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NASB | Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 1:1 This is the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries], which God [the Father] gave to Him to show to His bond-servants (believers) the things which must soon take place [in their entirety]; and He sent and communicated it by His angel (divine messenger) to His bond-servant John, |
Subject: Idealist View of Revelation |
Bible Note: Idealist View of Revelation Does anyone hold to the idealist view? If he does, then he believes that Revelation is not a book of prophecy. If he does, then he believes that Revelation contains no literal events or prophecy. It is merely a collection of stories. 'The idealist approach interprets Revelation as a timeless depiction of the cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil. In this view, the book contains neither historical allusions nor predictive prophecy. This view also ignores Revelation's prophetic character and, if carried to its logical conclusion, severs the book from any connection with actual historical events. Revelation then becomes merely a collection of stories designed to teach spiritual truth.' (MacArthur Study Bible, Word Publishing, 1997) Four Basic Views 'There are four basic approaches to interpreting Revelation: 'Preterist - Those who subscribe to this view believe that the events in Revelation took place in the first-century Roman empire. 'Idealist - This view holds that Revelation is full of a cosmic struggle between good and evil. It is a book that contains stories of spiritual truth, but no literal events or prophecy. There is no connection to historical events. 'Historicist - Events are seen generally from history rather than as specific events. There are no time limitations placed on the book. 'Futuristic - This view insists that Revelation chapter 6 to 22 refer to future events. Regarding this view, John MacArthur says, "Only this view does justice to Revelation's claim to be prophecy and interprets the entire book by the consistent grammatical-historical method used for the rest of Scripture."' (http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/meaning-of-the-book-of-revelation-faq.htm) |