1 00:00:05,099 --> 00:00:10,339 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:10,339 --> 00:00:15,119 moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. 3 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:21,460 And today, I'd like to challenge you to think through the issue of what is the genre of 4 00:00:21,460 --> 00:00:28,359 apocalyptic. This is a topic that we've covered in our Bible study on Revelation this past week, 5 00:00:28,359 --> 00:00:34,200 and it went over so well that I'd like to reprise it with you. I'd like to go over it again with 6 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:40,439 you here on our radio broadcast to give you an idea of what we're covering in our Bible study, 7 00:00:40,740 --> 00:00:49,259 which is called Revealing Revelation, a community Bible study on the book of Revelation. We had our 8 00:00:49,259 --> 00:00:58,859 first session this past week at Starbucks on 17th Street in Idaho Falls, and it went over spectacularly. 9 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,600 I was very pleased. We had a lot of people there, a lot of people that are not involved with our 10 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,659 church, a lot of people who haven't heard some of these things before, and are looking forward to 11 00:01:08,659 --> 00:01:18,459 our unpacking of Revealing Revelation, a community study of the apocalypse. And we'll be meeting 12 00:01:18,459 --> 00:01:26,019 on Thursday evenings from here on in. We began this past Thursday, October 10, but we'll be meeting on 13 00:01:26,019 --> 00:01:34,420 Thursday evenings at Starbucks at 7 p.m. in Toronto, 8.15 p.m., and it's going to be led by myself, 14 00:01:34,579 --> 00:01:40,180 Pastor Dave Bass of New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and Pastor Mike Gilea of Share the Sun 15 00:01:40,180 --> 00:01:45,099 Ministries. We invite you to come and join us. Get yourself a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, 16 00:01:45,659 --> 00:01:50,560 and sit down with us, share your opinions, share your points of view on the book of Revelation, 17 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:58,299 and we'll be introducing the book of Revelation as it has been classically understood in the past, 18 00:01:58,739 --> 00:02:04,859 and see how it contrasts perhaps with other points of view. You can get more information by calling us 19 00:02:04,859 --> 00:02:16,960 at area code 208-523-0196, area code 208-523-0196, if you'd like to let us know that you're going to be 20 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:24,759 there, or to gather some more information. But today, I'd like to cover with you what we covered 21 00:02:24,759 --> 00:02:28,819 in that very first lesson, because it's very important to understanding what the book of 22 00:02:28,819 --> 00:02:35,419 Revelation is, and I did some of this a little earlier, way back when we first introduced the 23 00:02:35,419 --> 00:02:40,719 book of Revelation, but let me cover this again, because it's so important for us understanding 24 00:02:40,719 --> 00:02:46,500 in the future, too, what the book of Revelation is all about, and that is an introduction to 25 00:02:46,500 --> 00:02:53,900 apocalyptic, that is the kind or style of writing that the book of Revelation has, and it has rules, 26 00:02:54,039 --> 00:03:00,199 too. Every genre has rules for interpreting it, for understanding it. First of all, let me give you 27 00:03:00,199 --> 00:03:10,979 our definition of apocalypse. Apocalypse is a record of divine disclosures made known through the agency 28 00:03:10,979 --> 00:03:19,580 of angels' dreams and visions, employing vivid and sometimes bizarre images, standing for historical 29 00:03:19,580 --> 00:03:26,879 realities meant to comfort and encourage saints in or under distress and oppression. This is a very 30 00:03:26,879 --> 00:03:31,599 important definition, because it does encapsulate not only the book of Revelation, but other 31 00:03:31,599 --> 00:03:38,319 apocalyptic literature in the Bible, like the book of Daniel. Apocalypse is indeed a record of divine 32 00:03:38,319 --> 00:03:45,840 disclosures made known through the agency of angels' dreams and visions, employing vivid and sometimes 33 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:53,939 bizarre images for historical realities, standing for historical realities meant to comfort and encourage 34 00:03:53,939 --> 00:04:01,340 saints in or under distress and oppression. Now, that's the definition we'll be unpacking then, and you'll see 35 00:04:01,340 --> 00:04:07,680 some of the features of apocalypse as we go through them. I have 10 of them for you. First of all, we need 36 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:16,139 to define what genre is. That is, genre is a type or kind of writing. A type or kind of writing, and Revelation 37 00:04:16,139 --> 00:04:25,899 is no exception. It is a certain type or kind of writing, and that type or kind is apocalypse. So, the genre of the 38 00:04:25,899 --> 00:04:35,500 book of Revelation is apocalypse, and every genre of writing has its own rules and its own style for