Interpretive models for the book of revelation as a whole. The book of revelation is a fascinating book, and the debate regarding its interpretation will continue. In the history of the church, five predominant approaches have emerged. One of the first objections raised against preterism often confused with hyper preterism, or, pantellism is based on revelation 1. In his introduction, strauss says, genesis is the book of commencement. These understandings are distinct with their own notable characteristics. Hermeneutics of preterism commentary a testimony of. What is the preterist interpretation of revelation. The historicist view teaches that the book of revelation is a symbolic presentation of church history beginning in the first century a. Studies in eschatology february 2, 2019 by david orton in considering principles of interpreting the revelation of jesus christ 1. Preterism denies the future, literal fulfillment of most of its predictions, focusing instead on allegory and symbolism.
Sermons from the book of revelation 3 the book of revelation introduction part one introduction 1. Reagans video program, revelation revealed, presents a sweeping overview of the entire book of revelation. It is a book that has prompted endless discussions about the end times with theological divisions forming around epicenters such as the rapture and the millennium. According to ladd, theology, 671, the preterist interpretation rests partly on the assumption that the genre of revelation is very similar to other jewish apocalyptic literature such as the apocalypse of enoch, the assumption of moses, 4 ezra and baruch and is therefore interpreted similarly.
The historicist view follows a straight line of continuous fulfillment of prophecy which starts in daniels time and goes through john. The vast majority of christians find the full preterist interpretation of biblical. And if i ever gain the courage to preach on the book of revelation, this book. An issue that must be addressed before proceeding to an examination of the text of revelation is our basic hermeneutical approach to the book. An overview of revelation multimedia training kit covers the book of revelation verse by verse.
Preterists believe the dating of the book of revelation is of vital importance and that it was written before the destruction of jerusalem in ad 70. The interpretation of revelation has always been a subject of debate among bible interpreters. The preterist view of the end times is based on a symbolic view of the book of revelation that holds most of its prophecies have already been fulfilled. The book of revelation is the most difficult of all new testament books to interpret because of the extensive symbolism. In this approach to the book the symbols and content therein relate only to events and. All views believe that god is sovereign and in charge of all that occurs in history and its ultimate conclusion. Preterism holds that the contents of revelation constitute a prophecy of events that were fulfilled in the 1st century.
The author identifies three distinct systems of interpretation of revelation. Preterists teach that the book of revelation is primarily a prophecy about the roman war against the jews in israel that began in a. A third method of interpretation is the preterist method. The historicist view teaches that the book of revelation is a symbolic presentation of church history beginning in the first century ad through the end of age. There are three systems put forth by amillennialists and if most christians knew how these systems of literary study began, they would reject them outright. Jan 02, 2020 the preterist interpretation of scripture regards the book of revelation as a symbolic picture of firstcentury conflicts, not a description of what will occur in the end times.
Revelation speaks of things that are already history. The term preterism is based on the latin preter, which means past. This is known as the quick fix of 96 for if revelation was written under domitians reign then the preterist. The preterist interpretation therefore depends on a prespring 67 date. The book of the revelation contains outlined studies of the last book of the bible. Which says that when christ comes, every eye will see him. The term preterism comes from the latin praeter, meaning past. The story of allegorical interpretation is a fascinating study that ultimately makes a strong impact on the interpretation of the book of revelation.
For example, the imagery of the woman and the dragon are not just symbols of the rome and jerusalemthey are real images that john saw that are also visible to. Jan 02, 2020 the preterist thinks the primary interpretation refers to past events, but what is taught about those events is supposed to give strength and encouragement to the saints in their current struggle. Preterism is the belief that the prophecies in matthew 24 spoken by jesus on the mount of olives and the book of revelation were largely or completely fulfilled in the past, particularly in the events leading up to and surrounding the destruction of jerusalem by the romans in a. Eschatology and the book of revelation the four understandings of the book of revelation introduction over the last 1900 years, four primary understandings of the book of revelation have developed the idealist, preterist, historicist and futurist viewpoints. One of the first objections raised against preterism often confused with hyperpreterism, or, pantellism is based on revelation 1. Preterists understand the necessity of dating the book early in neros reign a.
