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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | ___-trib satisfactory? | Revelation | waldo700 | 20407 | ||
I do not believe Revelation is trying to give us "chronology" of endtime events. After all, it is not a book of history -- it is prophecy. And prophecy is often told in poetic form, using repetition, allegory, symbolism and other literary devices. Even though the events described in prophecy are real historical events which will in actuality occur (or have already occurred in some cases), the events are told in a specific genre of writing -- poetic and apocolyptic. While it is always about true events, it is not always meant to be a historical accounting of how those events will be played out. This is obvious when you just take a look at double fulfillments from the Old Testament and the fact that OT prophecies are not at all given in chronological order but rather topical order. For these reasons, I would say it is like chasing one's tail to study "rapture chronology." The point of the prophecies is not to give us a historical timetable of precisely what will happen when. The point of prophecy is to declare the judgments which God will execute against people for violating His laws and also how God will bring about the coming of Christ, (both His first and second comings), in order to save people from God's judgments against them for their sins. The main point is that looking for chronologies is to entirely miss the context of prophetic passages. We need to ask, "What is the GENRE of the book which I'm reading?" With prophetic books, we are not reading historical narratives, we are reading prophetic, judgmental pronouncements told in non-chronological, but topical order, using the literary devices of apocalyptic writing and poetry. Regards, waldo garcia www.choosecalvinism.org |
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2 | ___-trib satisfactory? | Revelation | Morant61 | 20427 | ||
Response...................................... Greetings Waldo! May I agree with one point and mildly disagree with one point? I agree with your assesment that caution must be used when interpreting prophetics passages. Many times, passages turned out to mean something other than what people thought. Just look at many of the messianic prophecies. However, I mildly disagree that there isn't any chronology in books like Revelation. The best example of what I mean is the sequence of Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls. The seventh seal is the beginning of the sequence called the seven trumpets. Thus, the seals most occur both logically and chronologically prior to the trumpets. The seventh trumpet is the beginning of the sequence of the seven bowls. So, certain events can be placed within a logical framework based upon their connection to the seal, trumpets, and bowls. But, this only provides a very broad timetable! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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3 | ___-trib satisfactory? | Revelation | waldo700 | 20429 | ||
I would indeed agree with you concerning the fact that there IS a chronology to something like the seven trumpets, (and probably other prophetic passages as well). It's just that -- and perhaps you will agree with this -- I think the overall point of all such passages is not the chronology per se, or to give us an order of events to occur; but rather, the overall point is that of God's judgment applied to the reprobate and His grace applied to the elect in increasing measure until the glorious appearance of the Lord Jesus. Especially in Revelation, the point is that the "re-creation" mirrors the creation of Gen. 1. Seven days (Gen 1) ends with seven scrolls, seven trumpets and seven bowls. In Gen. 1, the 7th day is the day of rest; and in Revelation, the seventh item is that which unfolds into the next higher event, (that being the next grouping of seven). The last event, the culmination of all previous "types" of the Sabbath is the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. In sum, in this sense there are definitely "chronologies" or "chronological orders" to things in prophecy. But their purpose is not to give us a roadmap across the ages of history; their purpose is to give us a sense of increasing wonder at the holy and climactic and ultimate revelation of the appearance of Christ. This revelation is not merely repeated in different ways for emphasis, but it is repeated in different ways which grow in intensity with each repetition. Christ's appearance is to be to us like the swelling of the greatest of sunrises. (Son-rises). Regards, waldo garcia www.choosecalvinism.org |
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4 | ___-trib satisfactory? | Revelation | Morant61 | 20431 | ||
Support....................................... Greetings Waldo! Thanks for the response! I would agree that the sequences that are there are very vague and not the main point! :-) I think though that the logical sequence of the primary events like the 70th week, judgement, rapture, ect..., can be determined - mostly in relation to one another. Well, I've got to leave for work! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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