The book of Revelation literary genre are apocalyptic, prophetic and epistle. The author of this book is John of Patmos. Its was written circa A.D. 95-96 (Hindson & Towns, 2013). There are many key themes in Revelation. The most important themes are the message to seven ecclesians, three and a half years of tribulation ruled by the beast, Jesus’ second coming, the final battle between Jesus and Satan, the millennium, and beyond the millennium. The purpose of the book of Revelation was to inform people about the events before and after Second coming of Jesus Christ. Revelations denotes the past, present and future of what is yet to come during Earth’s end of days. Major events that Revelations denotes will occur when Jesus returns include: National …show more content…
It was located on the Aegean Sea near Cayster River. Along with being the greatest city it was well-known for being one of the greatest seaport of the ancient world. The three roads that led from the seaport were one that went east towards Babylon, another to the north to Smyrna and a third south to the Meander Valley. It was founded by Athens in the 10th century BCE. Ephesus was for some time ruled by King Croesus of Lydia until Cyrus, the Persian King, overthrew him in 547 BCE. Ephesus was ruled by Persians for about 200 year until Alexander controlled it in 334 BCE. For another 200 years the Greeks ruled the city up until the Romans caputured it in 133 BCE. Many disciples and apostles of Jesus Christ are affiliated with this great city. In fact, “Irenaeus claimed John the Baptist wrote the Gospel in Ephesus (Hindson & Towns, 2013). Ephesus was also significant for Paul’s third missionary journey. In fact, Ephesus was old, about 1,000 years old, when Paul arrived circa 52 CE. Biblical books that were written in Ephesus was 1 and 2 Corinthians and John, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy (Hindson & Towns, 2013). Its key attribute is the church Paul gave Timothy leadership to 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.
In the book, “Jesus and the Disinherited,” the author, Howard Thurman in chapter five expounds on “Love.” Moreover, Thurman, a black man in the early 1900, with the ultimate goal to offer a humanizing combination as the basis for an emancipatory way of being, moving toward an unchained life to all women and men everywhere who hunger, thirst for righteousness, especially those “who stand with their backs against the wall.” By the same token, Thurman experienced “Fear,” “Deception,” and “Hate” that causes internal, spiritual damage to those who choose compliance, isolation, and violent resistance over the way of Jesus (www.smootpage.blogspot.com). Notably, Howard Thurman’s message helped shaped the civil rights movement that
The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels in the Bible, is a radical departure from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables as a way of showing how Jesus taught, and is the only account of several events, including the raising of Lazarus and Jesus turning water into wine. While essentially the gospel is written anonymously, many scholars believe that it was written by the apostle John sometime between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimonial of one of the Apostles and his version of Jesus' ministry. It begins by telling of the divine origins of the birth of Jesus, then goes on to prove that He is the Son of God because of the miracles he performs and finally describes Jesus' death and resurrection.
Throughout many of Paul’s letters there are many debates pertaining to the authorship, destination, date, and the purpose. In the book of Ephesians many scholars debate on the authorship and if Paul actually wrote the letter, or if it was a scribe. Although there are some debates on whether Paul actually wrote it or not, he does refer to himself twice in the letter. In 1:1 and in 3:1 Paul states himself, 1:3 states, “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (NIV) In verse 1:3 Paul states that he is a prisoner, therefore it is debated that he did not specifically write this because he was imprisoned in Rome at this time. According to Wallace “This, of course, is not to say that the letter must be by Paul, but it is to argue that without such internal testimony, no such claim could be made” (Wallace). Many scholars also debate on the vocabulary usage and the structure of the letter. Some believe that the structure is similar, but the vocabulary seems to be different than his New Testament epistles. Hoehner claims that,” Though the book has a close affinity with Colossians, critics claim that Ephesians is uncharacteristic of Paul” (Hoehner 613). The destination of Ephesians is somewhat debated, but many do believe that the letter was sent to the church of Ephesus. “Some to claim that Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea.” (Wallace) Although this is an argument that has many valid points, it is obvious that Paul was imprisoned in Rome while he wrote Ephesians. It is said by Hoehner that “Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22), who also took Paul’s letter to Colossians (Col. 4:7-9)” (Hoehner 613). As for the date goes m...
Paul wrote Ephesians when he was in prison in Rome. He was there because Jews attacked him after his third missionary journey, but he was the one that got arrested. The epistle was written to the church in Ephesus, to help them with their unity. Thychicus deliver...