composition. This is not 39 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:43,959 hard to grasp. Just think for a minute of the different genres of writing that you're familiar with. For example, what are some of 40 00:04:43,959 --> 00:04:54,459 the rules and style for letters? For example, you have the date at the top, right? And then the addressee, the person and 41 00:04:54,459 --> 00:05:01,579 address, and perhaps the phone number of the person to whom you're addressing the letter, and then you write, dear so-and-so, 42 00:05:01,579 --> 00:05:09,360 right? To begin with, and then you have the body of the letter, and then you conclude with sincerely, and then you 43 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:19,199 have your name, address, and perhaps phone number as well. These are styles and rules for the genre of writing 44 00:05:19,199 --> 00:05:27,500 letters. You have the same thing with a science paper, for example, or fairy tales, right? You know a fairy tale is 45 00:05:27,500 --> 00:05:34,139 coming when you hear once upon a time, right? And then you generally have a fantastic story that concludes 46 00:05:34,139 --> 00:05:40,959 with everybody lived happily ever after. You know you're dealing with a genre of fairy tale, right? Or 47 00:05:40,959 --> 00:05:47,060 there's news articles, the genre of news articles, where you have the who, what, where, why, when, and how, 48 00:05:47,060 --> 00:05:54,699 right? These are the questions you ask of any particular news story, or a love letter, all different 49 00:05:54,699 --> 00:06:03,339 genres, type or kind of writing. But let me ask you, what would happen if you mixed the rules for one genre 50 00:06:03,339 --> 00:06:09,300 with another, right? If you had a science paper approach to the love letter you're writing to your 51 00:06:09,300 --> 00:06:14,819 wife or your girlfriend, oh, that relationship would be over pretty soon, wouldn't it? Or if you had a 52 00:06:14,819 --> 00:06:22,560 form of love letter in your science paper, you'd get flunked, wouldn't you, right away, or rejected from 53 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:32,379 whatever science journal you may be writing for? You know what I mean. Mixing the rules or style for 54 00:06:32,379 --> 00:06:41,240 composition for one genre with another, you have chaos, confusion, and you have a failure in terms 55 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:47,139 of what you're writing. Well, the same goes for apocalypse. Apocalypse has its own rules and style 56 00:06:47,139 --> 00:06:55,220 for composition, and I have 10 of them here for you. Note below with me some standard features of the 57 00:06:55,220 --> 00:07:04,199 genre of apocalyptic. First of all, number one, apocalyptic by its very nature reveals spiritual 58 00:07:04,199 --> 00:07:14,500 realities through the text. The text was not meant to be interpreted literally, no. In apocalyptic, 59 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:23,339 apocalyptic by its very nature, spiritualizes the text. I have an example here then from 60 00:07:23,339 --> 00:07:31,300 the book of Revelation. For example, in Revelation chapter 8, or chapter 11, verse 8, we have, 61 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:38,360 when the two witnesses finish their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will attack 62 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:43,019 them and overpower and kill them, and their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, 63 00:07:43,019 --> 00:07:50,759 which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified, speaking, of course, 64 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:58,220 of Jerusalem. In the King James Version, you have a literally translated verb that is where, 65 00:07:58,379 --> 00:08:06,139 spiritually speaking, Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified, the idea of spiritualizing 66 00:08:06,139 --> 00:08:11,839 the text. And this happens on a consistent basis all through not only the book of Revelation, 67 00:08:12,220 --> 00:08:20,720 but all through apocalyptic. That is, the signs and symbols and pictures and some of the bizarre images 68 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:28,259 consistently reveal spiritual realities through the text. The text is not meant to be interpreted 69 00:08:28,259 --> 00:08:35,620 literally. That's one of the rules of apocalyptic, which, of course, you violate if you indeed 70 00:08:35,620 --> 00:08:44,620 interpret literally. Apocalyptic also, mostly uses numbers, symbolically and not literally. 