The Book of Revelation A 24 Week Bible Study

1. The Book of Revelation A 24 Week Bible Study

2. Chapter 2 Setting the Stage In This Chapter _ Discovering who the author of Revelation really is _ Understanding how the first-century Roman Empire impacted the book _ Knowing why John wrote the book _ Looking at the when the book was written _ Discovering Revelation’s textured style What’s inside a book has a lot to do with who the author is, the times in which he lives, the place where he lives, and the experiences that have shaped his life. In this chapter, you get to know John, the John most scholars believe is the author of Revelation, as well as explore the world in which he lived.

3. Unfortunately, the books of the Bible were written before there were even printing presses, let alone large publishing companies. When you walk into your local bookstore and scan the bestsellers display, you see the author’s name spread out in large letters on each book. The more successful the author is, the larger the font. The author of Revelation identifies himself four times (Rev. 1:1, 1:4, 1:9, and 22:8) by simply referring to himself as John. The general consensus of the church since the second century has been that the author is the Apostle John. Yes, this is the John. In fact, the list of church fathers who credit the Apostle John as the author of Revelation reads as a virtual who’s who of the early church, including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen.

4. Doubting the Apostle John’s authorship Not everyone through the centuries has agreed that the Apostle John is the author. According to Dionysius, there are several discrepancies, including the following: _ The author of Revelation identifies himself by name. _ Revelation is written in a sloppier style of Greek than the other worksof the Apostle John. _ The vocabulary and writing style (the author’s voice) of the acknowledgedJohanninewritings contrast with Revelation.

5. Defending the Apostle John as the Author Here’s how scholars have responded to Dionysius’s claims that the Johannine epistles and Gospel differ too much from Revelation to have the same author: _ John may have had a purpose in specifically naming himself inRevelation. _ John doesn’t feel compelled to qualify himself. _ John consistently stresses eyewitness testimony. _ Teaching sections of Revelation are quite similar to the Gospel of Johnand Johannine epistles. _ The texts share some common words and phrases. _ Details are consistent with what scholars know of the Apostle John’sministry. _ Revelation’s sloppier style has an explanation. BUT…DO YOU KNOW WHAT???

6. Isn’t the Bible, ALL of it, the INSPIRED Word of God, written by men?

7. Understanding the Troubled Times in Which John Lived As the longest living Apostle, John saw a rapidly changing world and experienced major spiritual transformation. Here we list some earlyRoman emperorsand years they reined: Augustus 27 BCE – 14 CE Tiberius 14–37 Caligula 37–41 Claudius 41–54 Nero 54–68 Galba 68–69 Otho 69 Vitellius69 Vespasian 69–79 Titus 79–81 Domitian 81–96 Nerva 96–98

8. Jewish population fleeing ancient Palestine The Jewish population was undergoing a major transition during John’s lifetime. However, after the Jewish rebellion and the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, everything changed. A widening gap between Jews and Christians The gap between Jews and Christians grew during the last part of the first century. The book of Revelation expresses this new reality but also retains ties to Christianity’s origins.

9. Growing persecution of Christians Roman-sponsored persecution, imprisonment, and even death were becoming distinct possibilities. For example, John tells of a man named Antipas who was killed for his faith (Rev. 2:13). John, too, likely experienced this persecution firsthand. He wrote the book of Revelation when he was staying on Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea where the Romans may have maintained a penal mining colony. When John wrote Revelation, he was addressing a church that was faltering under increasing persecution from Rome. John wrote the book of Revelation to a group of seven churches in western Asia Minor part of modern-day Turkey. John wrote the book of Revelation to churches that were on the verge of coming under full-scale assault by the state. Revelation was designed to encourage Christians to persevere during these difficult times. Even though John’s primary audience is the seven churches in western Asia Minor, his letter communicates what he and his target audience believed to be God’s word to future generations of readers — including people today!

10. Where is the Island of Patmos?? Patmos is in the route between Rome and Ephesus.  Christians were persecuted in Ephesus by the Roman emperor Domitian.  Tradition states that John was exiled to Patmos in that persecution of 95 A.D., though there seems to be no evidence of it being a penal colony.  He lived in a cave with his scribe Prochoros, now called the Cave of the Apocalypse.   Prochoros was one of the seven deacons ordained by the Apostles and later became the bishop of Nicodemia. Tradition states the John died in 104 A.D. at the age of 99 and was buried in Ephesus.  The new emperor Neva gave John permission to return to Ephesus and continue his ministry.

