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Approaches to the interpretation of the book revelation
Approaches to the interpretation of the book revelation
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The evaluated text comes from the apocalyptic book of Revelation 20: 1-6 and is an explanation of the captivity that Satan would endure and the freedom believers would receive in the end times. In Revelation 20, verses 1-3 it is written that an angel came down from heaven with a key to a bottomless pit and a heavy chain to bind together Satan, the dragon and the old serpent for a thousand years. The verse goes on to say that the pit would be shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations for at least another thousand years, when it would be opened for a little while. Revelation 20, verses 4-6 details what will happen to those who did not worship the beast or accept his mark on their forehead. They, though once in their graves, came …show more content…
The verses explain how the Word of God was dressed, riding in on the horse, and also described the flame in his eyes. The angel armies wore pure, white garments and were prepared for what was to come. Meanwhile, Satan gathered earthly armies in attempt to fight against “the one sitting on the horse.” Satan’s efforts were in vain as the angel armies and Word of God swiftly threw him into a lake of fire, killing him. This verse does not necessarily foreshadow the events in Revelation 20: 1-6, but it is a glimpse of the condemnation that Satan would receive for his evil. This verse exemplifies how the power of God is mightier than any evil. This verse also demonstrates how victory is not a singular event for God and Jesus Christ. Victory is eternal for those who have faith and …show more content…
It is mentioned twice to represent the eternal doom that Satan would endure for his evil. The word bottomless is telling because the chapter does not say it was a large pit or a dark pit, but instead an endless pit. The reader of this chapter is likely to imagine the darkest, dirtiest and most certainly the scariest place when they read the bottomless pit. Just as those who follow Christ receive eternal life in heaven, Satan receives eternal (bottomless) life in
Much of Revelation is the source of debate. Many passages are symbolic in nature, and the exact meaning of the symbols can be difficult to determine. Some passages can be interpreted in various ways. The identity of the Four Horsemen, the 144,000, and Babylon the Great in particular are points of contention. Nevertheless, proper hermeneutics and careful study can illuminate these difficult passages.
Hell is what he is referring to when the author says firey pit. He describes hell as the lowest,
pits, different cells in hell and there is a heart of hell. As Mary and JESUS went through hell their were people there who are begging god to let them in heaven and god says no because judgement has been set. He said there has been many people their way to introduce them to god and they refused. Souls are in hell begging for repentance and the answer is no because they had their chance and they turned their backs on god. Some souls even were at one time of another saved and they were going through something to make them stronger in the word and they though god was being unfair to them and blamed god for the mistake; therefore turning their backs on god. There are many false prophets in hell. As god walks through and stop to talk to these prophets they beg and pled for forgiveness and when god says judgement has been set they began to curse god and talk to him in the manner where they are really disrespecting god.
This message accurately describes how those souls will experience contrapasso in Hell. They will never be released and will experience suffering for eternity. The first line speaks of a...
Milton prompts the reader to understand God’s grace as the most almighty and powerful aspect within the first twenty-six lines. God is a powerful ruler who bestows blessings if his policies are followed and eternal damnation if not. The first two books of Paradise Lost portray Satan as a confused, resentful man who feels the need to rebel against God. Since Satan rebelled against God, he was banished from heaven and summoned into an eternal hell. While in hell, Satan gathered his fallen angels for a pep talk and exclaimed to them, “Farewell, happy fields, where joy forever dwell; in my choice to reign is worth ambition though in Hell” (Book 1, Line 1). In this exclamation Satan bids adieu to the pleasure and blissful surroundings of paradise and greets the gloom and dreadfulness that now surround him with open arms. The reader can conclude that Milton relays Satan’s speech as remorseful and full of regret at the penalty of his rebellious actions, but accepts what he has done and is ready to rule the underworld. The reader can also note one difference between Satan and God in this passage because unlike God, Satan chose to speak to all who follow him and wanted their feedback for his rebellious plans. Satan continues his speech by adding, “Receive thy new possessor. Not to be changed by place or time” (Book 1, Line 1). Satan is regulating his mental perception as he greets Hell. He portrays himself as equipped and ready for Hell to receive him as the leader. Like God, Satan brought his autonomous mentality, free of time or location, to Hell. As the new supreme leader of the underworld, with his independent mind, Satan boldly compares himself to God through the element of
“The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the loft battlements. I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, ...
The "pit of fire" is repeated many times as a source of terror for the audience due to the choice of diction. As human instinct goes, a pit of flames is a horrific image to have in our minds, especially if it envisions ourselves inside of it. Edwards uses this because he understands the emotional effect it will have on the audience and that it will persuade them to become better in order to avoid such a heinous life ending. This imagery doubles as a symbol for hell, which to Puritans is where those who have been punished by the Almighty God are sent. Edwards describes hell as such a horrific, painful, hideous, gory, and gruesome place that his audience is almost forced to pursue the ideas of Edwards due to their desperate attempt to avoid this fate.
