Category Archives: Biblical

Spanish Analysis of Changes to Lesson 1

La lección de Escuela Sabática del primer trimestre de 2019 se centra en Apocalipsis, y empezó este sábado 29 de diciembre de 2018

Nota del traductor: Si bien el Dr. Ranko Stefanovic es el autor principal de esta lección sobre Apocalipsis, el Dr. Jon Paulien es el autor de la sección titulada “El sábado enseñaré”, correspondiente a la “Edición Maestros”. Esto es claro en la edición inglesa; sin embargo, por error su nombre fue omitido en la edición española.

Cada semana de este próximo trimestre planeo publicar tres cosas (si Dios lo permite): (1) mis comentarios al manuscrito original de la lección de Escuela Sabática “Edición Maestros” (EM), es decir, del texto pre-editado; mi análisis de los cambios de la EM (de la sección en la que fui autor) introducidos en el proceso editorial y su significado teológico (si hay alguno); y el análisis de Ranko Stefanovic sobre los cambios introducidos de la lección que él escribió, junto con el manuscrito original. El propósito de esto es ayudar a los estudiantes y maestros en su comprensión de los temas relacionados con la lección semanal.

Si no le gustan algunos de los cambios que hicieron los editores, preferiría que no culpara a Clifford Goldstein. Aunque él es el editor general de la Lección de Escuela Sabática para Adultos, hay grandes comités que aprueban las lecciones, y en un tema como el de Apocalipsis, hay muchas opiniones firmes con las que lidiar. Además, a veces, después de que un manuscrito es aprobado, incluso autoridades “superiors” pueden imponer su autoridad en el texto, y esa tentación es especialmente fuerte cuando se habla del libro de Apocalipsis. En líneas generales, se aceptó la mayor parte de lo que escribí, y lo que fue cambiado puede ser aclarado en esta serie de publicaciones de este blog. Espero que esto le sea útil para su propio estudio y enseñanza de la lección de Escuela Sabática para adultos del próximo trimestre.

Lamentablemente, la lección EM no está disponible en español de manera online; no obstante, pueden encontrar la lección estandar, en español, aquí: https://recursosdesperanza.blogspot.com/2018/12/leccion-de-escuela-sabatica-de-adultos.html; y la edición inglesa aquí: https://www.absg.adventist.org/. Para aquellos que desean escuchar las grabaciones en audio (inglés), pueden entrar aquí: http://pineknoll.org/sabbath-school-lessons.

Así, el lunes de la próxima semana planeo publicar (tanto en Twitter como en Facebook) los comentarios al manuscrito original sobre la EM para aquellos que quieran verlos o compararlos con la versión editada (y publicada). El martes planeo publicar mi análisis de los cambios hechos en la EM de la próxima semana. El jueves planeo publicar el manuscrito original de Ranko Stefanovic para la lección estándar de la Escuela Sabática de la semana, junto con algunos comentarios de él sobre los cambios realizados. Si usted utiliza estos recursos, deberá estar bien preparado.

Lección 1: Para el 5 de enero de 2019

Análisis de los cambios realizados en el proceso editorial
de la “Edición Maestros” (EM)

“El sábado enseñaré”
Tema central: El prólogo de Apocalipsis (1:1-8)

Se ha plasmado gran parte de mi intención para la lección de esta semana, aunque la edición fue severa en algunos lugares, con ciertas implicaciones teológicas interesantes. En la parte “Temática de la lección” en el punto III, se cambió “visión” por “visiones”. Como veremos más adelante (en el análisis de la lección de la semana 2), esto tiene que ver con cómo uno interpreta Apocalipsis 1:11 y 1:19. Pienso en Apocalipsis como una sola visión recibida durante la experiencia de Juan en el capítulo uno (1:12-18), la cual tiene muchas partes. El equipo editorial parece preferir la idea de que el Apocalipsis es una colección de muchas visiones diferentes, como fue el caso de Daniel, Isaías o Jeremías. Esta es una diferencia interesante, pero no muy significativa para la interpretación.