The preterist interpretation of scripture regards the book of revelation as a symbolic picture of firstcentury conflicts, not a description of what will occur in the end times. Of particular importance is the argument that the end time prophecies of. Preterist interpretation commentary a testimony of. Gumerlock, writing in his book revelation and the first century, states that luis alcasars commentary on revelation, published in 1614, was not the first to take a preterist approach to the main body of the apocalypse chs. The preterist school, the presentist school, and the prophetic. The timing of the prophecies is the key to understanding revelation.
According to preterism, all prophecy in the bible is really history. Preterism properly focuses on the relevance of the book s teaching to its first recipients, the church of the first century. Four main approaches to interpreting the book of revelation. Hence, there is a recurring need to set forth the first principles of the preterist interpretation of scripture. May 07, 2019 as to the identity of the ten kings of revelation 17. Scholars say that no other book of the new testament can be interpreted in more ways than revelation. An excellent partial preterist commentary on revelation. He concluded that the correct method of interpreting the book of revelation was to blend the futurist and preterist methods. Eclectic an eclectic approach to reading revelation attempts to combine the.
Jul 18, 2016 when interpreting the book of revelation there are two important elements to remember. Preterist the preterist approach emphasizes the historical context of revelation and tries to understand it the way johns audience would have understood it. The date of the book of revelation liberty university. In order for revelation to be a prediction of the future rev. A commentary of the book of revelation bible truth. This literary style is ancient poetry that wrapsup real events in poetic symbolism to give these events meaning. Preterist interpretation commentary using a testimony of jesus christ. Absolutely stunning visuals with breathtaking colors is what this book is all about. The central theme of this commentary on revelation is to illustrate the fact that the book of revelation is not a book of empty symbols as is often supposed in preterist circles. D they point out incorrectly that revelation was written in 95 or 96 a. What is the idealist interpretation of the book of revelation. According to preterism, revelation is a heavily symbolic, apocalyptic and prophetic book that was written primarily to warn readers of impending. The futurist approach understands everything from revelation 4. When confronted with the preterist view of eschatology people often say, wasnt the book of revelation written after 70 a.
May the god of truth help us all to a preservation of that unity of thought so desirable in the large issues involved in the interpretation of the book of revelation. This is known as the quick fix of 96 for if revelation was written under domitians reign then the preterist view has a problem. Book of revelation for dummies cheat sheet dummies. The preterist interpretation of revelation holds that the events spoken of in this book were all specifically fulfilled in the first century. The preterist view teaches that the events recorded in the book of revelation were largely fulfilled in ad 70 with the fall of the jerusalem temple. Looking for a rigid, wooden literal interpretation of the prophecies of the book is against the context of the very first verse of the book.
A redemptivehistorical, modified idealist approach to the. Jun 28, 2017 a lot of people are scared of the book of revelation, or at least hesitant to read it. This view has precedent in the early church, but it did not become widespread until the nineteenth century. The problem with a consistently preterist reading of revelation, however, is that the book becomes largely irrelevant to the present struggles of the church or its expectation for the future fulfillment of gods promises. This same method of interpretation can be applied to most of the imagery of revelation, from the four horsemen, to the dragon, to the bowls. Historicist interpretations of the book of revelation wikipedia. Despite our various views, there are some common threads upon which christians agree. An evangelical preterist interpretation of revelation in the last. The book of revelation partial preterism the preterist.
Jun 25, 2012 an issue that must be addressed before proceeding to an examination of the text of revelation is our basic hermeneutical approach to the book. Over the course of the churchs history there have been four main approaches. The interpretation of the book revelation lamb and. The preterist approach to revelation the unfolding of. The historicist view follows a straight line of continuous fulfillment of prophecy. The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope.
The book of revelation is notoriously difficult to understand. Preterism understands certain eschatological passages which are yet future as having already been fulfilled. The historicist system of interpretation understands the book of revelation as setting forth the major events of christian history spanning the time of john until the present. A common solution is that they are ten roman provincial governors. Historicist interpretations of the book of revelation. A case for the futurist interpretation of the book of revelation introduction while previous generations of dispensational interpreters may have enjoyed the luxury of the widespread assumption that the book of revelation primarily concerns future events, such a golden age has now come to an end. One of the most intriguing books of the bible is the book of revelation. All biblical interpreters understand that certain prophecies have been fulfilled, but preterists differ in that they interpret a greater portion of scripture as already having come to pass. It fittingly has the last place ending the scriptures and gods revelation to man. The format for the main body of revelation, chapters 4 through 19, consists of four columns for the four major views. First, revelation is a fulfillment of the sixtyfive books that came before it. What is the futurist interpretation of the book of. Revelation is a book that many christians find confusing due to the foreign nature of its apocalyptic imagery.