One of the several literary devices used in this sermon is a metaphor, which supports the purpose of this sermon by providing a visual aid in the mind of the listener. Edwards goes into detail multiple times throughout the sermon to depict what hell looks like. “The Wrath of God burns against them, their Damnation don’t slumber, the Pit is prepared, the Fire is made ready, the Furnace is now hot, ready to receive them, the Flames do now rage and glow.”(7) Edwards describes hell as a “Pit” of fire. He capitalizes several keywords
... see. Personally I didn’t see it until we discussed the movie. The pale horse was to symbolize the 4th horseman, Death. In The Book of Revelation, chapter 6, verse 8: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." When he rode into town everyone stopped what they were doing and had this look of cowardice. They all look upon him as he was going to kill all of the townspeople.
Satan did not consider being equal to God. He exalted him and gave him the name above everyone else. The passage shows the humility in which Satan lacked (biblical Unitarian). He wanted to be in the same place as God. Though the Bible has little scriptures about the fall of Satan, many ask “How can a good angel sin?” The bible states that God created His angels but it did not mean they were incapable of sin. Satan wanted to find bliss rather than following God’s commands. Though the Bible does not state when Satan fell, he fell before he tempted Adam and Eve. I am assuming that the fall occurred between this time. Also, the only place where Lucifer is stated in the Bible is when they refer him as the morning star in Hebrew. Satan was understood as the fallen angel and use him as the personification of evil (belief net). As reading about Isaiah, the King of Babylon seemed to be interpreted as the fall of Satan. In Ezekiel 28, the verse states a double meaning. It has an imagery in which the description of Satan was corrupted. In 1 Timothy 3:6, it states the pride that caused Satan’s fall. This is considered as one of the verses in which is speaking directly about his fall (belief
No part of the Bible and its interpretation is more controversial than the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the last profound book in the New Testament. It conveys the significant purpose of Christianity by describing God’s plan for the world and his final judgment of the people by reinforcing the importance of faith and the concept of Christianity as a whole. This book was written by John in 95 or 96 AD. What is, what has been, and what is to come is the central focus of the content in Revelation.
The term millennium does not appear anywhere in Scripture. The idea originated from a thousand year period of time that characterizes the reign of the Messiah. In fact, the phrase “thousand years” is stated six times in Revelation 20. There are three main schools of thought based upon one’s view of the thousand-year reign of Christ. These views are: Amillennial, Postmillennial and Premillennial. Over the centuries these prophetic differences have caused conflict within the body of Christ and are still currently widely debated. Instead of the book of Revelation being the basis of comfort (1 Thess. 4:18) among Christians it has become a bone of contention. However, this controversy should not deter Christ’s disciples from receiving the blessings that Revelation has to offer (Rev. 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14). Rather, one should study prophecy under the Spirit’s guidance and look at the data provided within the full context of the Word assessing each of the views for correct motives and presuppositions. Therefore, this paper will examine the nature, timing, and duration of the millennium as well as the occupants of the millennial kingdom and the relationship of Israel and the Church to the millennial kingdom. The aim of this paper is to address “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1, ESV).
Revelation identifies itself as “both an “apocalypse”…and as prophecy”, making it distinctly different from the rest of the New Testament. “Jewish apocalyptic literature flourished in the centuries following the completion of the OT canon”, and it is scattered throughout the Old Testaments in books such as Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Apocalyptic literature is full of “visions that dramatize the prophet’s admission to God’s heavenly council”, and convey their meaning primarily through symbolism. John brings a “balanced message of comfort, warning, and rebuke” in Revelation, testifying to the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Apart from the OT literature, Revelation shows a distinct optimism toward the end of days, for “Christ’s death has already won the decisive victory over evil”, with the Kingdom of God already among believers. This book was written in “approximately A.D. 95 on the island of Patmos”, which is still standing to this day. It was written under the emperor Domitian, with Roman authorities exiling John “to the island of Patmos (off the coast of Asia)”. The events in Revelation are also “ordered
The description of the locust creatures from the Abyss is indescribably scary. Is the Abyss another for Hell? It would make sense if it was since Hell is a place of uncountable tortures. Another thing I find interesting is that an angel, Abaddon, is king over the creatures and is known as the Destroyer.
This leaves the reader a bit confused, but still makes one think Lucifer is the enemy. It may seem as if Lucifer has risen to Earth, but as the reading continues we can see he is above Earth or above the “rolling ball”(3). Even though the poem refers to earth as a “rolling ball”(3) God pictured it as a plane, with Heaven on a higher plane and Hell on a lower plane, not a sphere. As Lucifer is in the stars above earth he is looking down “in cloud part screened,” (3) and observing the sinners. He is observing the sinners from line four “Where sinners hugged their specter of repose”. The sinners are referring to the people on earth and according to the bible Adam sinned, therefore all of his sons and daughters are sinners as well. He may be able to relate to these “sinners”. This also shows he is vying for his acceptance back into heaven, and while that doesn’t really work he then sets his mind of the people who will become apart of his hell. It’s apparent how cocky he is as he is tracing over the people who are entering his “dark” realm. Lucifer then continues to fly over the Earth and over the “… huge bulk o’er Afric’s sands…”(7). Here he is describing the sands of Africa, possibly the Sahara desert which is endless amounts of sand. This stanza could feel like Hell to anyone if one was stuck in the middle of it, but it could have felt like home