What does revelations mean?

[avalon]

What does, the last book of the bible mean? Is the apocalypse described in revelations just a massive war held on Earth similar to the Holocaust? 2) Is revelations the end of the human controlled world? 3) Is revelations describing the end of all the life on Earth? 4) Is it just the end of the world, or the end of humanity? Will Humanity survive the apocalypse? Will humans still be kings and rulers of a planet Earth? I have never understood revelations. Can anyone explain it very simply (as though I am a child)?

Regarding the meaning only from revelations book I think revelations it sounds a bit like a Titanomachy! Will Earth become badly ruined completely to never again support modern existence? or could we rebuild and who would lead us?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 1 by avalon]


REVELATION is about how God will soon solve all mankind's problems and make the earth a wonderful place to live. Who will lead us? God will lead us!

REVELATION 21:3-4

I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.

JEHOVAH'S WITNESS








FURTHER READING:

The Book of Revelation​—What Does it Mean?
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/book ... last-days/

What Is the Great Tribulation?
https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/q ... ibulation/

RELATED POSTS

Armageddon FAQ
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 178#917178

Go to other posts related to THE BIBLE, ARMAGEDON and ...THE BOOK OF REVELATION

[marco]

Regarding the meaning only from revelations book I think revelations it sounds a bit like a Titanomachy! Will Earth become badly ruined completely to never again support modern existence? or could we rebuild and who would lead us?

Revelation would normally mean some kind of clarification, some explanation. In Revelation we have absurd symbols such as might be conjured up by primitive magicians - perhaps ones familiar with the Titans. We have quite the opposite of revelation; we have meaning concealed in symbolic form so that when we hear of the beast it can be Nero, Herod, Julius Caesar, the present Pope, the entire Vatican City, Mickey Mouse or his creator, Aleister Crowley. something from Mary Shelley or a thousand other possibilities. The fun is that people can attach any meaning they wish and squeeze out sense.

[marco]

And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away. [/color]

Some people throw coins in a fountain with the same wishful ideas. The impracticalities of living in order to live, tasting only yesterday's ripe oranges and fresh grapes, illustrates the human ability to dream - or wish upon a star. I suppose a poem that says tears will be wiped away with God's large handkerchief is nice; but life is made sweet by injections of bitterness, by disappointments turned to success. An eternity of lukewarm sunshine and angelic smiles sounds more like hell.

[Mithrae]

What does, the last book of the bible mean? Is the apocalypse described in revelations just a massive war held on Earth similar to the Holocaust?

'Apocalypse' literally means revelation, or at least the original Greek word did. It got its common English usage of "end of the world as we know it" mainly because of the book of Revelation, but there's other books in the genre of apocalyptic literature both inside and outside of the bible. The book of Daniel was an especially important influence on the author of Revelation.

It's very possible that Revelation was written for and about the 1st century; the seven hills of Rome (Rev. 17:9), the persecution by the beast against God's people, and the king who was gone but would return (17:11) fit well with that view. That's known as the preterist view (from the Latin praeter denoting that something is "past" or "beyond").
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Redivivus_legend

The futurist view is that all or most of its prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. Trouble is, as Marco noted, they're so vague and confusing that no-one can agree on what they 'really' mean. Partly for that reason it's been one of the most disputed books of the New Testament canon; according to Wikipedia as late as 363 the Council of Laodicea omitted it from its list of canonical books, Martin Luther once described it as "neither apostolic nor prophetic" and so on. So whatever you decide the book means for you, probably best to remember to take it with a grain of salt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_R ... al_history

2) Is revelations the end of the human controlled world? 3) Is revelations describing the end of all the life on Earth? 4) Is it just the end of the world, or the end of humanity? Will Humanity survive the apocalypse? Will humans still be kings and rulers of a planet Earth? I have never understood revelations. Can anyone explain it very simply (as though I am a child)?

