Winter Bible Study—Session 2
Revelation
Let’s go over the ground rules before we begin
1.
Understand that I do not have the key to
unlocking Revelation
2.
Understand that we will disagree...and you still
have to love me
3.
If you can’t handle rule #2, then you might want
to slip out during the break
4.
We will not have time to tackle all the possible
interpretations of all the details of this book
5.
I will try to treat most interpretations with respect...and I will treat all of you with the highest respect regardless
of your interpretation. ***Your particular interpretation of Revelation, no matter how loony it may
be, will not cause you to lose your salvation.
We will leave here just as we walked in—brothers and sisters in Christ.
6.
You must be somewhat open to learning about interpretations that
differ from yours. You don’t necessarily
have to change your view, but you might be surprised to find an interpretation
you thought was airtight looks a little different when seen in light of the
context of the entire book.
7. The pastor reserves the right to impose new ground rules as the situation dictates or whenever it suits his fancy.
8. Thou shalt not use, mention, or even think about the Left Behind series for one critical reason. ***What is that?
By way of review...because you will need to understand them today
-preterist à John writes about events in the late first and early
second century...therefore most, if not all, of these have already
taken place Kümmel à [Revelation]
is a book of its time, written
out of its time
and for its time, not for the distant generations of the
future or even of the end-time.
-historicist à John writes about events that are a forecast for all of
human history. This view holds that some of Revelation has
already occurred, some will occur in the future, and most likely
some are occurring as we speak.
-futurist à all the events in Revelation, from chapter 4 and
onward, are still in the future. Revelation is predictive in nature
(except for the first three chapters) and should be interpreted
literally. This view usually leads its supporters to see their
particular generation as the last.
-idealist à few, if any, of the events in Revelation are actual
happenings; rather, they are principles by which God acts
throughout history. This book depicts the great spiritual drama
that happens behind the visible reality.
*Is it possible to have two (or even more) interpretations at the same
time and all be correct?
**Examples? (Ephesians 5:22-33)
Revelation 4
Here is a magnificent glimpse of heaven
-John’s vision—‘though real—and his words—‘though inspired—are
terribly inadequate
--just as it is
impossible for me to describe
with words...and even a great photo falls short of capturing its
majesty...so magnify that as we look at the throne room of God
Read 4:1
-voice...like a trumpet à Jesus’ (see
-Come up here à
--a calling to meet with God (cf. the end of Exodus 19)
--some futurists interpret this phrase to
indicate the Rapture...and
that the Rapture will occur at the end of the Church Age (chs. 2-
3) and before the Great Tribulation (ch. 6ff.)
-what must take place à “must” is a key word here
--Leon Morris à The
concern of this book is not with things
which, as it happens, will take place,
as though the future were
of absorbing interest in itself. It is rather taken up with things
which must happen, the
outworking of the divine will. God is in
supreme control. John is not writing about matters of chance,
but about events which will certainly
occur, for they are part of
the divine plan.
-after this à after what?
--dispensational futurists à the Church Age and the Rapture
(proponents note that the word “Church” is not used until
22:16...therefore proving the Church escapes the Tribulation)
--non-dispensational futurists disagree about the Church
escaping the Tribulation and point to other words that are
synonymous with the Church (e.g., “saints,” “the redeemed”)
--preterists understand this to be “next in the sequence of events”
Read 4:2-6a
-you should read the first chapter of Ezekiel for another vision of
God’s throne room
-remember the
situation of the first-
than familiar with the throne and its power
--John reminds them (and us) that there is a throne that is far
above the throne of Nero, Domitian, or Trajan
---not only in its splendor, but in its ultimate power/authority
-twenty-four elders
--the Church triumphant offering eternal praise to God
--the heavenly court...not a reference to the Church
--exalted angelic beings
--12
patriarchs/tribes of
--and as an example of the unlimited interpretations of this book,
Henry Morris (not
Christ (Adam through Pharez) in Genesis 5 and 11
-seven lamps...are the seven spirits of God
--7 represents perfection, completeness...refers to the Holy Spirit
---this goes back to 1:4b-5a
--some futurists contend that the 7 lamps are the same 7 lamps
that were on
earth as the 7 churches in
would further support a pre-tribulation rapture (Hal Lindsey)
--others believe this is a reference to Isaiah 11:2 [Read]
(Tim LaHaye)
The rest of the chapter is an awesome scene of worship
-Read Revelation 4:9-11
--think about this: that same scene—the one John saw over 1900
years ago—continues at this very moment
If you’ve been kinda’ bored with the events of the first four chapters, I
guarantee you that all of that’s about to end
-the scene has a unique element to it, too à there is someone in
heaven who weeps...let’s find out why
Read Revelation 5:1
-scroll
sealed with seven seals
--the purposes and redemptive plans of God
--“God’s Last Will and Testament”
--some say it’s the Old Testament or the Book of Revelation
--preterist à Judge’s proclamation of sentencing against
the martyrs
(Jesus, in Mt 23:37 à O
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you...)
