How can I understand the Book of Revelation?
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How can I understand the Book of Revelation? Why is the Book of Revelation so difficult to understand?
Source Article: https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-Revelation.html
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- How can I understand the book of Revelation? We're going to answer that question.
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- You can also discover more on GotQuestions .org. The key to Bible interpretation, especially for the book of Revelation, is to have consistent hermeneutic.
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- Hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation. In other words, it is the way you interpret scripture.
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- A normal interpretation of scripture means that unless the verse or passage clearly indicates the author was using figurative language, it should be understood in its normal sense.
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- We are not to look for other meanings if the natural meaning of the sentence makes sense.
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- Also, we are not to spiritualize scripture by assigning meanings to words or phrases when it is clear the author, under the guidance of the
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- Holy Spirit, meant it to be understood as it is written. One example is Revelation 20.
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- Many will assign various meanings to references to a thousand -year period, yet the language does not imply in any way that the references to the thousand years should be taken to mean anything other than a literal period of 1 ,000 years.
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- A simple outline for the book of Revelation is found in Revelation 1 .19.
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- In the first chapter, the risen and exalted Christ is speaking to John. Christ tells
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- John, write therefore what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later.
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- The things John had already seen are recorded in chapter 1. The things which are, that were present in John's day, are recorded in chapters 2 -3, the letters to the churches.
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- The things that will take place, future things, are recorded in chapters 4 -22.
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- Generally speaking, chapters 4 -18 of Revelation deal with God's judgments on the people of the earth.
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- These judgments are not for the church. Before the judgments begin, the church will have been removed from the earth in an event called the rapture.
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- Chapters 4 -18 describe a time of Jacob's trouble, trouble for Israel. It is also a time when
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- God will judge unbelievers for their rebellion against him. Chapter 19 describes
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- Christ's return with the church, the bride of Christ. He defeats the beast and false prophet and casts them into the lake of fire.
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- In chapter 20, Christ has Satan bound and cast into the abyss. Then Christ sets up his kingdom on earth that will last 1 ,000 years.
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- At the end of the 1 ,000 years, Satan is released and he leads a rebellion against God.
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- He is quickly defeated and also cast into the lake of fire. Then the final judgment occurs, the judgment for all unbelievers, when they too are cast into the lake of fire.
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- Chapters 21 -22 describe what is referred to as the eternal state.
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- In these chapters, God tells us what eternity will be like with him. The book of Revelation is understandable.
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- God would not have given it to us if its meaning were entirely a mystery. The key to understanding the book of Revelation is to interpret it as literally as possible.
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- It says what it means and means what it says. That answers the question, how can
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- I understand the book of Revelation? On our website, gotquestions .org, you'll find a deeper discussion and recommended resources.
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