The Book of Revelation
Welcome to our study! Currently, we are sorting our way through the opening of John's major revelatory visions. You can find the current and previous topics, organized passage by passage, from most recent to least recent, by scrolling down this screen.
What can you expect in this group? This is an interdenominational study group examining the Book of Revelation--as you can imagine, it may get a little crazy. So be prepared for anything! Everyone's thoughts, comments and perspectives regarding the Book of Revelation are more than welcome, as long as they fall within the updated group guidelines that govern this study and discussion group. But, as a general rule of thumb, as long as we continue in Christ's love, every opinion is welcome here--even the opinions you or I disagree with. If you feel that this unacceptable, this group may not be for you. Intolerance will not be tolerated! (Catch the irony? Food for thought: Do the truly tolerant have to put up with the intolerant?)
If you would like to start slow, you can INTRODUCE YOURSELF on on this page.
What can you expect from me? I approach Revelation from a comparative, New-to-Old-Testament angle, meaning I go through scripture by scripture, passage by passage, and do my best to track down the Old Testament origins of the imagery the Revelator is using. I do this because I believe it is part of the intention of the Revelator to force us to understand the origins of our Christian faith, which sees Jesus as the fulfillment of Jewish scriptures. Accordingly, I will personally be venturing more into the past, and less into the future--but don't take this as discouragment to post in the opposite direction, and focus on what Revelation may have to say about the future.
Update: Due to the volatile and controversial nature of Revelation, and the breadth of information to be covered, this study will be much more text-oriented than our previous Gospel of John study. This means that we are discouraging posts that don't pertain directly to the text. A little topic-straying is fine, but if things veer off into left field, I will start clicking "delete" to keep us on track. So save your work--I know it can be real frustrating to lose what you wrote.
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: If you have just joined our group, your account's default settings have signed you up to receive every post from every poster at your registered email address. People often get very tired of this option, especially when the topic is a popular or controversial one. To turn off this option, click the My subscription link on the menu to the left of your screen, and you will be guided to the appropriate menu. You do not have to leave the group to stop receiving email. But you can if you want :)
View our successfully completed Gospel of John group study here. Good stuff!
You can contact me at any time with issues via my email address at justinstaller@yahoo.com.
God bless!
Seven Seals (Chapter 6)
Now we get to the "fun" stuff in most people's minds--the terrible images of havoc and destruction poured out on the world. Here we examine the infamous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the first six broken seals, and the death of many peoples. Enjoy.
The House of God (Chapter 4)
Although the House of God is a metaphor that properly carries Revelation from beginning to end, John's readers would be most consciously aware of entering this spiritual building as we enter the fourth and fifth chapters. We will explore the Temple imagery of Revelation wherever it pops up, but now--it REALLY pops up.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chapter 1)
Alright. Here we go--the first chapter of Revelation. Highly charged imagery, dense Jewish symbolism, intense cultural and religious pressure, and a rich history of literature collide, producing (in my opinion) the greatest spiritual vision in the Christian experience. If you can enter into this vision, you will see Christ.
Preparing
Here are some resources you can glance at as we prepare to begin Revelation within the next couple of days.
Updated Group Guidelines
--This is an INTER-denominational study group, which means posters--while free to write anything at all regarding the current reading--are encouraged to express their own thoughts and ideas about the text, and not their thoughts and feelings about the thoughts and feelings of other posters. The forum posting policy is in the Official Bulletin Board here. If Joe Unitarian disagrees with Bob Orthodox, don't mention it. Just don't say "Amen" in your head, and move on to the next post :)
Learning to Read Prophecy
The Book of Revelation stands at the end of a very long line of prophetic books. To understand the Revelator's message, it is very handy to understand the patterns and styles he is deliberately following.
These are some brief lessons that will help you orientate yourself in the world of apocalyptic prophecy. These lessons barely touch directly on the actual content of Revelation, but I highly recommend taking a look at the listed scriptures, just to get an idea of some ways the Spirit of God inspires prophecy.
Introductions
If you can, take a moment to introduce yourself? What do you hope to gain from our group study? What excites you about the Gospel of John? Let us know!