The various nasty plagues and punishments doled out by a 'loving' God throughout the book suggest that probably half or more of humanity would die by the end. But plainly read, Revelation 19-20 suggest that after the main events of the book Jesus and the resurrected martyrs will rule the world for a thousand years, so that would mean it's not the end of life on earth. Nor the end of death on earth; the implication is that the resurrected saints would be immortal, but at the end of the thousand years Satan deceives many into trying to fight against Jesus/Jerusalem yet again, which implies that most people are still people living and dying more or less as normal. As a Christian lad I thought of the millennial kingdom as representing a sort of vindication of God; the world wouldn't be magically turned into a divine paradise, rather Jesus would demonstrate the paradise we humans could have worked together to achieve if we'd not been so generally petty and self-centered, and wasting our efforts blaming all our woes on God or the devil or mythological ancestors... or assuming that "God will soon solve all mankind's problems" rather than putting in the effort to do it ourselves!

[bjs]

What does, the last book of the bible mean?

That God is in control even when things go wrong.

That the Christian life will not always be easy. There will be pain and suffering along the way.

The perseverance and faithfulness are required of God’s people in the face of setbacks, loss and opposition.

That the Lord Jesus Christ has a redemptive plan for his people that will lead to the end of suffering and eternal life.

Focusing on the “end of the world� stuff is easier, since that lets us read Revelations more as a story that does not require any spiritual growth or fortitude on our part. The central themes of Revelations are the sovereignty and redemptive work of God, and the call to perseverance and faithfulness on the part of his people. Read it with that in mind and Revelations becomes less about the end of humanity or any kind of titanomachy, and more about following Christ today no matter what time period Revelations describes.

[avalon]

- thanks for your responses

In Revelation we have absurd symbols such as might be conjured up by primitive magicians - perhaps ones familiar with the Titans. We have quite the opposite of revelation; we have meaning concealed in symbolic form

I am not sure if you have read the war between Zeus and Cronus. But it seems to me Revelations is the exact not the opposite between that pagan myth and Christianity. In the myth there were five ages the golden age was destroyed by the Olympians in a world destroying Titanomachy ushering into an era of stability and rich sacrifice the kind of promise in the bible. Whereas the apocalypse was defined as before the present world order. Whereas now the apocalypse is in the future in another war of the Gods.

I suppose a poem that says tears will be wiped away with God's large handkerchief is nice; but life is made sweet by injections of bitterness, by disappointments turned to success. An eternity of lukewarm sunshine and angelic smiles sounds more like hell.

You think that world-peace and prosperity, after the end of the modern age is a bad thing, where there will be more happiness and pleasure?

Thus the Messianic promises of peaceful life, good housing, perfect health and harmony with God will, Jehovah's Witnesses believe, at long last be accomplished. This is what Jehovah's Witnesses are announcing for the planet when we speak of "the end of the world system".

JW Thanks for your further reading i read most of what you wrote in that section. I understand it a lot more but as Marco says its difficult to get any sense than your own interpretation. However i don't believe it is wishful thinking to battle against evil and defeat it.

[avalon]

I never knew Christians believed in reincarnation where the ancient humans will be resurrected and the chosen people rescued from war. But the bible as now i am aware believes in both reincarnation, resurrection and rapture. There is also a place for Christians in another type of existence escaping the trauma of a material universe called heaven. Perhaps heaven as described is somewhere else with natural laws instituted by God.

Its difficult to believe..

[JehovahsWitness]

JW Thanks for your further reading i read most of what you wrote in that section. I understand it a lot more ....

You are most welcome. You are a rare bird to follow the links and actually read what they see in order to learn more so well done for that!


If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask,

Regards,


JEHOVAH'S WITNESS

[Tcg]

[Replying to post 1 by avalon]


REVELATION is about how God will soon solve all mankind's problems and make the earth a wonderful place to live.

Given that it describes the mass murder of enough humans that their blood will reach the height of horse's bridles for about 200 miles, it most definitely is NOT about the resolution of ALL mankind's problems. It is about the mass murder of those who make the mistake of not worshiping a blood thirsty God.


This blood bath has been promised to be coming SOON for about 1,900 years. There is of course no verifiable evidence that this story of fulfilled blood lust will ever happen. Claiming it will come SOON, is of course an old salesperson's trick. Salespeople know that they need to get their mark to buy on the spot. They realize that if their mark doesn't buy on the spot, they're much less likely to buy at all.


The best approach is to walk away from the deal and determine if there is any evidence to back the salesperson's claims. Given that none is presented, this is a deal to walk away from.



Tcg