Mucho más significativo es la eliminación de mi frase “tiple Trinidad” en el punto IV, la cual fue reemplazada por “trilogía de Dios”. En la parte del “Comentario” de esta lección (tema IV, “La trilogía de Dios”), el lenguaje de “triple Trinidad” se elimina varias veces. Mi primera impresión fue que el editor final debe ser antitrinitario, pero luego noté la inserción en el texto de la palabra “Trinidad” en dos lugares de esta lección. En los inicios del movimiento adventista, muchos líderes no eran trinitarios, pero la Iglesia llegó al punto en que el concepto de la Trinidad se expresa claramente en las Escrituras, y esto se explica en la Creencia Fundamental # 2 del libro En esto creemos. El antitrinitarismo está volviendo aparecer en algunos círculos adventistas, pero es rechazado firmemente por los líderes de nuestra Iglesia. Puesto que la palabra “trinidad” no es una palabra bíblica, hubo un sentimiento entre los líderes de la Iglesia para eliminarla del título de “Creencia Fundamental # 2”, pero se dejó allí debido a la preocupación de que su eliminación proporcionaría aliento a los antitrinitarios de la Iglesia. Estoy decepcionado por la eliminación de mi frase “triple trinidad” ya que expresa claramente lo que está sucediendo en Apocalipsis 1:4-6 (tres descripciones triples). No creo que los editor(es) hayan entendido eso, pero los editores de estas lecciones han hecho valer el derecho de controlar el estilo final de la forma del lenguaje, y este cambio no parece que sea impulsado por la reflexión teológica.

Otro asunto aún más significativo tiene que ver con la interpretación profética de los mensajes a las siete iglesias (Apo 2:1-3:22). Los adventistas, junto con muchos cristianos protestantes, han interpretado por mucho tiempo las siete iglesias como una profecía de la historia cristiana, tratándola de manera muy parecida a Daniel 2 y 7. Pero la forma de estos mensajes no es abiertamente apocalíptica, se parecen más a las cartas de Pablo que a las visiones apocalípticas. Y no hay ninguna declaración dentro de los mensajes que los identifique claramente como profecía acerca de futuras iglesias en el curso de la historia. Así que prefiero verlos superficialmente como “cartas proféticas” escritas a siete iglesias en los días de Juan (1:11; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14; 22:16) que tienen valor para todos los lectores del libro (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Creo, sin embargo, que hay buena evidencia de que la interpretación de la historia de la iglesia de estos siete mensajes fue pensada por Juan como teniendo un significado extendido. Muchos, especialmente los no estudiosos del Apocalipsis, encuentran que este enfoque es inadecuado y prefieren afirmar un significado profético o apocalíptico abierto como la intención primaria de los mensajes a las siete iglesias. Los cambios realizados en la EM de esta lección reflejan esta preferencia.

Esto me lleva a una observación importante. Hablo y escribo en dos roles diferentes, como creyente y como erudito. Como adventista, creo en las enseñanzas de la Iglesia y trato de apoyarlas en todo momento. Pero como erudito, reconozco que algunas enseñanzas tienen una base bíblica más sólida que otras. Esta postura doble me permite vivir con convicción y compromiso como creyente, al mismo tiempo que estoy abierto al aprendizaje y al crecimiento en la comprensión. Creo que este doble compromiso es saludable y auténtico. Pero muchas personas tienen dificultades para mantener tal tensión en sus vidas y los editores de la lección en este caso actuaron así a fin de protegerlos de la duda y la incertidumbre. El tiempo dirá si tal medida apoyará en última instancia la creencia o si va en contra de ella.

