Please read Revelation 13-22, concentrating on the last four chapters. Take a passage and note whether the preterit, historical, futurist, or allegorical interpretation seems to work best in that case.Alternative assignment: Cite a couple of verses from this section that show particularly well the beauties of this book or that show how difficult the book is to understand and interpret.
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4)
ReplyDeleteI believe that a futuristic interpretation works very well with this passage because it mentions what will happen after Christ's return to the Earth, and what will happen after the first earth and heaven are destroyed. God will form a new heaven and earth to take there place, therefore, the interpretation fits perfectly.
Revelation (20:12- 15) "And I saw the dead, great, and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, "Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they have done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. "
ReplyDeleteI think this a futuristic interpretation works best with this passage because its all about the day of judgement and what will happen right before the new heaven and earth come. Believers and non believers will be forever separated. Death and Hell will also be no more.
- Eathen Erck
Revelation (18: 9-13) “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men."
ReplyDeleteI would honestly say this could fit all 4 categories if you wanted to get into it. 2ndly the historical one. But i believe that it fits the allegorical one the best. The reason why is that is because of the meaning of wordly desires. Aka Sin which is what Babylon the Great here represents. Which why the Worldly people and leaders are mourning. For the loss of there worldly pleasures. -Austin Dreyer
In the passage about the new Heaven on Earth, it says that God will live with the human race and that, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away” (21:4). A futurist interpretation makes the most sense for this passage. Living in a world in which there is no pain or death sounds wonderful and definitely something to work towards.
ReplyDeleteI think what I looked at in the last four chapters was the futurist perspective that could be looked at. In Revelations 18: 21-24 the futurist perspective is something that went on to happen. I was comparing this passage to countries like the Ottoman Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Soviet Union. All three of those regimes fell especially the Soviet Union in Stalin who killed so many people and in the passage it talks about how the light of a lamp will never shine on you again. You could also look at how it says the great city of Babylon will never be found again similar to the overall Soviet Union which no longer exists. This passage just saw a lot of futurist similarities to recent world history that connected pretty well.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the alternative question about a passage that was beautiful I think Revelations 19: 1-9. This section celebrates a beautiful salvation and a restoration of power to God. There was just a big great celebration for the wedding of the lamb and the salvation that occurred. Just another thing when you picture it in your head it just seems like a beautiful celebration.
-Dawson Pfister
I would be inclined to say that the book of revelations fits into all four of the given categories in different ways. I think it is up to personal interpretation based on everybody’s personal experiences in life and how they view their own lives.
ReplyDeleteSomething particularly beautiful in this book is Revelation 21:4-7
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
The entirety of chapter 21 encompasses the beauty of the book of Revelation. After all the frightening, confusing scenes that occurred in the chapters before, this section about a new heaven and new earth is quite relieving. "And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new'" (21:5) This verse in particular is rather beautiful, in my opinion. In life, everyone wants a fresh start. Life on earth is full of sin and negativity, and happiness can be difficult come by for some people. This verse offers Christians a sense of relief in knowing that they will be able to live a new life with Jesus.
ReplyDelete-Lauren Bland
I think that this book, is extremely hard to understand. Personally I really have no idea what most of the alliteration, and symbolism means. What I mean by this, is if you're not well versed in what any of this means, you're not going to know what to make of any of it. An example of this symbolism is, the entirety of chapter 16. Are the seven bowls of wrath figurative, or literal just like the ten plagues. Have some of the bowls of wrath happened, or will it be a known thing. Everything in revelation is clouded not in mystery, but a deep level of symbolism that I just don't understand.
ReplyDelete-Walker Larson