71 00:08:45,059 --> 00:08:52,360 That's another rule of apocalyptic literature. It's part of genre interpretation. That is, 72 00:08:53,240 --> 00:09:03,600 numbers are mostly symbolic and not literal. And that goes, for example, for chapter 20, 73 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:09,299 the idea of a 1,000 in chapter 20 of the book of Revelation. And Revelation says there, 74 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:15,519 I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the abyss and holding in his hand a great 75 00:09:15,519 --> 00:09:21,299 chain. He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who was the devil or Satan, and bound him for a 76 00:09:21,299 --> 00:09:26,960 thousand years. He threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him to keep him from 77 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:33,379 deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free 78 00:09:33,379 --> 00:09:40,299 for a short time. Once again, apocalyptic uses numbers mostly symbolically. This is true, whether 79 00:09:40,299 --> 00:09:47,899 you're talking about the book of Zechariah or you're talking about the book of Revelation or the book of 80 00:09:47,899 --> 00:09:53,980 Daniel numbers are largely symbolic. The idea of a thousand, for example, all through the Bible, 81 00:09:54,519 --> 00:10:03,440 we have in Psalm 50, of course, the idea of God knowing the cattle on a thousand hills are his, 82 00:10:03,539 --> 00:10:07,899 right? The cattle on a thousand hills, that's a number, a fantastic number, a large, 83 00:10:08,259 --> 00:10:13,600 a limitless number. Or is it true that maybe he does have the cattle on a thousand hills, 84 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:19,139 but that thousand and first hill, no, those aren't his, no. The idea of a thousand is an 85 00:10:19,139 --> 00:10:26,179 expansive, large, limitless number. The idea of Job in the book of Job, in chapter nine as well, 86 00:10:26,299 --> 00:10:32,519 Job complains that if he disputes with the Lord a thousand times, he will not be right, 87 00:10:33,059 --> 00:10:38,519 he will not be found justified. But, oh, how about that thousand and first argument with the Lord, 88 00:10:38,639 --> 00:10:42,480 right? Can you win that one? No, the idea of a thousand here is, again, 89 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:50,379 a large and limitless number. Or the idea that a day is like a thousand years in the eyes of the Lord 90 00:10:50,379 --> 00:10:57,899 to the Lord, or a day like a thousand years, right? A thousand years like a day. This from 91 00:10:57,899 --> 00:11:05,419 2 Peter, the idea of a thousand then we see time and time again is limitless. It's supposed to be 92 00:11:05,419 --> 00:11:14,620 beyond imagination. So we see in apocalyptic numbers are used symbolically. That is a rule 93 00:11:14,620 --> 00:11:23,500 for interpretation. Number two in the genre of apocalypse. Number three, apocalyptic uses vivid, 94 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:32,799 imaginative, sometimes bizarre metaphors to portray contemporary. That is near or soon to be 95 00:11:32,799 --> 00:11:41,539 fulfilled historical realities and not far off future events. The book of Revelation begins that 96 00:11:41,539 --> 00:11:47,519 way, doesn't it? In chapter one, verses one through three, the revelation of Jesus Christ, 97 00:11:47,700 --> 00:11:54,419 which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his 98 00:11:54,419 --> 00:11:59,299 angels to his servant, John, who testifies to everything he saw. That is the word of God and 99 00:11:59,299 --> 00:12:05,379 the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are 100 00:12:05,379 --> 00:12:13,840 those who hear it and take it to heart. What is written in it? Because the time is near. Once again, 101 00:12:14,039 --> 00:12:20,980 this is apocalyptic literature and the writers of apocalyptic literature were writing to their own 102 00:12:20,980 --> 00:12:29,419 generation. They were writing about things that would transpire soon. And that's precisely what happens 103 00:12:29,419 --> 00:12:39,179 then in apocalyptic in the book of Revelation. Also, our Lord then in his Olivet Discourse, when he 104 00:12:39,179 --> 00:12:45,399 was talking about things that would transpire, that is the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple 105 00:12:45,399 --> 00:12:53,820 by the Romans, by Titus in AD 70, he was talking about things that would happen in the lives of his 106 00:12:53,820 --> 00:13:00,080 own disciples. He tells a parable in this way too. Once again, a vivid, sometimes bizarre metaphor, 107 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:06,500 the idea of the fig tree, where Jesus says, now learn this lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs 108 00:13:06,500 --> 00:13:13,480 get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these 109 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:20,559 things, that is the signs he brings out in his Olivet Discourse, you know that it is near, right at the 110 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:26,419 door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things 111 00:13:26,419 --> 00:13:32,139 have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Once again, he was 112 00:13:32,139 --> 00:13:36,720 talking about the generation in which he lived, that is the disciples standing there before him. 113 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:44,000 The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 would happen, indeed, within the lifetime of the 114 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:51,419 disciples. These