Un cambio muy pequeño pero importante ocurrió en la parte inicial de la sección “Comentario” de la edición inglesa, pero no en la edición española. Así que este párrafo está basado a lo que puse en inglés. Creo que las siete trompetas terminan con Apocalipsis 11:18 en lugar de 11:19. Este último es la “introducción al santuario” para los capítulos 12-14. Los editores cambiaron el punto final de las trompetas a 11:19, quitando la introducción del santuario de la siguiente sección. Creo que esta medida es errónea desde el punto de vista exegético, pero hay buenos estudiosos de ambos lados del asunto, por lo que sospecho que este cambio no perjudica gravemente a nadie.
En el punto I de la sección “Comentario”, una serie de cambios sugiere que el editor final no entendió el texto griego de Apocalipsis 1:1-3. En el griego hay una cadena de revelación de “lo que Dios dio” (1:1), a “lo que Juan vio” (1:2) y a “lo que Juan escribió” (1:3). Esta observación (quitada de la lección) tiene dos propósitos: 1) no limita el “testimonio de Jesús” al libro del Apocalipsis, como algunos opositores del adventismo afirman, y 2) equipara la experiencia visionaria de Juan con la que tendrá el remanente del tiempo del fin en 12:17. Los editores han puesto a un lado la afirmación de que 12:17 espera futuras revelaciones proféticas, y han sacado la mejor evidencia griega para esa afirmación. Como tenía que ser breve, es comprensible que los editores no entendieran completamente lo que estaba haciendo aquí.

Finalmente, la última sección, “Aplicación a la vida”, tuvo los cambios editoriales más numerosos y significativos. He observado que muchos creyentes adventistas, especialmente los más jóvenes, sienten una tensión entre las lecturas historicistas tradicionales del Apocalipsis y la afirmación de que el libro es una “revelación de Jesucristo” y del evangelio. Intenté reconocer esa tensión y ofrecer razones por las que un enfoque de ambos es mejor que un único enfoque. Los editores se mostraron incómodos con esa concesión y eliminaron el lenguaje de “tensión” y “valor añadido” que yo había puesto allí. El motivo, estoy seguro, era el de proteger a los creyentes de la duda, y eso es importante hacerlo. Pero si la generación más joven percibe una tensión aquí, ignorar esa realidad no los persuadirá a abrazar la perspectiva historicista. Prefiero la franqueza y la apertura a la protección; pero espero, en este caso, que las personas que están por encima de mi nivel de remuneración hayan tomado la mejor decisión para la iglesia.

Nuevamente, para aquellos que no tienen acceso a la edición impresa estándar de la lección de Escuela Sabática para Adultos o a la EM de este trimestre, pueden acceder a ellos en línea semana por semana en https://www.absg.adventist.org/. Mi manuscrito original pre-editado de la EM de esta semana se encuentra en el entrada anterior. También puede descargar el audio de mi enseñanza de la lección con anticipación cada semana en http://pineknoll.org/sabbath-school-lessons.

Sabbath School Series on Revelation Begins Next Week

Each week this coming quarter I plan to post three things (God willing); my “Teacher’s Edition” comments on the main lesson in pre-edited form, my analysis of the changes in my TE comments introduced in the editorial process and their theological significance (if any), and Ranko Stefanovic’s analysis of the changes introduced into the main lesson that he wrote, along with his original. The purpose of these three postings each week is to assist students and teachers in their understanding of the issues related to each week’s lesson.

If you don’t like some of the changes the editors made, I’d prefer you didn’t blame Cliff Goldstein personally. While he is the editor of record, there are large committees that approve the lessons and on a subject like Revelation there will be many hardline opinions to wrestle with. In addition, sometimes after a manuscript is approved, even “higher” authorities may assert themselves into the text, and that temptation is especially strong with a subject like the Book of Revelation. But overall, most of what I wrote did get through and what was changed can be clarified in this blog series. I hope you will find this helpful for your own study and teaching of the Adult Bible Study Guides for next quarter. For those who don’t have access to the standard printed edition of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide or the Teacher’s Edition for this quarter, you can access them online week by week at https://www.absg.adventist.org/. You can also download audio of me teaching the lesson ahead of time each week at http://pineknoll.org/sabbath-school-lessons.