A major problem that needs to be addressed is the question of setting. Was the letter to the Ephesians only written to the church at Ephesus? Most sources suggest that it was not. The oldest manuscripts, such as codex Vaticanus and codex Sinaiticus, do not have the church at Ephesus as the recipient of the letter; this was added into later manuscripts (Donzé et al, 534). Many state that Ephesians was a circular letter, a letter that was meant to circulate among all of the churches in the area and not meant to be specifically addressed to one church. This theory is supported by the fact that there are very few proper names in the letter, unlike the other letters Paul wrote, and the fact that it does not address specific problems of the church, only general statements are mentioned. Also, if the letter were, in fact written solely to the Ephesians, Paul would probably have included some reference to the fact that he was the pastor of the Ephesian church for two years (Ramsay, 454). Instead of doing this, the author uses phrases such as “I have heard of your faith” (1:15), implyi...
The Book of Daniel is the only full-blown apocalyptic book in the Protestant recognized version of the Canon. A literary device divides the book into two halves. Chapters 1-6 are a collection of stories that introduces the reader to Daniel and three other Israelites as unwilling guests of the Babylonia Empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. The second half, Chapters 7-12 consists of apocalyptic imagery of deformed beasts and the heavenly court. The focus of this paper will be on chapter 7, which serves as a bridge of the two halves. Chapter 7 is the earliest of the visions as it identifies with the genre of 8-12 while through language and content it reverts to Daniel chapter 2. The linguistic break down is not as neat as the literary divide in that Dan. 2:4b-7:28 was written in Aramaic while other portions of the book is written in Hebrew.
Reading the Bible takes time and patience. Understanding the meaning of the stories can make the Bible more interesting to read. The baptism of Jesus is one such story that may seem small, but it has a deeper meaning to it that sheds some light on Jesus’s mission. The baptism of Jesus is recorded or indicated in all four gospels of the New Testament. It was specifically mentioned in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:24-34. All the gospels give different accounts of how the baptism took place. True to their name, the Synoptic Gospels have stories that are almost similar, but the Gospel of John has its own unique story. Understanding the different accounts of the baptism is crucial to understanding the significance of why Jesus was baptized and by whom.
I had multiple preconceptions about this article and the book of Revelation. Before reading the book I just thought of it as strictly apocalyptic. In church that...
The ruins of Ephesus can be found today on the west coast of the country of Turkey. Ephesus was a port city for the west coast of Asia during the period of the New Testament. “The city of Ephesus was aptly called the “mother city” of Asia because of her influence over the politics, commerce, and religious atmosphere of the province. Ephesus was the headquarters of the Roman proconsul and the seat of the “Confederacy” of the Greeks in Asia. ” Ephesus had a thriving economy which drew people from the rural areas and poorer cities to it. Ephesus was renowned throughout the world for the temple of Diana (Artemis), for skill in sorcery and magic, and as a destination spot for people from all the surrounding countries. Ephesus was multiethnic and religiously pluralistic. Paul reportedly labored for nearly three years (AD 52-55 /AD 54-57 ) in Ephesus during which time the word of the Lord spread to “all the residents of Asia,” (Acts19:10).
This essay will show contrasts in views on the Gospel of John regarding authorship,dates, and the relationship between John's Gospel and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Some comparison of thought, concerning composition and life setting, will also be presented.
Literalist fundamentalists read Revelation’s multivalent visions as predictions of doom and threat, of punishment for the many and salvation for the elect few. Scholarly scientific readings seek to translate the book’s ambiguity into one-to-one meanings and to transpose its language of symbol and myth into description and facts. In Elisabeth Schûssler Fiorenza’s The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment, a third way of reading Revelation is depicted. The collection of essays in this book seeks to intervene in scholarly as well as popular discourses on the apocalypse from a liberationist feminist perspective.
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 genius of the Apostle John resides in his ability to penetrate to the theological
The movie The Gospel of John (Seville, 2005) is a visual representation of the accounts of Jesus Christ life on earth. The big picture is that of God’s plan for a personal relationship with us. When God created humans, he put them into relationships, first with him and then with each other. The strength of the movie is how Jesus core values of truth, love and compassion are portrayed through his relationship with his disciples. Jesus fostered the relationships with his disciples, showing love through his teachings and interactions with societal outcast. He displayed his value system through the use of parables and commandments, and performing miracles.