are historical realities in apocalyptic. The vivid images, sometimes bizarre 115 00:13:51,419 --> 00:13:58,120 images, are all metaphors to portray contemporary, that is near and soon to be fulfilled historical 116 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:05,080 realities, not far off future events. The book of Revelation, Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, 117 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:11,419 or Daniel chapter 8, for example, or Ezekiel chapter 10. We don't have time to go into all 118 00:14:11,419 --> 00:14:17,440 of these, but if you were to look up Daniel 8 or Ezekiel 10, you would see that the prophet 119 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:23,720 was predicting historical realities that would transpire very soon, if not within the lifetime 120 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:30,600 of the prophet, then very soon. So this is the nature of apocalyptic, the genre of apocalyptic, 121 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:38,960 rule number three. Rule number four, apocalyptic uses the tool of recapitulation in order to return 122 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:46,580 to and revisit previous themes to further expand them and then develop them. An important rule, 123 00:14:46,659 --> 00:14:54,860 the idea of recapitulation. So often, especially in modern contemporary interpretation of the book 124 00:14:54,860 --> 00:15:01,340 of Revelation, it's kind of done in a linear straight line fashion from beginning to end. You start at the 125 00:15:01,340 --> 00:15:07,440 beginning in chapter one of Revelation and you finish at the end in chapter 22 and it's all a straight line 126 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:15,360 panel. No, the idea of recapitulation, that is you go back to a theme you started earlier in the book and 127 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:22,940 you revisit it, you expand on it, and you develop it. And a perfect example is the idea of the horse and 128 00:15:22,940 --> 00:15:30,899 rider on the white horse. We have, uh, in Revelation chapter seven, we have the, the, the horse, uh, 129 00:15:30,899 --> 00:15:36,879 white horse and the rider upon that horse who goes forth conquering. And then we recapitulate that 130 00:15:36,879 --> 00:15:45,320 very same image and expand upon it. Um, in Revelation chapter 19, where the horse and rider are developed 131 00:15:45,320 --> 00:16:03,279 and expanded, uh, uh, even more fully in Revelation chapter 19, um, where the, uh, Christ figure on the 132 00:16:03,279 --> 00:16:09,580 white horse goes forth conquering to the battle of Armageddon. That's a theme that's expanded and 133 00:16:09,580 --> 00:16:15,580 developed. And that is a common theme throughout the book of Revelation, the idea of recapitulation. 134 00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:22,460 Well, rule number five in interpreting apocalyptic. And once again, the book of Revelation is indeed, 135 00:16:22,460 --> 00:16:30,320 um, of that genre of apocalyptic. We know one of the rules for interpreting the book of Revelation is 136 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:36,120 that the apocalyptic uses the technique of oscillation. We've seen it uses the idea of 137 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:42,240 recapitulation. Here it also uses the idea of oscillation to move from between heaven and earth 138 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:50,379 to show that God knows and controls what goes on. Although it may not be apparent to us on the earth 139 00:16:50,379 --> 00:16:58,539 at the time. And once again, we see this all through the book of Revelation or the book of Daniel too. 140 00:16:59,039 --> 00:17:03,480 Uh, the book of Ezekiel has, uh, oscillation between heaven and earth. And we see it in the book of 141 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:10,579 Zechariah for that matter too. But in Revelation, what do we see after the letters to the seven 142 00:17:10,579 --> 00:17:17,059 churches on the ground, on the earth, all of the ups and downs, the persecution, the turmoil, 143 00:17:17,460 --> 00:17:23,900 the victories, the defeats on the ground, on the earth, the seven churches of Asia, what happens 144 00:17:23,900 --> 00:17:31,640 in chapter four? We see immediately after this, I looked, John said, and there before me, it was a door 145 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:38,519 standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, come up 146 00:17:38,519 --> 00:17:45,359 here and I will show you what must take place after this. There is the oscillation between heaven and 147 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:52,019 earth. John, after spending time on the earth, seven letters to the churches, he finds an open door 148 00:17:52,019 --> 00:17:57,799 into heaven and he is transported immediately into heaven. This is the idea of oscillation. And we find it 149 00:17:57,799 --> 00:18:03,180 throughout the book of Revelation. John will later find himself back on the earth. He will oscillate 150 