Winter Bible Study—Session 4

Revelation

5 February 2006

Thank you for your faithfulness

-you’ve been patient with me and with my purpose...it’s not been so

much to explain Revelation to you, but rather to help you see the

reason why so many sincere, conservative, Bible-believing

Christians disagree about the details

--here’s a great example:

You are familiar with Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins

-authors of the bestselling series of books, Left Behind

**which of the 4 major approaches do they use to interpret

Revelation?

---they also hold to dispensationalism and premillennialism

(which we’ll discuss in Chapter 20)

-essentially they believe in the Rapture of the Church, followed by a

seven-year Tribulation that will involve the judgments described in

the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls...during this time the Anti-

Christ will rule the earth...after the seven years, Jesus will return

again and triumph at the battle of Armageddon...this will be

followed by Christ’s 1000-year reign on earth (known as the

Millennium)

You’ve probably heard of Hank Hanegraaff, the “Bible Answer Man”?

-he, too, is a committed, extremely conservative Christian

-he has a series of books out—ironically printed by Tyndale House,

the same publisher of the Left Behind series

--Hanegraaff’s series, beginning with The Last Disciple,

approaches this all from a vastly different perspective

-Hanegraaff’s books depict Nero as “the beast,” with Christians in

Rome and Asia Minor suffering through a tribulation-like

persecution. This comes from his belief that Revelation was

written to condemn the corruption, greed, and debauchery of the

Roman Empire. Revelation, Hanegraaf contends, was meant to

be an encouragement for Christians of every age who are living

under persecution.

*Who is right? [I’m not going to let you answer that just yet!!!]

You have proven yourselves as worthy Revelation apprentices, so

today I am going to allow you to speak (a little) and to work (a lot)

Read Revelation 17 out loud...then silently skim Revelation

18:1—19:10—and as you do...

-think in broad terms about how the preterist and futurist

interpretations would understand what Babylon represents

I’ll get you started with the historical view of this “chapter”

-17:18 reveals the identity of the woman on the beast

-the fall of the great city, Babylon, symbolizes the overthrow of the

Roman Catholic Church

--the rest of this section shows the conflicting reactions of the

wicked and the faithful to these events

Preterist?

-Babylon is Rome (see esp. 17:9)...collapse of the Empire

-Babylon is Jerusalem...burning of the city by the Romans

--18:4 supports either R or J

Futurist?

-Babylon is the Roman Catholic Church (Tim LaHaye)

-Babylon is the World Council of Churches

-Babylon is New York City, a rebuilt Rome, a rebuilt Babylon

-18:4 supports a pre-tribulation Rapture of believers

Overall themes in this section?

17:8a...evil is persistent, but ultimately doomed to destruction

17:15-17...God uses the wicked to achieve His purposes

18:5...no sin will go unpunished

18:7...pride is especially deadly

18:9-19...trusting in anyone or anything (e.g., government,

economy, people) is bound to fail

19:1-8...vengeance belongs to God...it is true and just (19:2)

*As 19:7 describes Jesus, how would you expect Him to appear?

-but instead of a bridegroom, Jesus appears as a warrior

Read 19:11-16, 19-21

*What is this?

**where is the only place in Scripture that refers to this as the

“Battle of Armageddon”? [Revelation 16:16]

**geographically, where is it? [NW Israel...surrounded by Mt.

Gilboa, Mt. Tabor, and Mt. Carmel]

Now comes the section of Revelation, believe it or not, that is the

most debated

-it’s not that people are debating its truth, they are debating its

meaning and its significance

-and while we might claim to be people of the Book, we are more

often people of the Tradition (or what we’ve been taught)

Nothing made this clearer to me than when we arrived at Revelation

20 in my New Testament II class in seminary

-the best thing Dr. Tolar did was to require us to write a paper about

the book, The Meaning of the Millennium

--a book like this is the best way to study any controversial topic

-we learned about the major schools of thought that try to give

meaning to first ten verses of Revelation 20

--these interpretations not only differ on their timing of the Return

of Christ, but what happen after that, and how Jesus will reign

I’ll use Robert Clouse’s definitions of the 3 or 4 millennial views

Premillennialism

The Return of Christ will be preceded by certain signs such as a great

apostasy, wars, famines, earthquakes, the appearance of the

Antichrist, and the great tribulation

-Christ’s Return will be followed by a 1000-year long reign of peace

and righteousness before the end of the world

-during this time, the Jews will be converted

-nature will be tamed and will be extremely productive

-evil itself will be held in check

-near the end of the thousand years, however, there is a rebellion

by wicked men who almost overcome the saints

-at the end of this period, the non-Christian dead are raised,

judged, and sent to eternal punishment

Note: there is a subdivision of premillennialists...historical and

dispensational (that’s why many consider there to be 4 views)

