although i consier myself wiccan, i bounce back and ofrth from religion to religion, from what i do agree with and do not agree with.... ive never been able to bring myself to read the enitire bible, ive tried, ive read several parts.. but i just cant do it. i dont have the dedication. last night... my mother asked to see my bible... shes rather christian.. but doesn't nescisarily "follow" the christian tradtions..... so.. i brought the one bible in the house.. adn there we sat and read what she was so curious about, revelations. im still not sure what to take form it. it was well.... disturbing..... and im really interested to hear how other ppl feel about it.
Revelations is the most disturbing book in the Bible because it lays out the last days and God's final judgement. To really understand it though you need to read the rest of the Bible. A concordance will work well. A lot of the symbolism is used in the OT. If at all, most Christians only understand the general idea of it. Prophecies aren't really understood until after they happen. Christ prophecied about his crusifixion three times and the apostles had no idea what he was talking about. It wasn't until it was too late that they realized what they meant. Ben
Trick or Treat? KalvinB Why did your Christ want his apostles not to understand his prophecies? For what reason did he leave it until it was too late? Take care
Because it wasn't right for them to know at that time. But it was necessary that Christ prophecy in order to establish his authority. Had they know it would have disrupted the ministry. Like in the gargen they would have been more focused on keeping Christ alive than getting him out there with the people. Ben
What I'd take from it is "wow, they had LSD all those years ago!" Relevations is an interesting read, but it bears about as much relation to reality as does Nostradamus.
Revelations is the scariest book in the Bible. It contains fearsome revelations of plagues and earthquakes, wars, and frightening invasions of strange creatures upon the face of the earth. It makes us all wonder whether we would be able to survive the judgments depicted there. Someone once said, "Revelation is hard to understand, but it is impossible to forget." It is not an accident that this is the last book of the Bible. It gathers themes from the whole Bible and brings them into focus in its pages. Someone has well said that the book of Genesis and the book of Revelation are like two book ends that hold the Bible together. In Genesis you have the story of the beginning of human sin; in Revelation you have the end of it recounted. In Genesis there is the beginning of civilization and of history; in Revelation we learn the end of both. In Genesis you learn of the beginning of the judgments of God upon mankind; in Revelation you see the end of them. These two books belong together. Many of the great themes of Scripture are brought into final focus in the book of Revelation. It is, therefore, one of the most important books to read and understand. It has been likened to being at a major airport when planes are landing. Go down to SFO and watch the people get off the planes. You may see a crowd of people who have well-tanned faces and warm smiles and are wearing leis around their necks. You know immediately where they came from -- from Hawaii! Watch another group and they have raincoats over their arms, are carrying umbrellas, and their faces are wreathed in gloom. They are obviously from Seattle! Another crowd may have a murky pall of smoke and grime on their faces. They are obviously from Los Angeles! So also as we go through this book you will recognize many of the great themes of the Bible and will know from what Old Testament book they originate. Let the book introduce itself in the three verse prologue, or preface, with which it begins: "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw -- that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near". {Rev 1:1-3 NIV} There are two words in this paragraph that tell us the nature of the book. The very first word, "The revelation," is the Greek word apocalypse which means "an unveiling," a taking away of that which obscures. Apocalypses have to do with mysteries -- and their meaning. So, throughout this book are found many mysteries made clear. The mystery of evil is unveiled. Why does it persist on the earth and what is its ultimate end. That is revealed to us, unveiled in this book. The mystery of godliness is made clear. How can one live a godly, righteous life in the midst of a broken and evil world. That is unveiled. Many other mysteries are unveiled. That is why the book begins with that term. A little later in that same paragraph we read, "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy." This book is not only an unveiling, it is also a prediction. It deals with persons and events which are yet to come, as the prologue tells us; "What must soon take place." We will learn what personalities are yet to appear on the stage of history in the last days, and what great events will unfold as history rolls on to its final consummation. This book will make that clear. Now, the process by which all this comes to us is stated. The second sentence of the preface states, "He [i.e., Jesus] made it known by sending his angel to his servant John." In those words "made it known" there is a hidden meaning. It is actually one Greek word which in English should be translated signified, or, if you want to pronounce it more accurately "sign-i-fied," i.e., made known by signs or symbols. He symbolized it to his servant John. That is one of the first things we need to know about this book. It is a book largely of symbols. Symbols are important. They are ways of understanding things which you cannot draw a picture of. Something that is rather abstruse or difficult to understand can be made known by symbols. For an excellent teaching on the book Revelation, see http://www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/revelation/index.html
