How to Read (and Understand) the Book of Revelation: Dr. Michael J. Gorman

[@overthinkingchristian8732]

Gorman is one of the best scholars I know of-his commentaries have really helped me through the years and he's also so nice in person.

[@TheNintenBits]

Reading Revelation Responibly is a fanstastic book!

[@randybullard3930]

I've been standing for the pledge of allegiance and national anthem for years with my hands behind my back. Thank you for the hint on reciting the Lord's Prayer.

[@broncojeep]

Wow - I thought I was the only one who independently decided i could not pledge allegiance to our country. Great discussion.

[@thomaswhite8822]

I would love to hear your conversation with Dr. Scott Hahn on his interpretation of Revelation. It is very unique and interesting.

[@WilliamDusing]

This will be a great episode! 🎉🎉🎉

[@Jbaggy8]

I’m not a Greek scholar, but have taken extensive Greek. I have always found the comment about the difference in writing style between the gospel of John and revelation to be a little perplexing. I am sure there are good arguments, but wouldn’t we expect them to be remarkably different? One is a gospel and the other is an apocalyptic prophecy. Not to mention that Revelation is constantly quoting or taking the language from the prophets. If I wrote two works, one was an academic essay on the Trinity and the second was a political satire repurposing the language of political speeches mashed up with references from the Simpsons for color, would people say they couldn’t be the same writer? Honestly, I don’t care one way or the other if John the apostle wrote Revelation (and when I teach on Revelation I don’t argue they are the same, I think they are probably different authors) it just always seemed an odd argument to me.

[@lisad1623]

How can being 😢critical be unpatriotic? I love my children so very much i would guve my life for them, but i am at times their biggest critic. My love demands I speak the truth to them. I point out their faults or that they are headed down the wrong path ( when they don't see it themselves). I might remind them of a past decision that is now showing its consequences. Not because i want to be right, but because i want them to learn and grow and be better people. Why can't we do that for our country?

[@larrymcclain8874]

There is an alternative view today, instead of the usual dispensationalist point of view that dominates American Evangelicalism, sometimes referred to as partial preterism. We believe that the Revelation was written to seven churches in Asia, in signs or symbols of events that would begin to take place in the first century. This message of Christ to John, to deliver to these seven churches, is a message of hope, in that it demonstrates the defeat of all enemies of Christ and His church. These enemies were empowered by Satan. The first enemy, the harlot, or Old Jerusalem was defeated in 70 AD as retribution for spiritual adultery of the Jews, "We have no king but Caesar, crucify Him, let this man's blood be on us and on our children." The harlot was destroyed by the beast whose back she rode, but who hated her. The beast, which was the Roman Empire with its forced worship of its Caesar as God, was the next enemy to be destroyed. The rider of the white horse, Christ eventually defeated Rome with the gospel message, the sword of the Spirit coming from His mouth, and then against all odds and after much persecution, by the 4th century Christianity had become the national religion of the Roman Empire. The next enemy which is yet to be destroyed, is Satan himself, who had empowered the previous enemies of Christ. The Holy Spirit in His revelation of truth separates the defeat of the first two enemies (harlot, Old Jerusalem/beast, Roman Empire) from the defeat of Satan by a minimum of 1,000 years. The millennium itself is symbolic, representing a greater period of time than 1,000 years, and thus, it is still happening, and has been happening since the collapse of the Roman system of forced Emperor worship and triumph of the church over the Roman Empire. Satan then rallies his allies once again at the very end of all things, and attempts to turns the world against Christianity, in order to finally wipe it out, but just before he is successful, Christ intervenes and ends all things. Satan is destroyed, all humanity is resurrected for the final judgment, the final enemy, death is destroyed, and after this, eternity begins for all.

[@westyso.cal.8842]

Sometimes in our endeavor to “contend earnestly for the faith,” its a good practice to listen to the ideas that one disagrees with in order to develop a well thought out argument and to be better prepared to engage in those conversations of opposing views. I disagree with most of what this guy has said here, but I listen so that I am aware of the various types of bad theology that is out there.

[@katiecugini979]

So you listen to puff yourself up? You automatically assume that your beliefs and theology is 100 percent correct?

[@westyso.cal.8842]

Yes.

[@thomaswhite8822]

Your mind should be as open as your ears.