On Monday next week, I plan to post (linked on both Twitter and Facebook) my Teacher’s Edition comments in their pre-edited form, for those who would like to view them or compare with the edited version. On Tuesday I plan to post my analysis of the changes made in next week’s Teacher’s Edition. On Thursday I plan to post Ranko Stefanovic’s original manuscript for the standard Sabbath School lesson for the week along with a few comments from him on the changes made. If you take advantage of these resources, you should be well prepared.

Upcoming: Project “Revelation DIY“

A friend of mine, Werner E. Lange, has started a very interesting project in relation to the Sabbath School Lessons for the next quarter. He is the retired book-editor of the German Adventist Publishing House and has edited several of my books.

I am excited about his project called “Revelation DIY” (Do it yourself). The aim is not to present a verse-by-verse interpretation or a different study guide, but rather to show church members an approach whereby they can discover themselves the meaning of the visions and judge whether a given interpretation does justice to the text and its context. His goal is for church members to be less dependent on pastors, books or study guides, and more on the Word of God itself. He contends that Revelation is easier to understand than many people think—provided that we approach it with the appropriate tools for its interpretation. The principles he uses are based on my book The Deep Things of God, which is still available.

His elaborations are published in both German and English on the website of the Hansa-Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The first (PDF Revelation DIY1, the text of a sermon) concerns hints on the interpretation in the introduction of the Revelation; the second is a lecture on specific principles of interpretation, focusing especially on how to detect and apply the allusions to the Old Testament. From January on you can download his elaborations with hints on the interpretational approach for the chapters in Revelation upon which the Sabbath School lesson for that week is based. He will also show dead ends in interpretation and give some explanations of the text (the one on Rev 1:10–20 is already available). You can access all PDFs here.
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I am personally very curious about his suggestions for interpretation. Some years ago he translated and heavily revised (with my approval) my Facebook comments on Revelation 12–14 and put them into book form. From the detailed discussions we had, I know that he is a careful and thorough Bible student and has internalized my principles for the interpretation of Revelation. He would remind me when I hadn’t followed my own rules and challenged some of my interpretations (often with success).

I would love to see more open discussion about Adventist interpretations of Revelation. Ellen White encourages us to study the book thoroughly, even claiming that we haven’t understood it well enough (see the quotations at the end of PDF DIY 0). And Jesus promises a special blessing for those who read Revelation and heed what they have learned (Rev 1:3). So let’s study it anew and with an open mind. We just might be surprised at what we learn.

Revelation’s Place in the Bible (Rev 7)

The history of Revelation’s path into the biblical canon is unusual. Other debated books of the Bible began with a mixed reception and gained more and more acceptance over time. Revelation’s experience was nearly the opposite, going from accepted to disputed back to accepted again over several centuries.

It was accepted throughout the church in the first century after it was written, being used and approved by Hermas, Melito, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus (his position is questioned by some), Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Hyppolytus and Tertullian. It was also included in the earliest list of authoritative New Testament books, the Muratorian Canon.

But in the Third Century, when the visionary Montanists in the east used Revelation to legitimate their own prophetic claims, their opponents responded by casting doubt on the legitimacy of the book. These doubts led to Revelation’s place in the canon being questioned in the Third and Fourth Centuries, especially in the eastern part of the Empire. As a result, Revelation was accepted into the canon fairly quickly in the Western Church, but was not fully accepted in the East until the Fifth and Sixth Centuries. In the end, its broad early support among the Church Fathers, combined with its role as a compelling capstone to the Bible, led to its full acceptance as Scripture.

