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Lesson OneWhat Kind of Book Is Revelation?3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoWhy Was Revelation Written?3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeRevelation Is Too Hard to Understand!3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FourIsn’t Revelation a Depressing Book About Doom and Gloom?3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FiveHow Should We Apply Revelation Today?3 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 265
Discussion Questions
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Why is it so important to understand what type of book Revelation is? How has what you’ve learned in this lecture changed your understanding of the book of Revelation?
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It is very important to understand what type of book Revelation is – a prophecy, an Apocolypse (Revelation), and lastly a letter written by John to the 7 churches in Asia Minor. The one thing I really loved learning about John’s Revelation is the fact that if what he wrote would not have been understood by the people living at that time, then that interpretation is probably incorrect. Knowing the the book is written highly symbolic language is also very helpful so that we don’t make the mistake of trying to interpret the book literally. I also read somewhere that in order to understand the Book of Revelation it is crucial to have a deep understanding of the OT and NT (Old and New Testaments).
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To understand that it is symbolic and not literal
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It is important to understand what the book of revelation is about so you can make the correct interpretation and how to apply it to the current time.
I’ve learned that the book of revelation is just about future event but a letter to the early church about there current condition in the Roman empire and how God was going to judge the nation of roman.
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I think it is important to understand what type of book Revelation is so that I can better distinguish between literal and symbolic language.
The lecture was a help in why it is necessary to distinguish between literal and symbolic language. -
I suspect the Book of Revelation is meant for the last generation of believers or Christ-followers specifically. Nothing has really changed concerning my understanding of the Book of Revelation.
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Why is Revelation’s first-century historical context important to understanding the book? How has your understanding of Revelation changed after learning more about its historical context?
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I have learned and understand so far that Revelation is a proclaiming type prophecy plus an apocalype. It communicates in symbols and metaphors. John used symbols and images to refer to real things, places, people and events. The people of the first-century could understand exactly what he saw because he described his visions using symbols. Therefore, I now understand the historical context of Revelation–it describes things symbolically.
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We need to read Revelation with the same viewpoint or understanding as its first century readers would have. We can only do this by understanding how they looked at prophets and prophecy. By understanding the difference between foretelling prophecy and forthtelling prophecy we can better understand the different parts of Revelation and how each part interacts with each other. By understanding that it is also a letter helps us understand that John was writing in a kind of personal way also. By understanding that it is also an apocalypse book we can see how it is unveiling or uncovering what John saw and experienced in his vision.
I now see that there are different parts of Revelation that can be looked at in different ways yet they intertwine to give us a full sense of what John has seen. It was interesting to learn that there are two kinds of prophecy and how each one is used. -
Because our understanding is informed in part by having some knowledge of what living was like in those times for John and the people to whom he was writing . Only by that can we know what the ruling authority was , the cultural practices, and the challenges faced by Christians in an environment of idolatry and paganism.
My understanding of the Revelation has already become better informed through this short course. -
Through using symbols and what would seem strange images, John was able to have the people of the first century see the Rome in a much different light.
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The historical context helps you understand when the book was written, the background, and the culture.