00:18:03,180 --> 00:18:08,460 between heaven and earth all through the book. And this is characteristic of the genre. This type 151 00:18:08,460 --> 00:18:14,680 or kind of writing is that there is an oscillation between heaven and earth. And that's one of the 152 00:18:15,259 --> 00:18:22,720 techniques by which we are shown. It's for a purpose. It's not just to give us a golly gee whiz 153 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:30,880 experience. No, it's to show us that God knows and controls what goes on here on the earth and in 154 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:37,500 heaven, although it may not be apparent to us on the earth at the time. All things may seem chaotic 155 00:18:37,500 --> 00:18:46,440 and losing ground. We may seem like and feel like we're doing, even as the early church did. The seven 156 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:51,920 churches in Asia, they were going through all kinds of tumultuous experiences. They were going under 157 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:56,640 persecution. They were under suffering. They were being killed, even as Antipas was killed 158 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:04,500 for their faith. And it may cause them to ask, what is God doing? Is God in control? Really? 159 00:19:04,859 --> 00:19:12,880 Is God love me? Is he superintending my life for good? Well, by being transported into heaven and seeing 160 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:17,500 the heavenly perspective on the life of the church, we see indeed that God does love us, 161 00:19:17,500 --> 00:19:24,880 that God does care for us, that he does superintend all that happens to us. It's not out of his control. 162 00:19:25,039 --> 00:19:32,519 We are numbered, all of us, 144,000. That's a figurative symbolic number, by the way, to indicate 163 00:19:32,519 --> 00:19:37,240 that there is a perfect number of saints here on the earth, and God knows us and loves us all, 164 00:19:37,619 --> 00:19:43,480 cares for us, and shepherds us through whatever circumstances we are going through, even though 165 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:50,640 it may seem chaotic and out of control to us. God tells us through the technique of oscillation 166 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:59,200 that he indeed is in control, however. Well, the sixth rule then of interpretation for the genre of 167 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:08,599 apocalyptic, number six, apocalyptic uses the device of an angelic guide to help us interpret what we see 168 00:20:08,599 --> 00:20:16,240 and hear, and hear, then, as he guides the author through the vision. And we see that voice in heaven, 169 00:20:16,339 --> 00:20:28,559 right? We see that voice in heaven who is indeed guiding us through the book of Revelation, and that 170 00:20:28,559 --> 00:20:34,759 happens all through, then, the genre of apocalyptic, and it happens in Daniel, too, for that matter. 171 00:20:34,759 --> 00:20:47,240 And we see it in Daniel chapter 2, for example, where Daniel is introduced, then, to his heavenly 172 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:58,779 guide. Then Daniel went to Ariok, for example. We have in Daniel 2, I'm sorry, Daniel chapter 12, 173 00:20:58,779 --> 00:21:07,579 verses 5 through 13. Excuse me. In Daniel 12, we have that angelic guide, where Daniel is indeed 174 00:21:07,579 --> 00:21:15,000 introduced to the scene in Daniel chapter 5. Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two 175 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,480 others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. One of them said to the man 176 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:25,660 clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, how long will it be before these astonishing 177 00:21:25,660 --> 00:21:31,599 things are fulfilled? These are angelic beings, indeed, that guide Daniel, then, through the 178 00:21:31,599 --> 00:21:39,339 closing vision of Daniel. So, we see time and time again angelic guides that help us interpret what 179 00:21:39,339 --> 00:21:46,779 we see and hear. That's the purpose of the angelic guide. As he guides the author of the apocalyptic 180 00:21:46,779 --> 00:21:53,380 book through their vision, he also then coincidentally guides us through and helps us interpret. That's the 181 00:21:53,380 --> 00:21:59,700 purpose of the angelic guide in apocalyptic. Well, rule number seven is indeed that the first audience 182 00:21:59,700 --> 00:22:06,900 of apocalyptic is that contemporary reader to whom the author wrote. The author always has his 183 00:22:06,900 --> 00:22:12,180 audience in mind as he's writing, indeed, isn't he? And the first audience of apocalyptic is that 184 00:22:12,180 --> 00:22:18,279 contemporary reader to whom the author wrote, whose culture and life circumstances the author shares, 185 00:22:18,279 --> 00:22:25,279 and not some far-off future reader with whom he does not share these things, right? And that only 186 00:22:25,279 --> 00:22:32,279 really does make sense. And that's true of the book