--futurist à it is the title deed to the earth itself...they cite
evidence that to be legal, a Roman will had to be sealed 7 times
Read Revelation 5:2-4
-the question is not “Who is powerful enough?”, rather it’s “Who is
worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
--and John wept and wept because no one worthy was found in
heaven, on earth, or under the earth (i.e., the entire universe)
Read Revelation 5:5-6
-Jesus is both the Lion and the Lamb...and not only that, He is the
Lamb who has been slain
--and because He is worthy to take the scroll from the right hand
of God, open its seals, and reveal its contents, all of heaven
erupts in singing a new song
-Read Revelation 5:9-14
*What strikes you about what we’ve read so far?
We’re about to begin the 1st of three seven-fold judgments...the seals
*what are the other two seven-fold judgments? (trumpets and bowls)
Different approaches
-21 distinct and separate judgments
-some believe that the first seal, the first trumpet, and the first bowl
all represent, essentially, the same judgment (and on down
through the 7th seal, trumpet, and bowl)
-futurists, of course, hold that this is the beginning of the Tribulation
-preterists believe this is the
destruction of
First Seal (Read Revelation 6:1-2)
-Futurists disagree about the identity of the horse and rider
--because he is on a white horse, some say this is Jesus
--most, however, believe this is the Antichrist about to conquer
---word for “crown” is not diadema (legitimate sovereignty), but
rather stephanos (acquired by conquest)
---the crown would be given, then, by the dragon (Satan)
----Read Revelation 13:2
-Preterists believe the horses (a total of four) symbolize warfare
Second Seal (Read Revelation 6:3-4)
-many see the red horse represented unprecedented bloodshed
-some have, at least in the past, have connected the red horse with
--this will eventually lead to Armageddon
--some also contend that the large sword is symbolic of nuclear
Weapons
---Ray Stedman à We have
to admit that it is only in our
century, with its efficient, high-tech
approach to killing, that
the fulfillment of these
terrible predictions could even
come about.
Third Seal (Read Revelation 6:5-6)
-famine after war (work all day to feed yourself for a day...or get
cheaper food and feed two others)
-economic upheaval...especially for the lower and middle classes
--this will be used to the advantage of the Antichrist
Fourth Seal (Read Revelation 6:7-8)
-catastrophic death resulting from war, famine, plague, and even
wild animals—further evidence that all of creation appears to be
out of control
--this, in fact, may be the best description of the Tribulation
---although we know the truth because we can see it from
John’s perspective, it appears that God had taken His
protective, sustaining hand away from the earth...and what
we are seeing is the natural consequences to rampant sin
----I like that image because it’s a powerful reminder that
God is certainly holding evil in check
Fifth Seal (Read Revelation 6:9-11))
-preterists believe this are Christians who have been martyred by
Jewish priests
-futurists believe they have been martyred during the Tribulation
--this means one of two things
---to those who believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture, they are
proof that it is possible to be saved after the Rapture
---to those who believe in a mid-trib or post-trib Rapture, they
are simply Christian martyrs
Sixth Seal (Rev. 6:12-17)
-a catastrophic earthquake, followed by the sun being turned black,
the moon turning blood red, and countless stars falling to the earth
--some believe this is the first nuclear exchange (Hal Lindsey
--some futurists interpret this symbolically to mean the falling of
the world’s political, economic, social, and religious authority
and institutions...resulting in total chaos
Then there is a pause between the sixth and seventh seals
-and this pause has been the cause of centuries of debate
--and the $64,000 question is simple: Who are the 144,000?
Read Revelation 7:1-4 (notice the listing of the tribes in vv.