Ironically, it is the only book of the bible that says you are blessed for reading it. The historicist view sees revelation as a record of the course of history from the time of the apostles to the end of the world. Futurist preterist the preterist position is that most if not all of the prophecies of the book of revelation were fulfilled in the 1st century a. Parts of the old testament, particularly in the book of daniel, are also written in the apocalyptic genre. Historicism, a method of interpretation in christian eschatology which associates biblical prophecies with actual historical events and identifies symbolic beings with historical persons or societies, has been applied to the book of revelation by many writers. The interpreters of revelation are divided into three main schools. Its meaning is positive, not fearful or terrifying to those who serve god. The futurist expects the specific events in revelation to unfold at the end of time, yet revelation is still applicable today as the saints face. An evangelical preterist interpretation of revelation in the last disciple series. Popular preterism books meet your next favorite book. He takes the partial preterist position, meaning he believes that the bulk of the.
Notice that this interpretation is validated by the fact that revelation chapter 12 puts the starting point of a time and times and half a time the last half of daniels 70 th week at jesus resurrection the birth of the male child, rev. As more and more people become serious students of last things, the number of those investigating preterism is constantly increasing. The revelation of jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servantsthings which must shortly take place. Revelation chapter 12 partial preterism the preterist. Preterist those who subscribe to this view believe that the events in revelation took place in the.
His commentary on the book of revelation, written while a mild preterist, takes revelation rev. One helpful way to meet the challenge of interpreting the book of revelation is to become acquainted with some of the main approaches to its interpretation. This is the prevailing view among modern scholars who arent aligned with orthodox christianity. The book of revelation is not about the second coming of christ. The preterist view teaches that the events recorded in the book of revelation were largely fulfilled in seventy a. Partialpreterist commentaries on revelation reformed books.
Hence, in the preterist approach, the number 144,000 is clearly symbolic in meaning, so they interpret it as such. The preterist approach to revelation the unfolding of biblical. Whether writing just before, right at, or just after 70 c. Mar 04, 20 once last point about alcasar being the founder of the preterist school of interpretation needs to be made.
The preterist criticisms of futurist interpretation are, in my estimation, the strong suit of the preterist position and surely merit heeding, but, as. Partial preterist interpretation of the revelation, by. After years of studying the book of revelation, i have become persuaded of the classical preterist position. These symbols, which often seem strange and bizarre, have resulted in. There are four basic approaches to interpreting revelation. This school of thought interprets the book of daniel as referring to events that happened from the 7th century bc until the first century ad, while seeing the prophecies of revelation as events that happened in the first century ad. At the very beginning of the book of revelation we are told explicitly when the prophesies contained in the book were to be fulfilled. John the divine is an example of apocalyptic writing a form that delivers a message using symbols, images and numbers. Three usages of the kingdom of heaven in scripture.
So begins the book of revelation, one of the most challenging books of the bible 3. In the twelve century joachim of fiore claimed that he. Was the preterist interpretation of revelation invented by. A case for the futurist interpretation of the book of revelation introduction while previous generations of dispensational interpreters may have enjoyed the luxury of the widespread assumption that the book of revelation primarily concerns. The preterist believes that the context of the prophecies of revelation must be determined in accordance to the stated intent of the book. Our request is that the reader give the degree of serious study appropriate to this important matter.
Reagans book, wrath and glory, covers the book of revelation chapter by chapter. Introductory thoughts on allegorical interpretation and the. Most prophecies in the book of revelation were fulfilled during the time of the roman. The visions he received from god were recorded and became the book of revelation.
While many associate the word apocalypse with great disaster, the book of revelation begins and ends by saying that those who read, understand, and apply its message would be happy for doing so. There are hundreds of quotes, references, and allusions to both the old and new testaments in the book of revelation. This view maintains that the words in the entire book have. The book was written specifically to seven churches in asia. The book of revelation also called the revelation of john or the revelation of st. Preterism, a christian eschatological view, interprets some partial preterism or all full preterism prophecies of the bible as events which have already happened.