A 12-Week Study By Stephen Witmer, 2015 Revelation A 12-Week Study By Stephen Witmer, 2015

Outline Registration Overview for the year Overview for the course Prayer Litany

Praying the Scriptures 4:8b 4:11 5:12b 5:13b After each statement: “Praise be to you, O God.” At conclusion: “Praise be to you, O God, because you are the beginning and the end of the whole world, and of our lives. Amen.”

Overview and Prologue What comes to mind when you think of the book of Revelation? What are some impressions you have of previous studies of Revelation?

Answer by the end of the session… What is the nature of the book of Revelation? What type of literature is it? Who is the author of the book? What are the circumstances under which the book was written? What are some of the distinguishing characteristics of the boo?

Preterit Approach Refers to the past time. Seeks to understand the text in terms of its original setting in history. Focus on directing original readers with reference to their life setting. People from the present looking at the past. Problems? Challenges?

Continuing Historical View Predicts events throughout the course of history. Leads to the end of history. Reaches the conclusion that the process is almost at an end. Looks at events in Revelation and tries to tie them to an ongoing historical continuum. Problems? Challenges?

Futurist View Directed to the end of time. Concerns the final days of the church and of the world. Written specifically for the support of Christians in that period. Presents a short-term view directed to people of that period. Problems? Challenges?

Spiritual Interpretation Historical references are secondary. Timeless truth is sought. Allows considerable room for subjective interpretations. Seeks timeless truths. Allows for wide subjectivity. Problems? Challenges?

Inclusive Approach Draws from the other methods. Churches from other periods may find problems like those of the first-century congregations, The words of the book should also apply to the later time. Draws on all the other interpretive frameworks. Problems? Challenges?

Type of Literature Apocalyptic Prophetic Epistle

The book is apocalyptic Meant to reveal things that might otherwise be unknown (Walther, 1989) Popular in Judaism from about 200 BCE to about 100 CE. Examples in Ezekiel 38-48, Zechariah 12-14, Daniel 7-12.

The book is prophetic Prophetic seers envisioned times yet to come. They projected the known to the unknown. The writing contains allusions to Old Testament. Writers employed elaborate visions and symbolism. The writing is not intended to b taken literally. Details must be interpreted in light of the whole book.

The book is an epistle Contains characteristics of NT epistles. It has an intended audience.

Authorship There is no definitive evidence on who wrote the letter. Some scholars say the author was John the son of Zebedee. Other scholars say that because of differences in the Greek writing style, the author was probably not that John. Still other scholars say there was possibly more than one Christian writer named John.

Circumstances “Nineteen centuries ago a faithful Christian believer who wanted to give warning, encouragement, and hope to Christians, who were suffering or were about to suffer persecution, wrote a letter to seven churches” (Minges & Griggs, p. 9)

Audience Letter written to seven major churches in Asia Minor. The Church was in crisis. The Church was in need of renewal.

Questions and Exercises Revelation 1: 1-3 (The Origin of Revelation, pp. 12-13) Revelation 1: 4-8 (John’s Greetings to the Seven Churches, pp. 13-14) Gospel Glimpses (p. 14) Whole-Bible Connections (p. 15) Theological Soundings (p. 16) Week 2 Questions: (Witmer, 2015, p. 12-14)

Closing Activities Closing Observations Closing Prayer