The Genre of Revelation (Rev 6)

The New Testament genre “gospel” was an invention of the apostles. The genre “epistle,” as used in the New Testament, adopting a common writing style, was also largely an invention of the apostles. But the genre of Revelation, “apocalypse,” is an adopted genre. It is the only work of its kind in the New Testament, but there were many works like it in the ancient world, particularly within Judaism from around 200 B.C. to 200 A.D.

According to the scholarly definition, an apocalypse is a form of revelatory literature, which means it claims to directly communicate information from God to humanity. This is accomplished in the form of a story, a “narrative framework,” rather than poetry or some other form. The revelation is communicated to a human being by “otherworldly beings” such as angels or the 24 elders of Revelation. The revelation discloses “transcendent reality” (beyond the ability of the five senses to apprehend), about the course of history leading up the End, and about the heavenly, “supernatural” world.

Scholars also distinguish between two types of apocalyptic literature, the historical and the mystical. The historical type, characteristic of Daniel, gives an overview of a large sweep of history, often divided into periods, and climaxing with a prediction about the end of history and the final judgment. Historical apocalyptic visions tend to be highly symbolic, referring to heavenly and earthly beings and events (Rev 12 is a good example). The mystical type of apocalypse, on the other hand, describes the ascent of the visionary into heaven (as in Rev 4-5). While symbolism may be used in mystical apocalyptic, there is more of a sense of reality in the description, the visionary ascends into a real place where actions take place that affect the readers’ lives on earth. Both types can occur in a single literary work, Revelation being a clear example.

Ancient apocalypses sought to encourage faith in God and hope in God’s future kingdom among those facing difficult times. John seems to have adopted Daniel’s apocalyptic visions as the model for understanding his own visions (Rev 1:1, cf. Dan 2:28, 45). But Revelation itself is also called a prophecy (Rev 1:3, cf. 19:10; 22:7-10, 18-19) and is also heavily dependent on prophetic books like Isaiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah. In addition, there are echoes of epistolary genre in chapters 2 and 3. So Revelation has come to be seen as a mixed genre, the main part of the book a mixture of prophetic and apocalyptic features. It could be called a prophetic apocalypse or an apocalyptic prophecy.

Four Ways to Approach Revelation (Rev 5)

There are four major ways that people have approached the book of Revelation. The approach you decide on determines to a large degree the results you find from studying Revelation. (1) The book of Revelation was written to seven churches located in the Roman province of Asia (Rev 1:4– Asia Minor). So one way to approach Revelation is like any other book in the New Testament, as a writing addressing real people in real places 2000 years ago (Rev 22:16). And this should be the foundation of any study of the Bible. The better we understand what it meant to the original readers, the better we can understand God’s purpose in inspiring the book. But when scholars limit the meaning of Revelation to the historical conditions of the Asian churches at the end of the First Century, when they see it as in no way predictive of the future, that approach is called Preterism. Preterism, in that sense, is too limited an approach to Revelation, it doesn’t take the book’s prophetic focus on the author’s future sufficiently into account.
(2) At the other extreme, Futurism rightly notes that Revelation addresses the Second Coming of Christ and similar events at the close of history (Rev 1:7). Futurists attempt to read nearly the entire book of Revelation (usually chapters 4-22) as speaking directly to the end of time and to no other time in history. But we have already seen how Revelation explicitly addresses the original situation of the churches of Asia. So an approach that limits Revelation to the events of the far future is no more adequate than Preterism is.
(3) A third way to read the book is suggested in Revelation 1:3, where a blessing is offered on all who hear and understand the words of the prophecy. Everyone who reads or hears this book is intended to benefit from it. The book is not just for the original situation or the end of the world. There is value for every person and every age. But some people have taken this idea a bit further and have come up with an idea called Idealism. In its extreme form Revelation is not really written to the first century or the end of time at all. It is simply a symbolic way of describing broad, general principles for Christians to live by. But such a reading in isolation is not an adequate response to the full realities of Revelation.
(4) Seventh-day Adventists believe that the approach that best fits the evidence of Revelation is the historicist approach. It embraces the positive insights of the first three approaches but is not limited to any of them. Historicism, rightly understood, allows each text to locate itself in time, it does not limit the meaning of the text in an arbitrary way, as other approaches do. It recognizes Revelation as an apocalyptic prophecy like Daniel (compare Rev 1:1 with Dan 2:28, 45), speaking to the entire course of history from the time of the prophet (95 A.D.) to the Second Coming of Christ and beyond. If the book of Revelation begins with John’s day (Rev 1:9-11) and ends with the End (Rev 19:11-21), it is reasonable to assume that it is also concerned with the historical developments in between. What has marginalized this text-based approach among scholars today is historicism’s long history of failed predictions and speculative exegesis. Seventh-day Adventists are instead called to approach Revelation’s history on the basis of a high and Christ-centered standard (TM 112-119).

