DropOut

Whatever it was, I gotta get me some of that!

Seriously, has anyone made heads or tails of the book of Revelation? I mean beasts with seven heads and ten horns,women clothed in the Sun,etc.etc.etc.
Are there any Christians who can offer a coherent interpretation of John's obviously symbolic visions?
If so, please start with chapter one and walk me through all twenty-two chapters.
Personally, I think it's possible that John may've had a mind-blowing revelatory experience.I'd like to try to understand its overall message.
Thanks, to anyone who's willing to offer thier insight.

Space Chef

This isn't a walk-through, but I just wanted to point out the Gnostic-like beginning of chapter 12.

12:1 And a great sign was seen in the heaven, a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars,

12:2 and being with child she doth cry out, travailing and pained to bring forth.

12:3 And there was seen another sign in the heaven, and, lo, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his head seven diadems,

12:4 and his tail doth draw the third of the stars of the heaven, and he did cast them to the earth; and the dragon did stand before the woman who is about to bring forth, that when she may bring forth, her child he may devour;

12:5 and she brought forth a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, and caught away was her child unto God and His throne,

12:6 and the woman did flee to the wilderness, where she hath a place made ready from God, that there they may nourish her -- days a thousand, two hundred, sixty.

-from Young's Literal Translation.

Also, would you like a Christian interpretation or maybe a Gnostic one, or maybe a denominational interpretation?

This might be of help http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_ntb5.htm

Vinnie

Buy an Introduction to the NT that discussed each work atsome length. Raymond brown's offers a good intro to the whole field and a springboard for discussion of every work, including revelations.

And who is this "John" figure you are claiming wrote revelations?

Vinnie

DropOut

Space Chef asked,
"Also, would you like a Christian interpretation or maybe a Gnostic one, or maybe a denominational interpretation?"

Thanks for the link. I'm interested in anyone's take on the book of Revelation.I should've made that more clear.I know very little of Gnosticism ,and am only somewhat familiar with the Pentecostal denomination's take on the book.


Vinnie asked,
" And who is this "John" figure you are claiming wrote revelations?"

Please go easy on me.My knowledge of the Bible,and of arguments of attribution of books is weak. According to my "Thompson Chain-Reference King James Version Bible",the book of Revelation is attributed to "Saint John the Divine".
If the attribution is in doubt, I'd love to hear the arguments.

Magus55

Revelation is mostly symbolic. It refers to events that will happen, but not necessarily as they are written. For example, the woman described in Revelation is Israel, and her son is Jesus. Revelation describes the 4 Horseman of Apocalypse. Whether they will be real judgement horseman, I don't know. They could just be symbolic for mass encounters of famine, war, disease, and death that will increase during the end time.

Now, i'm not saying all of Revelation is symbolic. Revelation describes what Heaven will be like in the end times, which appears to be written literally.

As to explaining all of Revelation, that would take too long, but if you have a specific verse in mind...
Although i'm curious as to why you care about Revelation when you think every other part of the Bible is stupid.

Vinnie

I'll give you my quick hermeneutic regarding the book of Revelation:

Direction vs. Misdirection.

Eager to find out secret predictions, Contemporary Christians and those throughout the course of history have often read Revelation while looking forward to the future when they should actually have been looking behind them into the past.

Vinnie

DropOut

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originally posted by Magus55
As to explaining all of Revelation, that
would taketoo long, but if you have a
specific verse in mind...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I will say that chapter 18 is interesting to me.I've heard some equate the fall of Babylon to the 9/11 attacks.One striking verse in particular called to mind the events of that grave day.
Chapter 18 vs. 19 with the bit about the dust on thier heads,and the wailing n' weeping etc.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
You said,
"Although i'm curious as to why you care
about Revelation when you think every
other part of the Bible is stupid."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If you've read things I've written in other threads which lead you to this conclusion on my state of mind,I'd say you may've read too much into the posts.I do not think the "Bible is stupid".
The reason I'm interested in Revelation lies in the very nature of the visions described by John (or whoever).One could almost call this kind of revelatory experience delusional.I have a vested interest in such types of experiences.Does that answer your question?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
originally posted by Vinnie
Eager to find out secret predictions,
Contemporary Christians and those
throughout the course of history have often
read Revelation while looking forward to
the future when they should actually have
been looking behind them into the past.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This is a very interesting line of thought. So,from your point of view,the revelations were or could've been in relation to past events in the life of John(or whoever)?

Amos

Revelation is no more inspired then any other book in the bible. I mean how can it be more inspired or less inspured of even super inspired by the same God?

The difference is that Revelation does not make any sense until it is our own past. For this book the be readable we must spend twelve hunderd sixty days in purgatory where we are nourished unto understanding and after that it is just as readable as any other book.

judge

Here is one attempt to match up the symbols of revelation with the same symbols in the OT.
Revelation has a system of symbolism. Everyone recognized that St. John wrote his message in symbols. But the meaning of those symbols is not up for grabs. There is a systematic structure in Biblical symbolism. in order to understand Revelation properly, we must become familiar with the "language" in which it is written.

http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freeb...s/2226_47e.htm

The entire book is avaliable online.
I don't know if I agree with everything the author says but I think he is on the right track when he looks to the OT to understand these symbols.
Someone familiar with the OT would immediately recognize these symbols. If we are not familiar with these images as used by the OT prophets then we end up thinking they are helicopters or barcodes or other rubbish.
I just don't have the time to go through the entire book here but if you are really interested this book gives a verse by verse lok at it.

mike_decock

Babylon was used as code for the Roman Empire after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

Robert Muller has an excellent page detailing the symbolism on his website:

Revelation, the original Jewish version

-Mike...