3/4/23 REVELATION 1:1a, PART 12

The first quote starts a rabbit hole almost immediately:

“John calls his book an apocalypse or revelation, and this title not only describes its content, but classifies it as a recognized type of literature. During the three hundred years between the persecution of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes (167 B.C.) and the destruction of the Jewish nation by Hadrian (A.D. 135) Jewish writers produced a series of apocalypses — of which the first and greatest was the Book of Daniel — to encourage Jewish resistance to the encroachments of paganism, by showing that the national suffering was foreseen and provided for in the cosmic purpose of God and would issue in ultimate vindication.”

I have to break in here. I really hate when someone who thinks he’s a scholar writes about something that is clearly not a fact, as if it were a fact. There has been a scholarly argument about when Daniel was written since the 3rd century AD; the first question brought by someone trying to discredit both Christians and Jews. As we’ve learned more through developments in philology and archaeology, the arguments for a 6th century BC writing of Daniel have become much stronger, while the evidence for the later date has been chipped away. Yet, it is still perceived that a 2nd century BC date is the only scholarly way to view Daniel: in other words, if you disagree with the 2nd century BC date you are not a scholar.

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2/23/23 REVELATION 1:1a, PART 11

We’ll start with a long quote from 1962: 

“After 15 years of preaching through the Bible, beginning at the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis, we have now come to the last and the climactic book, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This is the Apocalypse, the unveiling,  the uncovering, the manifestation, the presentation of Jesus Christ…This message is taken from the first three words of the book, ‘Apokalupsis Iesou Christou’…That word ‘Apokalupsis,’ is compounded from a verb and a preposition. ‘Apo’ means ‘away from.’ ‘Kalupto’ means ‘to cover, to hide.’  ‘Apokalupsis,’ therefore, means ‘to take away the covering,’ ‘to unveil,’ ‘to reveal.’ It is a word used in classical Greek. Herodotus uses it to refer to the uncovering of the head. Plato uses it in a request, ‘Apokalupto…Reveal unto me the power of rhetoric.’ Plutarch uses it referring to uncovering of error. The only time it is used religiously is in this book of the Bible, and it has here that same distinctive meaning. ‘Apokalupsis Iesou Christou’ is the unveiling, the uncovering, the presentation in majesty and in glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“‘Apokalupsis Iesou Christou’ is an objective genitive: the Apokalupsis, the Revelation, of Jesus Christ. There are two kinds of genitives, a subjective genitive and an objective genitive. To illustrate a subjective genitive, one could refer to ‘the words of of Jesus Christ.’ They are His words; He spoke them; they belong to Him. They are the words of Jesus, and therefore a subjective genitive.  To illustrate an objective genitive, one could refer to the ‘death of Jesus Christ.’ He experienced mortality — death. It is thus with this phrase, ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ.’ It is Christ who experiences the unveiling, the manifestation. It is our Lord who is uncovered and presented in all of His of glory and majesty.”

I’m breaking in for a moment to point out that we don’t see this point of view very often: Christ as the Revealed only.

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