the divine, although the godgiven title is at the very beginning of the text, the revelation of jesus christ, which god. Four views on the book of revelation my give on things. The futurist interpretation of the book of revelation is one of four approaches to understanding the prophecies of revelation. The revelation research foundation has completed work on a 3d version of ezekiels temple, utilizing the drawings of mr. Four views revelation warnings about sin salvation authority doctrine. God revealed the entire church age in advance through the symbolic visions of the apocalypse 1. Jan 24, 2011 elements of the differing views can be incorporated beneficially into our understanding of the book. Marvin pate, in his four views on the book of revelation 231 correctly states, i believe, that how one approaches revelation 1.
Four views of the book of revelation due in spring, 1998. How one sees the opening phrases like these things, will soon take place and. So this book is a revelation of jesus christ, not in the sense that matthew, mark, luke and john revealed him, but rather than the humiliated christ, we have. Why doesnt christianity remove the book of revelation from. Book of revelation characters analyzed by stanford, harvard, and berkeley ph. Why doesnt christianity remove the book of revelation. Four views of revelation class outline ray wimsett interpretive approaches i.
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