Wick Stick
Well-known member
I'm glad you asked.this is not prophecy?
so
what is this?
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass
There is a literary style called an apocryphon, which was used in Judaism and some of the mystery religions. An apocryphon is a book in which all the names and places have been changed, usually using a theme.
This is done so that a person found in possession of the apocryphon won't be arrested and executed when found in possession of literatury that, say... promotes sedition or accuses the current emperor of improprieties.
An apocalypse, then, is when someone initiated into the mysteries of the book sits down with an apocryphon, and explains what the symbols mean so that the average reader can understand the book's meaning.
In the case of The Apocalypse, there are a series of "visions" which act as the apocryphon (and which closely mirror Daniel). The apostle John is the one who is receiving the explanation thereof, and it is Jesus doing the 'splaining.
So basically, everything that John SEES ought to be interpreted, while a large portion of what is SAID to him, is literal. An example:
This needs interpretation:
1:12 And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.
This IS the interpretation, so don't try to reinterpret it, as well:
1:20 The mystery of the ... seven golden candlesticks. The ... seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
When people get lost in Revelation, half the time it's because they are trying to interpret something literal as if it were figurative. The other half of the time, it's because they're trying to apply it to themselves in this day and age, which is not the place or age the book was written for.
Jarrod