The Structure of Revelation (Rev 4)

The structure of Revelation is partly evident in the text, but not without complications, which explains why there is little agreement among scholars on the book’s structure. The search for a structure usually begins with the four, numbered, seven-fold visions in the book; the seven churches (2:1 – 3:22), the seven seals (6:1 – 8:1), the seven trumpets (8:7 – 11:18) and the seven bowls (16:1-21). Each of these visions is preceded by an introduction related to the sanctuary (the seven golden lampstands—1:12-20; the heavenly throne room—4:1 – 5:14; the altar of incense—8:2-6; and the heavenly temple scene—15:5-8). Each of these introductions/visions forms a natural division of the book’s structure. The material between the trumpets and the bowls (12:1 – 15:4) also forms a natural division of the book. A sanctuary introduction to that section (reference to the temple in heaven and the ark of the covenant) can be found in Revelation 11:19.

The biggest challenge to any structure of Revelation is what to do with the second half of the book, especially chapters 17 and 18. It appears that there is a natural division in chapters 19 and 20, with a focus on the final events of earth’s history (19:1-10), the Second Coming (19:11-21) and the millennium (20:1-15). The search for a sanctuary introduction leads to 19:1-10, which has many of the elements found in an earlier sanctuary introduction, Revelation 4-5. The final natural division of the book is the New Jerusalem narrative (21:1 – 22:5). In this section of the book, the sanctuary setting seems to have merged with the vision as a whole. There is no temple there because the New Jerusalem itself is the Most Holy Place (a perfect cube—Rev 21:16, cf. 1 Kings 6:20), God and the Lamb dwell in city (21:22), and there is face to face contact with God before the throne (22:3-4). This makes a total of seven sections in the structure of Revelation; seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, 12-14, seven bowls, the millennium and the New Jerusalem.

What remains to be structured are two things, the opening (1:1-8) and conclusion (22:6-21), and chapters 17 and 18. The opening and conclusion have many parallels with each other and are fittingly called the Prologue and the Epilogue. Some see in chapters 17 and 18 an eighth section of the book, focusing on the Fall of Babylon, But an eighth section would be surprising, considering the centrality of the number seven in the book. A better approach is to note the many connections between the sixth and seventh bowl-plagues (16:12-20) and chapter 17. Since chapter 17 portrays the fall of Babylon the prostitute, and chapter 18 portrays the fall of Babylon the great city, both chapters offer a fitting expansion and conclusion to the seven bowl-plagues.

Some scholars have noted a chiastic structure in the above outline. The Prologue and Epilogue have many parallel elements, as do the Seven Churches and the New Jerusalem sections. The Seven Trumpets and the Seven Bowls are also clearly parallel. The resulting outline highlights the centrality of the vision of Revelation 12-14. Unlike the Greek/Western tradition, the central purpose of the book is not found in the conclusion, but in the center, the location of the heavenly war and the three angel’s messages. This has important implications for interpretation.

