seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Since beginning this read through the Bible.... beginning at Genesis and now reading in 2 Kings 1... there's been a lot of hard to believe stuff. God has been involved, He's sent people through a major waterway... on dry ground.... He's sent plagues and famines to bring about change.... He's held the earth still while his people routed a horrible enemy.... He's taken in gentiles, like Ruth the Moabite, and made them part of the chosen family. Most of all... through a miraculous birth.... He gave us Jesus, the Messiah, and our Savior to set things right. Every single time God has given humans the chance to chose the right path... humans have figured out a way to snub Him. They even hung God's Son on a cross, to insult Him. In spite of everything man has done, God's not done with us. He's God and He knows how this story is going to end. He created us and He's going to stick with this project.
This book is written by a man who loved God's Son while He was here on earth. Jesus and John were best friends. Since John and Jesus were so close, no doubt there were things Jesus said to John that weren't recorded anywhere. So John is armed with an amazing wealth of intimate knowledge from the Son of God. Now, in this book, John is going to try to put what he knows into words humans can understand when the time is right.
Check it out... even though John had walked with Jesus... God didn't make John try to sort it all out for himself. God sent and angel to testify... clear things up.... make it understandable.... because it's the plan.
This is from enduringword.com.
So.... which view is right? I think I'm going to keep an open mind. God had chosen people... and they turned their back on Him.... but He worked with them.... and He saw the value in people outside the Hebrew bloodline... people like Ruth, the Moabite, who tossed aside the fake gods and little shiny objects her people played with... to worship God.
I believe Revelation is the sum of the plan up to this point.... it's not going to be understood until it's time...
I know that life is not as simple as an Ikea instruction sheet.... but it's a good metaphor. Hubby and I put together a few Ikea tables.... the instructions are good if I read them thoroughly and follow the directions.... step by step. The ninth step isn't going to make sense until I've completed the first eight steps. I know how it's supposed to look in the end. It gives me a hint on how to proceed.
Now... if I was a two year old... I might not be able to read the instructions or comprehend the diagrams. OR... if the instructions were written in Spanish or French and I didn't speak or read Spanish or French... I would need an interpreter or I'd need to learn the language first. OR if I were working with someone else to complete this project, I would have to count on them to read the instructions and study the diagrams and then correctly pass that information on to me. If the human I'm working with can't read.... or study... it might stop the project or send it on the wrong path. So.... God knew I'd need help.... so He sat John down with an angel and they wrote out the instructions and put the diagrams to word.
I crochet. Some of the patterns I work with seem to be impossible to figure out.... but if I hang in there and follow the pattern... a long string of yarn becomes something to hold, or wear, or cover myself with.... but I have to keep at it till the last thread is pulled to get to the end of the project. It becomes necessary to finish the project. That's how I know God's going to stay with us until this creation is complete.
So... it may be hard to understand... but I'm going to take it one step at a time.... with God's help!
This book is written by a man who loved God's Son while He was here on earth. Jesus and John were best friends. Since John and Jesus were so close, no doubt there were things Jesus said to John that weren't recorded anywhere. So John is armed with an amazing wealth of intimate knowledge from the Son of God. Now, in this book, John is going to try to put what he knows into words humans can understand when the time is right.
Revelation 1:1 The revelation from 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, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud 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.
Check it out... even though John had walked with Jesus... God didn't make John try to sort it all out for himself. God sent and angel to testify... clear things up.... make it understandable.... because it's the plan.
This is from enduringword.com.
Since so much controversy has risen over the interpretation of the Book of Revelation, it is helpful to know the four basic approaches people have used through the centuries to understand Revelation.
The Preterist View: This approach believes that Revelation dealt only with the church in John’s day. In the Preterist approach, Revelation doesn’t predict anything. John simply described events of his current day, but he put them in symbolic code so those outside the Christian family couldn’t understand his criticism of the Roman government. In the Preterist view, the Book of Revelation was for then.
