Seems like discussion depends on our approach to Revelation. I think I'd go with Slam on this, but didn't read everything. The major thrust of the book has been fulfilled in the destruction of the temple and establishment of the church. Look up the "preterist" approach on the web for more ... The material is rich, profound, and significant.
When he said these things were "at hand" he meant it.
The bible is it's own best commentary. God's word was meant to communicate with man. He said it was "at hand" communicating the very thoughts Jesus expressed when He said ..."this generation will surely not pass away before these things come to pass." He said this in reference to the final destruction of the temple. (70) Which is what the preterist view centers the book of Revelation on.
Daniel was told to "seal it up" for the time was "far off"
John is told not to seal it for the time was "at hand."
Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel are all very important to studying Revelation. There are very few images in the book that are not borrowed from the OT.
The book is layed out like a mosaic of a lot of OT images.
There are four basic schools of interpretation:
Futurist - Look out! It's coming.
Historicist - It prophecies much of history up until our present time. There may still be more to come. This view centers a lot of the book on the corruption of relion by Catholocism.
Spiritualist - Just kind-of parallels everything to our own spiritual warfare. (Eph6)
Preterist - It's a fulfilled prophecy.
I used to be a futurist, then for a period of about five years became a historicist. When I was first presented the preterist view I was pretty turned off because it seemed to play down the relevancy of the writing. After giving some time to reading what some of the preterist commentators had to say, I was floored by how significant, how rich, and how profound the book was.
(I recommend Jim McGuiggan's writings)- This was a huge step for me as having come from the Hal Lindsey "Late Great Planet Earth" camp.
I'm actually more excited about the book of Revelation now than I was before. The book ties all of scripture together so completely and overwhelmingly. It reveals the true depth of what Christ accomplished on the Cross.
What do the books of Genesis through Kings focus on?
-The establishment of God's physical Kingdom.
What was the central theme of the prophets?
The coming Kingdom.
What was the central theme of Jesus' teachings?
The coming Kingdom.
The beauty of Revelation:
The Kingdom has come!
The picture that is painted for me in Revelation is that of the church as the spiritual Israel undergoing the spiritual equivelant to the exodus. The grand theme of scripture is a God moving to establish his kingdom on earth. This is what Jesus came to do. This is what Jesus did. Revelation uses the images expressed throughout scripture in anticipation of this grand event and reveals their consumation. Jerusalem annihilated - the heavenly Jerusalem descends (The church) The physical temple destroyed - God's spiritual tabernacle established in man. (1cor6) Physical Israel suffers loss of identity - Spiritual Israel established forever. (Romans)
When he said these things were "at hand" he meant it.
The bible is it's own best commentary. God's word was meant to communicate with man. He said it was "at hand" communicating the very thoughts Jesus expressed when He said ..."this generation will surely not pass away before these things come to pass." He said this in reference to the final destruction of the temple. (70) Which is what the preterist view centers the book of Revelation on.
Daniel was told to "seal it up" for the time was "far off"
John is told not to seal it for the time was "at hand."
Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel are all very important to studying Revelation. There are very few images in the book that are not borrowed from the OT.
The book is layed out like a mosaic of a lot of OT images.
There are four basic schools of interpretation:
Futurist - Look out! It's coming.
Historicist - It prophecies much of history up until our present time. There may still be more to come. This view centers a lot of the book on the corruption of relion by Catholocism.
Spiritualist - Just kind-of parallels everything to our own spiritual warfare. (Eph6)
Preterist - It's a fulfilled prophecy.
I used to be a futurist, then for a period of about five years became a historicist. When I was first presented the preterist view I was pretty turned off because it seemed to play down the relevancy of the writing. After giving some time to reading what some of the preterist commentators had to say, I was floored by how significant, how rich, and how profound the book was.
(I recommend Jim McGuiggan's writings)- This was a huge step for me as having come from the Hal Lindsey "Late Great Planet Earth" camp.
I'm actually more excited about the book of Revelation now than I was before. The book ties all of scripture together so completely and overwhelmingly. It reveals the true depth of what Christ accomplished on the Cross.
What do the books of Genesis through Kings focus on?
-The establishment of God's physical Kingdom.
What was the central theme of the prophets?
The coming Kingdom.
What was the central theme of Jesus' teachings?
The coming Kingdom.
The beauty of Revelation:
The Kingdom has come!
The picture that is painted for me in Revelation is that of the church as the spiritual Israel undergoing the spiritual equivelant to the exodus. The grand theme of scripture is a God moving to establish his kingdom on earth. This is what Jesus came to do. This is what Jesus did. Revelation uses the images expressed throughout scripture in anticipation of this grand event and reveals their consumation. Jerusalem annihilated - the heavenly Jerusalem descends (The church) The physical temple destroyed - God's spiritual tabernacle established in man. (1cor6) Physical Israel suffers loss of identity - Spiritual Israel established forever. (Romans)