Prologue (1:1-8)
I. The Seven Churches (1:9 – 3:22)
II. The Seven Seals (4:1 – 8:1)
III. The Seven Trumpets (8:2 – 11:18)
IV. The Great War (11:19 – 15:4)
V. The Wrath of God (15:5 – 18:24)
VI. The End of Evil (19:1 – 20:15)
VII. The New Jerusalem (21:1 – 22:5)
Epilogue (22:6-21)

A Short Summary of the Book of Revelation (Rev 3)

The opening of the book (Rev 1:1-8) states the main themes of the entire book in relatively plain language. The central theme of the book is Jesus Christ (Rev 1:1-2, 5-7) with particular attention to future events (Rev 1:1, 7). The source of the book’s content is a vision that originates with God and was handed down to John through Jesus Christ and “his angel” (Rev 1:1-3). The book John wrote was intended to be read aloud to the churches and “kept” by them (Rev 1:3). After a vision of the glorious Christ (1:12-20) and message to the seven churches (chapters 2 and 3), John and his readers get a glimpse through the open gates of heaven into the heavenly throne room itself. It is there that the centrality of the cross and of Christ in the operations of the universe becomes plain.

The seals, trumpets and bowls (Revelation 6-11 and 15-18) are mostly plagues of judgment. The seals and trumpets cover the whole Christian era, while the bowls focus especially on the end. The over-riding message is that God is in control of history even when it appears out of control.

For Seventh-day Adventists, the most critical part of the book is the central vision (Revelation 12-14). It describes the war in heaven (Rev 12:7-12), the birth and ascension of Christ (12:5), the experience of the church during the 1260 “days” (12:6; 14-16), the unholy trinity (dragon [12:3-4, 17], sea beast [13:1-10], and land beast [13:11-18]), the remnant (12:17; 14:1-3), and the three angels’ messages (14:6-12). There is also a symbolic view of the Second Coming (Rev 14:14-20).

The final chapters of the book cover the celebration of Babylon’s fall (19:1-6), the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:7-10), the Second Coming along with the destruction of the enemy powers or earth (19:11-21), the Millennium and its aftermath (Revelation 20) and the New Jerusalem (21:1 – 22:5). The book closes with an appeal to the reader (22:6-21).

The “When” of Revelation (Rev 2)

Revelation appears to have been written in the context of some persecution, so scholars of Revelation have consistently looked to the reigns of Nero and Domitian as the likely context for the book. During the 19th Century the consensus of scholarship was that Revelation was written during the reign of Nero (54-68 A.D.), based on subjective interpretation of certain passages in the book. Revelation was, therefore, read in light of the persecution of Christians that began after the great fire of 64 A.D. Over the last hundred years, however, scholarly opinion has shifted to the later date for the book, around 95 A.D. Most scholars today read Revelation in light of an episode of persecution (or at least “perceived crisis”) toward the end of Domitian’s reign (81-96 A.D.). The earlier date has now fallen out of favor due to the lack of clear references to Nero’s reign in the text of Revelation and the fact that the church fathers universally favored the time of Domitian. The weakness of the later date is the lack of contemporary evidence for officially sanctioned persecution of Christians during the reign of Domitian, or for Patmos as a penal isle.

Ellen White assumes that John, the son of Zebedee, is the author of Revelation and that he came to be on Patmos as a result of persecution during the reign of Domitian, whom she explicitly names (AA 568-570). She took that position before the scholarly shift from an early date to a late date for Revelation. The setting of Revelation, in her view, would be the exile of the leader of the churches in Asia Minor to Patmos. Given the lack of evidence for widespread persecution, it is likely that whatever trials the church faced were based on local issues, such as disputes with the local synagogue or pagan neighbors. The purpose of Revelation was to strengthen Christians at a time when they were vulnerable to their surrounding culture.

