Schaff's Bible Dictionary
REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. Contents. - This is the last and the most mysterious book of the Bible. It is the divine seal of the whole. T. what Daniel is for the O. T. It gathers up all the former prophecies and extends them to the remotest future. It represents the Church in conflict with the great secular powers. It unrolls a sublime panorama of Christ's victorious march through the world's history till the appearance of the new heaven and the new earth, when the aim of creation and redemption shall be fully realized.
" It gives us the assurance that the Lord is coming in every great event, and overrules all things tor his glory and the ultimate triumph of his kingdom. Character and Aim. - The beginning and the end of Revelation are as clear and dazzling as the sunlight, but the middle is dark and mysterious as midnight, yet with the stars and the full moon shining from the firmament. The book reminds one of the chiaroscuro of the great painters, and of a mantle of the richest black broidered all over with brilliant jewels. The epistles to the seven churches, chs.
1-3, the description of the heavenly Jerusalem, chs. 20, 21, and the interspersed lyric anthems and doxologies, Rev 4:11; Rev 5:12-14; Num 7:12; Gen 14:13, etc., are as sublime, inspiring, beautiful, and familiar as are any portions of the Scriptures. They are sufficient to prove the divine inspiration of the whole. But the bulk of the book is full of puzzling enigmas which will not be satisfactorily solved before the millennium. In the light of fulfilment we shall understand this prophetic panorama of Church history, but not before. T.
(notwithstanding their obscurities, which gave rise to all sorts of conflicting interpretations), did to the Jews, before Christ's first coming, manna in the wilderness and a light shining in darkness. The history of exegesis shows that the situation of the Church materially influenced the interpretation and application of this wonderful book, and that it is in every age of the Church, especially in periods of persecution, a book of hope and comfort to all who are waiting for the coming of our blessed Lord.
- The ecclesiastical tradition (Papias, Justin Martyr, Melito of Sardes, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen) ascribes the Revelation to John the beloved disciple. This is confirmed by the testimony of the book itself. Rev 1:4, Gal 1:9; John 21:2; Rev 22:8. " It is true there are internal difficulties, especially the discrepancy between the style of the Apocalypse - which is strongly Hebraistic - and the style of the fourth Gospel, which is purer Greek.
But we must remember the difference of the subject, the intimate connection of the Apocalypse with the Hebrew prophecies of Daniel and Ezekiel, and the fact that John was "in the spirit" when the Revelation was dictated to him. , the name "Word" (Logos), as applied to Christ. Place and Time of Composition. - The visions were received on the island of Patmos, in the AEgean Sea, about 24 miles west of the coast of Asia Minor. See Patmos. d. 95, who banished several Christians to inhospitable climes. d.
70), but they differ as to the particular emperor under whom it was written, whether it was Nero (the supposed Antichrist) or Galba or Vespasianus, and they regard the book simply as a prophetic description of the approaching downfall of ancient Judaism (Jerusalem) and heathenism (Rome), and the succeeding reign of Christianity on earth as the true millennium. John, no doubt, like all the Jewish prophets, took his starting-point from his age and surroundings, but his vision extended to the most distant future of the new heavens and the new earth.
REVENGE' is the most primitive mode in which crime is dealt with in society, and the whole tendency and spirit of the Mosaic Law goes to discourage and check it. This law permitted a man to execute punishment upon the slayer of any of his relatives, but for the purpose of restraining the blood-feuds common in the East at that day. T. the feeling of revenge is strongly condemned. Matt 5:39.