of Revelation, too. John had a particular audience 187 00:22:32,279 --> 00:22:41,700 in mind, and that audience was his own contemporary people that he's writing to. He says this in verse 9 of 188 00:22:41,700 --> 00:22:49,559 the opening chapter. He says, I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and 189 00:22:49,559 --> 00:22:56,319 patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and 190 00:22:56,319 --> 00:23:03,700 the testimony of Jesus. This is the audience to whom he's writing. Brothers, right? Contemporary brother 191 00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:11,480 and companions, that is, those who are with him suffering and in the kingdom and patient endurance 192 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:18,960 that is theirs in Jesus. And this is true throughout all apocalyptic literature. We can see it in the 193 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:27,579 book of Daniel, too, who was writing to the exiles. Ezekiel, in his apocalyptic chapters, too, 194 00:23:27,579 --> 00:23:34,920 was writing to the exiles on the river of Kabar, right? The first audience of apocalyptic is always 195 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:41,579 that contemporary reader to whom the author wrote, whose culture and life circumstances he shares, 196 00:23:41,839 --> 00:23:48,519 not some far-off future reader in the 20s, 21st century with whom he does not share these things. 197 00:23:48,980 --> 00:23:57,420 That's so true of apocalyptic. Elsewise, how does the reader understand unless he shares 198 00:23:57,420 --> 00:24:03,119 something in common with them? Life circumstances, culture. That's why it's so important to interpret 199 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:09,640 the culture and life circumstances of the author and the contemporary reader so that we can understand 200 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:16,700 them. Number eight, apocalyptic often concludes with the end of all things and the commencing of 201 00:24:16,700 --> 00:24:24,640 the eternal state, even as Daniel chapter 12 does or Revelation 21 and 22, where we have the end of 202 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:33,480 all things, right? The descent of the new Jerusalem adorned as a bride for her bridegroom. Number nine, 203 00:24:33,660 --> 00:24:40,519 apocalyptic has as one of its major motifs the warfare between good and evil. That is the struggle 204 00:24:40,519 --> 00:24:47,299 of God and his faithful with Satan and his minions. That's another popular motif throughout 205 00:24:47,299 --> 00:24:53,640 Revelation, isn't it? And then finally, number 10, so we can finish here. Apocalyptic has as one of its 206 00:24:53,640 --> 00:25:00,420 major motifs, the eventual dominion of God's kingdom over all of creation. We see that as a constant 207 00:25:00,420 --> 00:25:07,420 motif. And I've just done a quick survey of these things here for you today, but I urge you, if you'd 208 00:25:07,420 --> 00:25:13,299 like to have this filled out for you a little bit more, or you'd like to discuss some of these points, 209 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:20,660 some of these topics a little more thoroughly, I invite you to do so at our Bible study, which is 210 00:25:20,660 --> 00:25:26,579 revealing revelation, a community study of the apocalypse. We're tackling these things. We're 211 00:25:26,579 --> 00:25:31,240 looking at the book of Revelation here at our community study, the apocalypse, and it's at 212 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:39,799 Starbucks at 900 East 17th Street in Idaho Falls. And it's being led by myself, Pastor Dave Bass of New 213 00:25:39,799 --> 00:25:45,140 Geneva, and also Pastor Mike Gillia of Share the Sun Ministries. And many of the things you've heard 214 00:25:45,140 --> 00:25:51,640 here on this particular broadcast we've covered in our first lesson, but we'll be willing to go over 215 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:59,140 them again with you in our study, and plus many other things. And Pastor Mike is going to be taking 216 00:25:59,140 --> 00:26:05,339 a lesson here as well, or two as we go along. So we're looking forward. We had a great first study. 217 00:26:05,339 --> 00:26:12,279 We look forward to subsequent ones, and you joining us as well. And if you would like to join us, 218 00:26:12,579 --> 00:26:22,119 New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church, we are worshiping at Sunday, 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street 219 00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:27,200 on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. And we are preaching through the book of Revelation at this 220 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:33,980 time. I invite you to join us for that. Once again, we have holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. 221 00:26:33,980 --> 00:26:40,259 at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. And you can call us for more information at area 222 00:26:40,259 --> 00:26:49,420 code 208-523-0196. Area code 208-523-0196.