Okay so how are we to even begin to understand revelation as a work, as a book, as the Bible and in our lives
first and foremost we will train ourselves tonight to understand in the ways of signs, symbols, numbers, and ideas... it is key that we view the book with a keen eye not overlooking any written word for the detail is in the telling of this work
Revelation is for us to think with a “disciplined imagination” (Psalms are Emotions Romans is intellect) we are seeing in word pictures.. graffiti of grecian times... we must train our minds in the images, symbols, pictures and art of the times in which it was written... there is no greater work to declare contextualization about... ironically people have abstracted the art from the time in which it was created, as if it were created beyond time or imagination... this is a work that shapes imagination and does not delude or distort it...
not a script or playbook but an image gallery, art museum, muse for dreaming/seeing so dont let the details of the portraits ruin the overall museum experience
The Book- The Author- The Audience
Revelation/Visions/Prophecy John/Patmos/Crazy/Old/Worried Churches is Asia/Historical Audience/Present Audience
identifying the message and the medium
Understanding it- making sense of the maddness
“a study of revelation either is caused because someone is crazy or will leave you crazy”- anon
Too Much History (Preterist)
though some of the things that have happened in this work are true... it is never truly accomplished until Jesus’ return
Too Much Future (Fururist)
though some of the things in this work have not happened does not mean we wait until they do, or try to make them happen
a little bit of both for our best understanding
past examples and current reality
The Language
tattered, abused, cut... the koine greek that this vision was written in was purposefully ripped to heighten the disregard for the imperial cult and the oppression and impressions it made
The Signs and Symbols
Dragons
Beasts
Whores
past present and future- "something new something borrowed something Jew"-ish
something of these things are borrowed heavily from an Old Testament Understanding
Over 400 references in Revelation are lifted or manipulated from OT prophecy- sacrificial system, lambs, crowns, kings, annointing, lampstands, seals, trumpets, bowls, all borrowed from the collective imagination from the majority of the audience
The Wonders
earthquakes, hail, fire, disease, and flood, - natural elements cause us to shudder at the reality... see even in the writing there is a mix of natural, supernatural, spiritual, physical, knowable, and ineffable... it is this reminder of reality that causes us real alarm... i know and understand fire, earthquake, and disease... so complicate that with my lack of understanding of supernatural and i am concerned and emotionally heightened!
The Numbers/Numerals/Numerology-
This gives us strong clues to pick up on the symbolism of some other important numbers in Revelation. If 10 represents completion, then 10 X 10 X 10 (1000) is three-dimensional, God-originating completion (Cf. Rev 20). In addition, if 12 is the number of God’s people, then 12 X 12 X 1000 (144,000) means the whole church in its completeness (Cf. Rev 7:1-8, 14:1-5). Some people think these numbers are actual statistics, but I think they are symbolic, based on the kind of literature we are dealing with and the prevalence of symbolic numbers in Revelation.
Of course, this is not just about finding hidden meaning in random numbers. One has to look at these numbers in their context to determine if this meaning is correct. A good passage to start with his Revelation 4:1-11, which talks about the 24 thrones with the 24 elders (representing all God’s people: 12 tribes, 12 apostles), 7 lamps and 7 spirits of God (the number of God’s completeness and eternity), and 4 living creatures (God’s world and creation: think 4 compass points, 4 corners of the earth etc.). Understanding the numeric symbolism helps us appreciate the breathtaking vision articulated by John!
But the numeric symbolism in Revelation gets even more breathtaking, because it is not limited to the numbers that we read about in the book. Dozens of words of this book themselves occur either 3, 4, 7, 10, or 12 times, or a number of times that multiplies these numbers together! For example, there are the number of times divine names occur in the book: Christ (7), Jesus (14), Jesus Christ (3), the one who lives for ever and ever (3), the one who was and is and is to come (3), the Lord God Almighty (7), the one who sits on the throne (7), the Alpha and the Omega (4), the Lamb (28), the Spirit (14).
If this is starting to blow you away, what about these words and phrases: church (7), corners of the earth (4), winds (4), seven spirits (4), seven churches (4) prophecy (7), abyss (7), altar (7), sickle (7), saints (14), bride (3), whore (4), nation (4), cloud (7), lamp (3), door (4), horse (7), pain (3), and on and on!