The Historicist View: This approach believes that Revelation is a sweeping, disordered panorama of all church history. In the Historicist approach, Revelation predicts the future, but the future of the “church age” – not the future of end-time events. In the Historicist view, Revelation is full of symbols that describe now.
The Futurist View: This approach believes that beginning with chapter four, Revelation deals with the end times, the period directly preceding Jesus’ return. In the Futurist view, Revelation is a book that mainly describes the end times.
Which approach is correct? Each one is true in some regard. The Book of Revelation did speak to John’s day. It speaks to church history. And it does have meaning for our personal life. So while elements of the first three approaches have their place, we can’t deny the place of the futurist view. We can know the Book of Revelation speaks with clarity about the end times because of two central principles drawn from Revelation 1:1-3.
The Historicist View: This approach believes that Revelation is a sweeping, disordered panorama of all church history. In the Historicist approach, Revelation predicts the future, but the future of the “church age” – not the future of end-time events. In the Historicist view, Revelation is full of symbols that describe now.
For example, many of the Reformers called the Pope the beast of Revelation chapter 13, but they didn’t necessarily want to believe that the end was very near. So they believed that Revelation spoke of their time, without necessarily speaking to the end times.
The Poetic View: This approach believes that Revelation is a book full of pictures and symbols intended to encourage and comfort persecuted Christians in John’s day. In the Poetic or allegorical view, the Book of Revelation isn’t literal or historic. Revelation is a book of personal meaning.
The Futurist View: This approach believes that beginning with chapter four, Revelation deals with the end times, the period directly preceding Jesus’ return. In the Futurist view, Revelation is a book that mainly describes the end times.
Which approach is correct? Each one is true in some regard. The Book of Revelation did speak to John’s day. It speaks to church history. And it does have meaning for our personal life. So while elements of the first three approaches have their place, we can’t deny the place of the futurist view. We can know the Book of Revelation speaks with clarity about the end times because of two central principles drawn from Revelation 1:1-3.
First, we believe that the Book of Revelation must mean something. This is a book that Jesus gave to show His servants something. It isn’t a book of meaningless nonsense. It has a promise of blessing, not a promise of confusion.
Secondly, we believe that Revelation definitely claims to contain predictive prophecy. John made it clear: things which must shortly take place… the time is near. John wrote about events that were still future to him.
Secondly, we believe that Revelation definitely claims to contain predictive prophecy. John made it clear: things which must shortly take place… the time is near. John wrote about events that were still future to him.
So.... which view is right? I think I'm going to keep an open mind. God had chosen people... and they turned their back on Him.... but He worked with them.... and He saw the value in people outside the Hebrew bloodline... people like Ruth, the Moabite, who tossed aside the fake gods and little shiny objects her people played with... to worship God.
I believe Revelation is the sum of the plan up to this point.... it's not going to be understood until it's time...
I know that life is not as simple as an Ikea instruction sheet.... but it's a good metaphor. Hubby and I put together a few Ikea tables.... the instructions are good if I read them thoroughly and follow the directions.... step by step. The ninth step isn't going to make sense until I've completed the first eight steps. I know how it's supposed to look in the end. It gives me a hint on how to proceed.
Now... if I was a two year old... I might not be able to read the instructions or comprehend the diagrams. OR... if the instructions were written in Spanish or French and I didn't speak or read Spanish or French... I would need an interpreter or I'd need to learn the language first. OR if I were working with someone else to complete this project, I would have to count on them to read the instructions and study the diagrams and then correctly pass that information on to me. If the human I'm working with can't read.... or study... it might stop the project or send it on the wrong path. So.... God knew I'd need help.... so He sat John down with an angel and they wrote out the instructions and put the diagrams to word.
I crochet. Some of the patterns I work with seem to be impossible to figure out.... but if I hang in there and follow the pattern... a long string of yarn becomes something to hold, or wear, or cover myself with.... but I have to keep at it till the last thread is pulled to get to the end of the project. It becomes necessary to finish the project. That's how I know God's going to stay with us until this creation is complete.
So... it may be hard to understand... but I'm going to take it one step at a time.... with God's help!
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