Notes on Revelation

Introduction

Contents of this Page

1. Place & Circumstances
2. Language of Apocalyptic Literature
3. Message of Apocalyptic Scriptures

1. The place and circumstances in which John saw the visions
• Locate Patmos on a map
• The commonly held belief that John was an exile on Patmos is based upon the following:
• the use of διά in 1:9; cf. 6:9 & 20:4
• the fact that John identified himself as a "partaker with you in the tribulation."
• strong support from early tradition.
• exile (under Domitian) was an existing practice.
2. The language of Revelation was not unprecedented; the symbolism was not new, nor is a unique system of interpretation required.
• "Revelation" (1:1) = ἀποκάλυψις (apokalupsis; cf. apocalypse)
• 1 Cor. 14:6, 26
• for the revelation of the mystery, i.e., the gospel Ro. 16:23, Eph. 3:3
• for the revelation of Jesus and those who are his at his coming - Ro. 8:9, 1 Cor. 1:7.
• of God's judgment Rom. 2:3
• Cf. I Sam. 20:30 (LXX). Verb is used for uncover in Leviticus 18.
• ἀπό = (away) from & καλύπτω = cover
• Revelation is typical of so-called "Apocalyptic Literature".
• characteristic traits include the following:

	Ezekiel	Daniel	Joel	Zechariah	Matt.24
Visions	1:1	7:1, 8:1		1:8
Panoramic View of History with Emphasis on Catastrophic End of Present	37:1 -39:29	7:1-28	3:9-17, 2:18-20	14:1-9	24:4-31
Elaborate Symbolism (including use of animals)	1:10	7:2-8, 8:1-14	2:2,4, 2:10-11	1:8	24:28-29
Numerology	1:6	7:25,8:14		1:18

• Apocalyptic literature was so popular that uninspired writings were produced imitating the style. These were always pseudonymous.
• Thus Christians of the first century would have recognized the type of literature represented by Revelation. (Contrast the interpretation of Rev. 14:20 by modem Dispensationalists: They suppose the text describes a literal military conflict that will take place in Palestine which will result in so much bloodshed that the land will actually be flooded with blood to a depth equivalent to a horse's bridle.)
• The key to understanding the book is not so much a familiarity with Roman history as it is a familiarity with scripture.
3. The message of apocalyptic scriptures.
• The chart below shows how apocalyptic scriptures portray time with a focus on coming judgment:

	Present Evil Age	Catastrophe (wicked judged & righteous delivered)	Future "Golden Age"
Ezekiel	1-32	33-39	40-48
Daniel	7:1-8 (7:23-25)	7:9-12 (7:26)	7:13-14 (7:27)
Joel	2:1-17	2:18-20	2:19-29

• So also, Revelation follows this pattern.
• Specifically, compare Ezek. 38-39, Joel 3, Dan. 2 & 7 with Revelation.