End Time Insights

The relevance of Revelation for today is lost if we ignore its historical context and read it with incorrect presuppositions . The Book of Revelation presents a sweeping picture of the church age that highlights the cosmic “ war ” that is being waged behind the scenes of History with individual “battles” that manifest in the daily struggles of the Assembly. Its visions show God working through the “ Lamb ” to implement His Kingdom, and it begins in the first century with the “ Seven Assemblies of Asia .”

When certain “ super-apostles ” began undermining his authority, the Apostle Paul warned the Assembly in Corinth not to heed anyone who “ proclaimed another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or a different spirit, or a different Gospel .” He pointed to the same Jesus that he first proclaimed, the “ Crucified Messiah ,” the Jesus who is the measuring rod against which all other messianic claimants must be evaluated.

The  Book of Revelation  communicates symbolically, and it  provides several interpretations of its images. For example, it states that the “ Seven Golden Lampstands ” represent seven congregations. Likewise, the “ Seven Stars ” held by the “ one like a Son of Man ” symbolize angels or “ Seven Messengers .” Pictures of the smoke of “ incense ” rising to heaven represent the “ prayers of the saints .” And so on.

What was the original language of the documents that became the New Testament? For centuries, the scholarly consensus has been that it was written in the  Koiné  Greek dialect of the Eastern Roman Empire in the first century. However, there is a growing minority within the church that claims the New Testament was composed in the Hebrew or Aramaic language.

The Book of Revelation informs the reader from the start that it communicates visually and symbolically . Must prophecy be interpreted only or primarily in the most “literal” fashion possible unless a passage specifically indicates otherwise? Often in our minds, there is an unstated assumption that literal language is more reliable than nonliteral language, an idea that becomes especially problematic when interpreting the visions of  Revelation .

After explaining the coming “Apostasy” and the “Man of Lawlessness,” Paul instructed believers in Thessalonica on how to avoid the coming deception and thereby find themselves standing “blameless” before Jesus when he “arrives.” To do so they must “stand fast” by adhering to the teachings and “traditions” of the Apostles. The conclusion to his discussion includes verbal links to his first letter to the Assembly. The second letter was written within a few weeks or months at the most of the first letter.

The book of  Revelation  is an account of the visions received by John while in exile on the Isle of Patmos - “ on account of the testimony of Jesus .” The document was addressed to first-century Christian congregations located in seven cities of the Roman province of Asia, and most likely, it was penned in the late first century when Domitian was emperor (A.D. 81-96).

The book of  Revelation  is comprised of a prologue, the vision proper, and an epilogue. The vision falls into four recognizable divisions, and each commences when John finds himself “ in the spirit ” and is transported to a specific location. For example, the first vision begins with John on Patmos where he “ comes to be in spirit ” and sees a vision of the one “ like a son of man .”

The relevance of Revelation for today is lost if we ignore its historical context and read it with incorrect presuppositions .  The book of  Revelation  presents a sweeping picture of the church age that highlights the real “wars” being waged behind the scenes of history, “battles” that manifest in the daily struggles of the church. Its visions show God working through the “ Lamb ” to implement His kingdom, and it begins in the first century with the “ seven churches of Asia .”