11. Playing the Dating Game If a murmur of debate surrounds the authorship of Revelation, there are outright grumblings regarding the timeframe in which John wrote the book. Therefore, you need to look at both external and internal evidence for answers. Over the years, two major camps have developed, dating the book either sometime in the 60s CE or sometime in the 90s CE. The 1960s were a time of social change, hippies, and disorder. But that recent decade is nothing in comparison with the centuries ago rebel-rousing era of the emperor Nero’s reign in the 60s CE. This decade was marked by widespread discontent among the Jews in Palestine, leading to an outright revolt. In response, the Roman army, led by General Titus, invaded and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE. Some scholars believe that John penned his book in the midst of this decade of strife, probably around 65 CE. The major arguments for an early date include the following:

12. _ A still-standing Temple in Jerusalem: Revelation 11:1 refers to the Temple in Jerusalem: “Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there.” In this passage, the Temple clearly sounds like it’s still standing. However, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem’s Temple, along with everything else in the city, in 70 CE. Therefore, some early-date proponents argue that Revelation must’ve been written before the Temple was destroyed. _ References to Nero: Proponents of the early dating of Revelation see possible references to Nero in the text. First, Revelation 17:9–10 may be a reference to Nero as the sixth Roman emperor: “Also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a little while.” And a myth during the years following Nero’s death stated that he would return from the dead or be hidden in exile, leading some to believe Revelation 13:3–4 alludes to Nero himself. Some believe the reference to 666 in Revelation 13:18 is an allusion to Nero: “Let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. _ Rough Greek, indicating Revelation is John’s first writing:

13. Many Bible scholars believe Revelation was written sometime during the reignof Domitian (81–96 CE), likely around 95–96 CE. _ Church tradition: _ The state of the seven churches: _ The timing of John’s ministry to Asia: _ Earthquake in Laodicea: _ Emperor worship: _ Christian persecution outside of Rome: _ The Temple: _ The idea that 666 stands for Nero in Hebrew is a stretch: One of the most compelling arguments for the later date of Revelation is the deteriorating state of the seven churches in Revelation 3 — too little love, moral compromise with Rome, lukewarm faith, and so on.

14. The book of Revelation is one of the most unique books in the Bible, not only because of its subject matter but also because of the textured style in which it was written. It combines three distinctive types of writing: _ Epistle: _ Prophecy: _ Apocalyptic: In this section, we take a close look at these three types of writing and howJohn wove them together to create his unique book. We also look at the rolethat Godly inspiration plays in biblical writing. Revelation as epistle When most people think of Revelation, the elements of prophecy and apocalyptic symbolism come to mind first. But in terms of overall structure, it shares the characteristics of an epistle superimposed on an apocalyptic writing. An epistle is the letter style of writing of all the New Testament books except the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles.

15. Revelation as apocalyptic literature Revelation is popularly known for its apocalyptic style. _ It was written during times of hardship and persecution and longing. _ It uses vivid imagery and symbolism to represent real-world counterparts. _ It often features angels as guides. _ It uses numbers to convey meaning. Besides Revelation, the only other apocalyptic book in the Bible is Daniel, although Ezekiel and Zechariah have similarities to this literary style. The book of Revelation wasn’t just the lucky one that made it to the big leagues of canon. It’s altogether distinct from the “pretenders.” Unlike the extra-biblical writings, in Revelation, John identifies himself as the writer, declares the book to be inspired by Jesus, and specifically states that the book is a prophecy.

16. Revelation as Prophecy The book of Revelation is not merely a book that contains prophecies; rather, as John states, the book as a whole is a prophecy (Rev. 1:3, 22:7, 22:10, 22:18–19). In the Bible, a prophecy is a special message from God to his people; it may concern future events that God promises will happen on earth and in heaven. Most Old Testament prophecy is preaching designed to bring about repentance and recommitment to the Old Covenant, the promise between Moses and God on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 31–34 in the Bible). Prediction, though not the predominant feature, is still an important part of prophecy in both the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is clear that prophecy is actually designed to: _ Encourage and comfort believers (1 Corinthians 14:3) _ Give hope (Rev. 1:3) _ Refocus believers on God’s character and promises (Rev. 1:3) At its heart, Revelation is intended to accomplish each of these objectives as you read through it, even though getting to the meaning may take a little effort.

17. Revelation as Extraordinarily Inspired Many Christians believe that all biblical Scripture originated from God but was written down by human authors. The terms that people often use to describe this process are inspired and God-breathed. However, how exactly the mechanics of this process work is an age-old mystery. We do know what didn’t happen: God didn’t just temporarily take over the minds of the Bible writers and turn them into zombie scribes, nor did he just rubberstamp the ideas of the human authors. Instead, Christians believe that the Holy Spirit guided and directed the writers without overriding their personality or personal expression during the process. Not all the books of the Bible were written in exactly the same manner, even though they’re all considered to be inspired. Matthew and John wrote personal accounts about the life and ministry of Jesus (John 14:26). Mark and Luke, both right-hand men of Apostles Peter and Paul respectively, relied on the Holy Spirit to guide them to provide an account through eyewitnesses. The New Testament epistles were personal letters written “in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:13). The way in which John received inspiration for the book of Revelation seems the divine. According to Revelation 1:1, God the Father gave the revelation to his son Jesus. Jesus then shared the vision with John through an angel. While John was “in the spirit” (1:10), he received a series of visions, the details of which he faithfully wrote down (1:2), creating the book of Revelation.

18. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW QUESTIONS: Please place your name on this sheet, photocopy your questions and answers on a separate sheet of paper and turn in at the beginning of class Q2.1 Please explain the evaluation by Jesus of the Church of Ephesus. [Rev 2:1-7] Q2.2 Please explain the evaluation by Jesus of  the Church of Smyrna. [Rev 2:8-11] Q2.3 Please explain the evaluation by Jesus of the Church of Pergamum. [Rev 2:12-17] Q2.4 Please explain the evaluation by Jesus of the Church of Thyatira. [Rev 2:18-29]