Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange
Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [revelation]

The book of Revelation is the last book of the canonical New Testament. (This tag is NOT for questions about the revelation of God's will/plan/instruction in general).

Revelation, Book Of

The Book of Revelation is the last book of the New Testament canon. The author identifies himself as John, an exile on the island of Patmos. The book professes to be a prophecy given to John by Jesus. In terms of genre, Revelation is an apocalyptic prophecy presented in the form of an epistle.

The unique style of Revelation, with its rich imagery and symbolism, has led to many divergent approaches to interpretation. The four most common are the preterist, the historicist, the futurist, and the idealist. Much of the imagery found in Revelation is an amalgamation of a number of different texts from the Hebrew Bible— in particular, Revelation borrows heavily from Exodus, Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Zechariah, among others.

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What significance does the word order of people, tribes, nations, and languages play in Revelation?

Seven times in Revelation, John describes people in a fourfold manner: 5:9c For you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation 7:9a After this I looked, and behold, a great…
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What is the "hidden manna" and the "white stone"?

From Revelation 2:17: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives…
Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
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In Revelation 17:1, what does "sits" mean in "the great prostitute, who sits by many waters"?

In Revelation 17:1 (NIV), it is written, One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. I have come to understand that the "many waters"…
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Who are the "kings of the earth"?

In the book of Revelation, it sometimes seems like the term "kings of the earth” is used to refer to the chosen ones, but in other verses it looks like they are the damned ones. The chosen ones: Revelation 1:5 ... Jesus Christ, the faithful…
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Who is speaking in Revelation 1:8?

Revelation 1:8 (NIV): "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." In the NASB, the quote above appears in red letters (i.e. words spoken by Jesus), while in the ESV they are not red…
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How many people trampled would it take for blood to flow out for a distance of 1600 stadia?

Looking at Revelation 14:19-20 it describes a large amount of people being trampled with a winepress and blood flowing out for 1600 stadia. How many people would be needed for this? Does the blood rising as high as "a horses bridals" help calculate…
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Who/what are the two witnesses in Revelation 11?

In Revelation 11:3-12, God says he will appoint his two witnesses - "two olive trees", "two lampstands" - as prophets for 1260 days. They end up being overpowered and killed by the beast, seemingly in Jerusalem. The fact that they have the power to…
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Why are there two harvesters in Revelation 14?

In Revelation 14:15-16, at seemingly the end of the age, we have this scene: Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come,…
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Why does John not participate properly in worship in the book of Revelation?

One central theme in the book of Revelation is worship. For instance, in Craig Koester's book, "Revelation and the End of All Things", he considers the worship scene in chapters 4-5 to form the heart of the whole vision, with John's visions…
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In Rev 19:16, why is the Name on the Word's thigh and robe?

The fact that the Name is on the Robe makes sense, because that's where the High Priest wore the Breastplate with the 12 Jewels and the Urim and Thummim; and the 12 Jewels are an echo and elaboration of the Tetragrammaton. But why the thigh?
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Rev 9:4: Do not hurt the non-existing grass?

In Rev. 9:4 we read that it was commanded to locusts "that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree", but just nine verses earlier, in Rev. 8:7, we are told that when the first angel sounded "all the…
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What is the significance of "casting crowns" before the throne of God (Rev. 4:10)?

In the Book of Revelation we read: Revelation 4:9-11: "And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on…
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What is the "third woe", in the Book of Revelation?

In the book of Revelation, chapter 11 v 14 it is written, "The second woe has past,the third woe is coming soon. I cannot find the third woe or any reference to what the third woe means. My understanding so far is that trumpet 5,6, and 7 activate…
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torment...sulphur...in the presence of the Lamb: Rev 14:10

Struggling to grasp this verse a bit and its consequences. Can you help? I have often felt that the descriptions of hell throughout the Bible do not paint a clear picture on the debate: is hell perpetual torment or not? In the past I have learned to…
John
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Is there any exegetical reason for believing the seven churches of Revelation correspond to seven successive "church ages"?

The Book of Revelation self-identifies as a letter to seven churches: John to the seven churches that are in Asia -v.4 John explains his experience to them as follows: I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and…
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