The Book of Revelation and Its Author (Rev 1)

I am working on a series of blogs regarding LGBT issues and the church. But that is taking a little longer than I had expected. I plan to begin posting by the end of August. In the meantime I have completed a first draft of a Bible Dictionary entry on the book of Revelation. I thought you would find this interesting and helpful and I would love feedback, positive and negative (hopefully constructive either way). The total article is about 3200 words and will cover five or six blogs.

The title of the book (Revelation) is a translation of the Greek word for apocalypse (apokalupsis). Apokalupsis is a compound word that means revelation, disclosure or uncovering. What is uncovered in Revelation is a cosmic picture of Jesus Christ and a vision of “what must soon take place” (Rev 1:1). Revelation is the last book of the New Testament and is the great finale of the biblical symphony, drawing together names, places, stories, and themes from the rest of Scripture (AA 585).

The authorship of Revelation. The author of Revelation identifies himself as John (Rev 1:1, 4, 9; 22:8), God’s servant or slave (Rev 1:1), and “your brother” (Rev 1:9). Apparently he was well-enough known to the churches of Asia Minor that he needed no further designation to gain the confidence of his readers. Though he is not directly called a prophet (but see Rev 22:8-9), his book is several times called a “prophecy” (Rev 1:3; 22:7, 10, 18, 19).

All known Christian writers through the middle of the Third Century attributed Revelation to John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, the author of the Gospel and epistles known by the same name. These writers believed that John was living in Ephesus until the time of Trajan (98-117 A.D.) and was buried there. So the traditional view of Revelation’s authorship has had strong external support through the centuries.

The first serious challenge to the traditional view came from Dionysius of Alexandria (died around 265 A.D.). He offered the following arguments: 1) There are substantial literary differences between Revelation and the Gospel of John, 2) the author did not claim to be a disciple or eyewitness of Jesus, 3) the Greek of the Gospel is grammatically correct but that of Revelation is not, 4) the author of the Gospel is anonymous while the author of Revelation names himself several times. In addition to these arguments, Eusebius of Caesarea (circa 325 A.D.) understood Papias (early second century) to believe that John the Apostle had died much earlier than the writing of Revelation. These considerations seem to have exacerbated the Eastern church’s doubts with regard to the canonicity of the book.

The evidence just cited is not as strong or convincing as might appear at first glance. 1) While there are differences between John and Revelation, there are some striking similarities as well; “the water of life” (Rev 21:6; 22:17, cf. John 4:10; 7:37-38), “keep the (my) word” (Rev 3:8, 10, cf. John 8:51, 52, 55; 15:20), the use of “name” (Rev 6:8, cf. John 1:6; 3:1). While the word for “Lamb” is different, only the Gospel and Revelation apply the concept of lamb to Jesus Christ (Rev 5:6 and 27 other times, cf. John 1:29, 36), both books refer to Jesus as “the Word” (Rev 19:13; John 1:1, 14), and both books make unusual use of the verb for “tabernacle” (Rev 7:15; John 1:14). They also have in common words like witness, life, death, thirst, hunger and conquest. Many of the differences between the Gospel of John and Revelation can be attributed to the difference in genre between gospel and apocalypse.

As noted above (items 2 and 4), the author of the Gospel is anonymous, so in neither case does the writer feel the need to detail who he is. 3) Greek was not John’s native language and editorial assistance would have been much more available to him in Ephesus than on Patmos. In addition, Semitic thinking and allusions to the Greek Old Testament explain a lot of the “solecisms” in Revelation. John wrote in Greek but thought in Hebrew. 5) The works of Papias are lost and the fragments cited by Eusebius are ambiguous. While historical certainty in this matter is not possible, the arguments for the traditional view of John the Apostle as the author of Revelation are at least as reasonable and valid as those that deny his authorship.

Unlike many books of the New Testament, determining the identity of the human author of Revelation is of relatively little importance to interpretation. This book is not, as earlier editions of the Bible had it, “The Revelation of St. John the Divine,” the book is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1).