Revelation is an example of apocalyptic literature, so popular in Jewish writing. How you read this type of literature depends on what you think it is trying to do. If you take these texts primarily as predictions of events yet to come, you will scour them for clues about what could happen in the future. But if you see Revelation (as well as the Old Testament book Daniel) mostly as elaborate illustrations of temptations that people of faith face in every age, you’ll probably look for connections between your present struggles and the temptations of past believers. If you read them as writings that provide a God-centered perspective on what was happening in the times when the texts were written, you will spend your time seeking hints of first-century events.

How are we to understand the letters to real-life local churches at the beginning of the book of Revelation? Are these epistles to be read simply as introductory letters for the seven original  recipients of this apocalypse? Or do they represent examples of churches that exist in every age?  How do the letters connect to the visions in the rest of the book? Are they historical retellings of the entire story of Christianity, encoded in the form of letters?

Let’s do another blog that explores the various ways people have struggled to understand this enigmatic book.

Exiled on the island of Patmos, the apostle John wrote Revelation around 95 A.D. to offer hope to persecuted Christians. This book has puzzled generations of readers because of its highly symbolic language. However, it’s not that weird or unique; much of its symbolism is universal (red stands for war, for example), and much of its ideas come from familiar Old Testament books like Daniel and Isaiah.

Think of it as a combination of several forms—an apocalypse (meaning something is unveiled for the reader), a prophecy, and a letter to several churches. Some people have viewed the book as pertaining only to the times of John, others see it as gradually happening over the past two thousand years, still others see the events described as still ahead during the end times, while a fourth group believes the entire book should be taken as symbolic only, a representation of good struggling with evil.

No matter how it is interpreted, Revelation’s use of story and poetry will continue to dazzle its readers. It is the most literary book of the Bible and has been extremely influential as a  literary model for Milton, Blake, and others. With its awesome scenes of heaven and earth and mind-boggling confrontations, Revelation makes an appropriate place to conclude the Bible. Let’s dig into this book in future blogs. For now, sit back, get comfortable, pick this book up, and get ready for a roller-coaster of a ride.

This small but interesting letter was written by Jesus’ brother Jude some time in the 60’s A.D. to warn of false teachers who were spreading the same errors as 2 Peter indicated—they had said Jesus wasn’t God and that it was all right to live what Christians had considered to be sinful lives. Jude is the last of the general letters that started with James; here he defends orthodoxy in the church.

Think about these items as you read the book. Some see this letter as very poetic. Could you defend this? In verses 3 and 4 explain what the position of the false teachers was. Verses 5-19 allude to famous examples in the Old Testament regarding doom of the ungodly. What are these examples? What is the point of 20-23? See 8-10, 12-13, 16, 19. These sections represent a good organizational strategy. What’s repeated here? How does this repetition act as a transition for what came before it (5-7, 11, 14-15, 17-18)? What do each of these sections contain?

Jude refers to books not in the Bible (9, 15). This makes some people uncomfortable to have such references. But see what Paul did in 1 Corinthians 10:7, 2 Timothy 3:8, and Titus 1:12. The way Jude proceeded in his argument might be called invective. Look up the term. Can it ever be an effective tool for argumentation? Critics consider the doxology at the end as very lyrical. Explain.

John, the apostle of Jesus who also wrote the fourth gospel, wrote these three letters as late as 90 A.D. The first letter warns about false teachers who were saying Jesus wasn’t God. It also encouraged Christians to have faith and love. The second letter followed with similar themes and urged discernment when traveling evangelists showed up with messages for the church. This last epistle needs some background explanation. It was written to a church leader, Gaius, telling him about the lack of hospitality for itinerant teachers shown by Diotrephes and urging Gaius to welcome another traveling teacher.

Here are some things to consider as you read this final letter of John’s. Read between the lines. What do you learn about Gaius? Look for similarities with 1 John to determine if this is the same author. Compare verse 11 with 1 John 3:6 and 4:20. How does this letter reflect the ideas in 1 and 2 John? See verse 8. How is this a theme for the letter? Both 2 and 3 John are extremely short. What value do they have for Christians?

John, the apostle of Jesus who also wrote the fourth gospel, wrote these letters as late as 90 A.D. As I mentioned in the previous blog, the first letter warns about false teachers who were saying Jesus wasn’t God. It also encourages Christians to have faith and love. The second letter follows with similar themes and urges discernment when traveling evangelists show up with messages for the church. We can see from this warning that Christianity was spreading beyond what the first disciples had covered. The religion was being carried throughout the Roman Empire.

Here are a few things to consider as you read this short epistle. Look for similarities with 1 John to see if both appear to be by the same author. Compare verse 6 here with 1 John 5:3 and verse 9 here with 1 John 2:23. Which parts reflect the ideas of 1 John? See 1-2 for the theme. There is a heresy mentioned in verse 7. How is this Gnostic (look up the definition of this early Christian heresy)?

John, the apostle of Jesus who also wrote the fourth gospel, wrote 1, 2, and 3 John as late as 90 A.D. False teachers had  arisen in several early Christian communities, and they were undermining basic teachings of the apostles concerning the identity of Jesus and his death on the cross.  These teachers had moved on, having taken some of the believers with them.  John wrote these three letters to assure the remaining church members of the certainty of their faith and to refute the claims of these early false teachers.