5-8)
-note: the seal of the living God in v. 2 is not another seal of
judgment; instead it is proof that this is God’s command proclaimed
Spiritual and Historical à the 144K represents the Church—the
true and spiritual
this interpretation
is the unusual listing of the in vv. 5-8...
first, Dan isn’t there, Levi is included with the rest, and Joseph
replaces Ephraim)
Preterist à before
-read Ezekiel 9...where the faithful were saved from destruction
because they were given a mark on their foreheads
Futurist à a literal 144,000 literal Jews will be sealed for protection from the judgments that are still to come. It is believed that these
Jews will be active evangelists of the gospel. [Note: there are some futurists who believe the 144K are symbolic of the Church during the Tribulation.]
Read Revelation 7:9-17
-Gentiles
-the Church together forever
-those who came to Christ during the Tribulation
--some believe that because they were not saved before the
Rapture, they will forever have an inferior status to those who
were...J.A. Seiss à second-class
saints
-Jehovah’s Witnesses believe these 144,000 are especially faithful
Witnesses, past and present, who are taken to heaven for a
special reward...they will be joined by other good people for
eternity on a restored earth
Read Revelation 8:1-2
-there is a definite, dramatic suspension of the action between the
breaking of the 7th seal and its fulfillment
Read Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4
-some see this angel as Christ Himself...acting as our High Priest
and Mediator, bringing the prayers of the saints to God
The Seven Trumpets [Revelation
8:6—9:21; 11:15-19]
1. Hail + fire mixed with blood à 1/3 of earth, trees, grass burned
2. Something like a huge mountain all ablaze
thrown into the sea
à 1/3 of the sea turned to blood, 1/3 of sea life killed, 1/3 of
ships were destroyed
3. A great star blazing like a torch fell from the sky à 1/3 of the
water turned bitter and many people died from it
4. 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars are darkened à reduction in
light or the shortening of daylight
5. A star that had fallen to earth was given the key to the shaft of
the Abyss à release of locusts that sting like scorpions... it
would not kill a person, but torment them for five months...and
(v.
6) During those days men will seek
death, but will not find
it;
they will long to die, but death will elude them
-the locusts, however, did not harm those who had the seal
of God on their foreheads (v. 4)
6. Release of 4 angels who led 200 million mounted troops to kill
1/3 of mankind
-significant: Read Revelation 9:20-21
**what does this say about
God??? (2 Peter 3:9 à He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but
everyone to come to repentance.)
7. Go to Revelation 11:15...the seventh trumpet is a scene of
worship in heaven
-and like the 7th seal, the
7th trumpet is almost anti-climatic
Preterist à these
events lead up to the destruction of
-Jewish historian Josephus à [The Romans] cut down all the trees
in the country that adjoined the
city...and, truly, the view itself of
the country was a melancholy thing; for
those places which were
before adorned with trees and pleasant
gardens were now...a
desolate country...and its trees were all
cut down: nor could any
[one who] had formerly seen
suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a
desert, but lament and
mourn sadly at so great a change; for the
war had laid all signs of
beauty quite waste.
Many dispensational
futurists take the 1/3 of the world to mean major Western powers, 1/3 of
the trees to be leaders, and 1/3 of the grass to be ordinary people
NIV Study Bible note on 8:12 à Some point to the similarities of
these judgments to
the plagues of
Revelation gives us the final
exodus of God’s people from the
bondage of a world controlled by hostile powers.
We’ll start with Chapter 10 next week
*Remember—we will not have Winter Bible Study on January 29th, and instead will conclude our study on February 5th. There will be no evening activities on either of those Sundays.
Winter
Bible Study—Session 2
Revelation 4-9
Four
Interpretations
*Futurist à most prophecies are yet to be fulfilled
*Preterist à most prophecies have
been fulfilled in the past (at time of writing)
*Historicist à prophecies fulfilled
from 1st century until the end times
*Idealist/Spiritual à prophecies aren’t
actual events; they are principles
Dispensationalism à a branch of futurism. All of history can be divided into 7 eras (dispensations). We are in the Church Age. There is special attention given to the
nation of
Chapter
4—A Glimpse of Heaven
Chapter
5—The Seven-Sealed Scroll
Chapter
6— The Seven Seal Judgments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. (found in 8:1-6
Chapter
7—The Redeemed
Chapters
8 & 9—The Seven Trumpet Judgments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
(found in 11:15-19)