Apokaluyij IwannouThe Revelation to John

Session 1

VISIONSGenesis 18:1-2The Lord appeared to

Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.

VISIONSIsaiah 6:1-4In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the

Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.

VISIONS

Ezekiel 1.10-14As for the appearance of

their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle; such were their faces.

Their wings were spread out above; each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. Each moved straight ahead; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. In the middle of the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and lightning issued from the fire. The living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning.

VISIONS

Ezekiel 1.15-20As I looked at the living

creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and

the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel. When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved. Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

VISIONS

Acts 7:55-56But filled with the Holy Spirit, he

gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

VISIONS

Julian of Norwich – Showings

Preterist• Material is relevant only to the first century world• It is about what was going on in the church and

culture• Describes the fulfillment of past prophecy• Must be read in its historical context

• Loses its significance beyond the first century• Why then is it even in the Bible• Fails to recognize the apocalyptic sweep of the book

Historical• The vision describes the whole of

human history—past, present, future

• How do you decode?

Futurist• The vision deals solely with the future

• This overlooks the apocalyptic nature of the book

• There is no context in which to read

Idealist• Revelation contains general principles for all ages• Read it on two levels– The immediate needs of the churches in Asia– Spiritual realities applicable to all ages

• Relates the struggle between good/evil – God/Satan

This perspective arises from the Alexandrian SchoolAllegorical method of Biblical interpretation

The Metaphor of the City

The Metaphor of the CityGenesis 4:9-17Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know;

am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.

The Metaphor of the CityGenesis 4:9-17Then Cain went

away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and named it Enoch after his son Enoch.

The Metaphor of the CityGenesis 9:22-25And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the

nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”

Descendants of Ham•Canaan•Cush•Nimrod

Genesis 10:8-12Cush became the father of Nimrod; …” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar. From that land he went into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

The Metaphor of the CityGenesis 11:1-4Now the whole earth had one language and

the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

The Metaphor of the CityGenesis 11:5-9The Lord came down to see the city and the

tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

The Metaphor of the CityThe Human City•For ourselves – human centered•To the heavens – reaching for God on Human terms• Make a name for ourselves – Name=essence of the person•Built from fear – lest we be scattered

Tower not built, people are scattered and alienated one from another

Isaiah 14 Jeremiah 50-51 Babylon is another name for Babel

The Metaphor of the CityIsaiah 65:17-18For I am about to create new heavens

and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.

All of Isaiah 60-65

The Metaphor of the City

Ezekiel 40-48

The Metaphor of the CityAll of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:13-16

The Metaphor of the City

JerusalemBabylon

Much of our imagery will deal with the two metaphorical cities