Some questions you might consider:

1. See his purpose in 1:4 and 2:1, 12-14, 21, 26. Where do you see an additional summary of his purpose in chapter 5?
2. One major heresy was gnosticism. Find out what it was. See 2:22.
3. John uses contrasts effectively. Children of God are contrasted with children of the devil. What other contrasts do you see?
4. One key theme is love. See 4:8. If this is true, how does the rest of the letter deal with this statement?
5. A good way to see if a book is by the same author as another book is to check wording and style. Compare the following from the gospel of John with 1 John. The first passage will be from John while the second one will be from 1 John—1:1,14/1:1, 16:24/1:4, 3:19-21/1:6-7, 13:34-35/2:7, 8:44/3:8, 5:24/3:14, 8:47/4:6, 5:32,37/5:9, 3:36/5:12.

How would you characterize John’s approach to arguing in 2:18, 2:22, 3:10?

Composed in the mid-60’s A.D. when Nero was persecuting Christians, these letters by Peter speak of suffering and offer hope. The second letter sounds like a farewell address done to warn of dangers coming from within the church.

Here are some key verses with questions:

See 1:3-11. How does this summarize his teaching?

Peter anticipated the objections of false teachers in 1:16-21, 2:3-10, 3:5-10. Explain.

The passage in 3:3-13 is considered apocalyptic. Explain.

What were the characteristics of the false teachers? See 2:1-19.

We can use references inside letters to help date them. See 3:15-16. How would that help us date 2 Peter?

See 2:2-17 and compare to Jude 3-18. What’s the same? What’s different? Who borrowed from whom? Any way to tell?

The paragraphing here is very clear. See how each idea is separated into paragraphs—outline key points for the first ten paragraphs.

There is much contrast in 2 Peter. What is the major contrast?

1 Peter

Composed in the mid-60’s A.D. when Nero was persecuting Christians, 1 Peter speaks of suffering and offers hope. He tells of the identity of Christians as a reason why they suffer– they are strangers in this world. As God’s special people, they are to live lives of holiness and to be submissive to authorities.

Here are some questions to consider as you read this letter.  What should the behavior of God’s people be like? See 2:11-3:12. There is much on duties here. See what the duties are of free citizens (2:13-17), slaves (2:18-25), wives and husbands (3:1-7). Read 3:13-17. It indicates some suffering is self-inflicted. Can you think of examples? This letter was written to those being persecuted. What encouragement does he offer in 1:3-9, 1:10-12, 1:18-21, 1:22-25, 2:4-10, 2:22-25, 3:18-22, 4:17-19, 5:10-11? What is said about Christians in 2:5, 9-10? How would that strengthen a persecuted people? What do these passages refer to—1:5, 1:7, 1:13, 4:13, 5:1, 5:4? The section 3:18-19 and 4:6 puzzles many readers. Your thoughts?

This is an early letter written by James, the brother of Jesus, who was the leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem. He is mentioned by Josephus, a famous Jewish historian, so we have no doubt of his existence and his relationship to Jesus. It may have been composed as early as 48 A.D. James is the first of seven letters (James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude) called general epistles because they are for a general audience, not for a specific church.  Contrast these with the letters sent to particular churches–1 and 2 Corinthians, for example. James has been called the Proverbs of the New Testament as the author focuses on the practices of a Christian as opposed to the beliefs of a Christian. In the letter are all sorts of practical advice regarding anger, boasting, patience, and prayer.

Some questions to consider: Does this seem more like a letter or a sermon? Many see 1:22 as the key for the overall theme. Do you agree? See 4:13-5:4. What does James attack? No other letter of the New Testament has as many references to the teachings of Jesus as James does. He often uses phrases and ideas from Jesus. See the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) or Luke’s Sermon on the Plain (chapter 6). Where do you see echoes of these in James? Where do you see echoes of Proverbs in James? How would you describe his tone (emotional attitude)—warm? witty? sarcastic? impersonal? shocked?

In my previous post, I covered the discussion over the author of Hebrews. Let’s take a look now at the content of the book.

In the late 60’s A.D., persecution of Christians was under way. For Jewish converts the troubles were causing some to wonder if it was all worth it. The author of Hebrews, an unknown person, used this letter to argue for the supremacy of Christianity over the Jewish faith so many had come out of. As part of this argument, he presents Jesus as superior to any Jewish prophet or priest. Some have called Hebrews the fifth gospel; the other four told of the earthly ministry of Jesus while Hebrews explains his heavenly ministry.

Jesus is shown as superior to different things here. See 1:4-2:18, 3:1-4:13, 4:14-10:18. What things is he superior to? What else is Jesus shown to be superior to? See 8:1-9:10. How is Jesus shown to be the best high priest? See 4:14/7:4; 4:15/7:26; 7:27; 10:10-14.

Regarding his organization, the author is careful to use key announcements as he shifts from one point to another. See 1:4, 2:17, 5:9-10, 10:36-39, 12:12-13. See how each is a transition that reflects on the previous passage and introduces a new passage.

Critics note the author linked Jewish and Greek thought. Plato, a Greek, believed there were two parallel worlds—a perfect eternal world of spirit and an inferior changing world of earth. What we do here is but a reflection of the invisible heavenly reality. See where the author uses this concept in Hebrews.

One final point–The book is full of exhortations. Note places you see “let us.”