-we don’t have the time to discuss the differences...if you are

interested in learning about that level, you are welcome to

borrow my book

Amillennialism

The Bible does not predict a period of universal peace and

righteousness before the end of the world. There will be a continual

increase in evil and in good (the Church) until the Second Coming of

Christ

-at that time, the dead will be raised and last judgment held

-the Kingdom of God is now present in the world as the victorious

Christ is ruling His people by His Word and Spirit

-still, there is coming a future Kingdom on the new earth that will be

glorious and perfect

-so what is up with Revelation 20? That passage describes what is

happening right now in heaven with Jesus and Christians who

have died

Postmillennialism

The Kingdom of God is here, now. It is being extended through the work of the Church and the preaching of the gospel. Eventually the world will be Christianized, and while evil won’t be eliminated, it will be significantly minimized. The Church will be the most important institution and will solve many social, economic, and educational problems.

-this period of time will close when Jesus returns...the dead will be

resurrected, and the final judgment will occur

Go back with me to Southwestern Seminary

-as Dr. Tolar explained these interpretations, I know I sat there with

my mouth wide open in shock

--I never knew there were any views beside premillennialism—

after all, that’s what I’d always read and been taught

-I looked over at my good friend Albert who was also sitting with his

mouth wide open in shock

--he never knew there were any views beside amillennialism—

after all, that’s what he’d always read and been taught

-we were both wondering if Dr. Tolar was just making this stuff up

Dr. Tolar, you must understand, is a fundamentalist to the core...he

believes in the inerrancy of Scripture...he is a Baptist among Baptists

-and when he said that he personally ascribes to amillennialism, I

screamed, “Heretic!”...and ran to get a stake and some rope...and

to start the bonfire

--but as I studied others’ opinions...as Albert and I talked...and as

I read Revelation 20 in light of the whole of Scripture...I began

to believe that there just might be something to this

amillennialism

---am I 100% convinced...and I sure that’s how things will turn

out...of course not

---historical premillennialism makes a lot of sense to me, too

-in the end, however, I don’t think it matters whether I’m right or

wrong...because both views (actually every view) believes that

Jesus Christ is returning...now we might differ on the timing of

that event, but we can all agree on the certainty of it happening

This brings me to two more points

-both Albert and I had to learn a difficult, difficult lesson that day—

there really are devoted believers who are convinced of the

inspired, inerrant nature of Scripture who simply disagree on what

it means (especially when it comes to Revelation!)

-we also had to recognize how often we simply believe what we’ve

always been taught and rarely take the time to study the Bible itself

Read Revelation 20:1-10

Read Revelation 20:11-15

*What do you know about the final judgment?

The New Heaven, Earth, and Jerusalem

*Write down elements or characteristics of “heaven”

-21:1-5 (two or more groups)

-21:6-8 (one group)

-21:9-14

-21:15-21

-21:22-27

-22:1-5

Read Revelation 22:12-17

-final encouragement

Read Revelation 22:18-19

-final warning

Read Revelation 22:20-21

-2 Timothy 4:6...all who have longed for His appearing

-2 Timothy 4:9-10a...he loved this world

-Read 1 John 2:15-17

Now that we have arrived at the end of this marvelous book, there are many things you still may not know...in fact, you may even be more confused now than ever (I hope not...that’s certainly not my intent)...

BUT...there are some things you know beyond a shadow of a

doubt—what are they?

*Looking back over the entire book of Revelation, what do you know

for certain? (give me short, clear phrases)

Winter Bible Study—Session 4

Revelation 17-22

Revelation 17:1—19:10—The Woman, the Beast, and Babylon

Historical à

Preterist à

Futurist à

Overall Themes à

Revelation 19:11-16, 19-21—Armageddon

Revelation 20:1-10—The Millennium

Premillennialism à

Amillennialism à

Postmillennialism à

Revelation 20:11-15—Judgment Day

Revelation 21—22 –Heaven