Futurist Perspective Analysis

Preterists and idealists have much in common in that they seem to reject the prophetic element the book of Revelation. However, in the preterist approach, Revelation was perceived to be describing the events surrounding the destruction of the Roman Empire (Gundry 2012). For example, Mark Hitchcock explains in his article “A Critique of The Preterist View”, that some scholars believe that the seven heads and seven kings, mentioned in 2 Revelations 17:9, are symbolic of a complete set of Roman rulers. The number seven, referenced in the scripture, is viewed as being an apocalyptic symbol for completeness. Though all four approaches agree, to some extent, that the book of Revelation contains symbolic

The Book of Revelation consist of epistle, prophetic, and apocalyptic visions that foretells events that will and has come to pass. Chapter 4 introduces the prophetic part of the book where John is called up to heaven, sees the throne of God and other heavenly presences.

Comparing and contrasting different written works is a key aspect to discovering truths about the Christian Bible. When we compare and contrast canonical books, we can learn many things about the theology and context in which these books were written. Today, we will be comparing two books from the New Testament: Hebrews and Revelation. While Hebrews is often referred to as an epistle, it is actually more similar to a sermon. Revelation is a book that describes a supposed “vision” from the author John. John wrote this vision down on the instruction of a heavenly figure. While we compare these books, we will specifically focus on their relation to Judaism and their positions on Judaism. We will examine three major difference and/or similarities: Their views on the relevance of Jewish History, the superiority of Christ, and, the Second coming of the Messiah.

Debate over the interpretation of Rev. 20:1-6 has produced three traditional perspectives of the millennial period mentioned in the text. “These views are: amillennial, premillennial, and postmillennial.” Each millennial

To determine whether the preterist or the futurist interpretation of Revelation is the most accurate, it is essential to examine the

Beale, B. K. The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Book of Revelation. The Paternoster Press Carlisle 1999

During my research into the viewpoints concerning the book of Revelation, I have come away with the knowledge that while there are a variety of differing views with various degrees of merit knowing which is correct is highly improbable. And that the pursuit of greater understanding continues to strengthen my faith and walk as I strive to continue to grow not only from this course but in life. It is through that desire that one can approach with an open mind and spirit the differing views presented concerning Revelation. The four primary viewpoints currently presented are Preterist, Historicist, Futurist, and Idealist/Spiritualist. According to Dr. Zukeran:

Another mayor view for the millennium is Pretribulational premillennialism. This view is pretty much the same has the premillennialism that Jesus is returning before the millennium, but the difference is that Jesus is returning before the tribulation. With this been said, Pretribulational premillennialism also has Jesus returning twice, once for the believers, and then after the end of seven years of tribulation. Pretribulational premillennialism also believe when Jesus returns for the church, it will be the end of the church age, and Jesus will suddenly be rapturing all believers to himself on the clouds. The dead believers will resurrect and the living believers will be transform has they been caught up into the sky. “For the Lord Himself

In the late first century a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, John of Patmos, received a vision of the end the world. John later wrote this vision down and his writing has come down to modernity as The Book of Revelation also known as The Apocalypse of John. When John wrote Revelation was he using it as a coded message to preach against Rome? In this vision, John saw many images that could be read as Rome or Roman if viewed from a historical context. Subsequent generations have interpreted the imagery within their own historical context. With this paper I will argue that Revelation pertains to the Roman world and culture that John and his followers were living in, the events in Judea that are thought to have occurred within his life time and that John used some of the same imagery to connect his writing to the Hebrew Bible. There are two main competing dates for the writing of Revelation, an early date of 69-70 and a later date of 90-92. This paper will be using the 69-70 date and will be providing evidence to prove why this date works better for the context of this paper. First this paper will establish the time frame in which John wrote Revelation.

The dispensational premillennial view’s rational support comes from the interpretive system it uses to illuminate scriptural evidence as well as the historical evidence that surrounds the view. Adherents of the dispensational premillennial view interpret biblical prophecy in a purely literal form. Smith says in his book What the Bible says about the Future, “Of the two major interpretive systems, only dispensationalism subscribes to a consistently normal/literal interpretation of Scripture. In other words, dispensationalism represents a truly exegetical method of interpretation” (52). Abandonment of literal interpretative methods can lead to apostasy when studying the scriptures. Dispensational Premillennialists understand that only the literal method interprets scripture in a way where the intended meaning is understood. When looking at scripture literally, dispensational premillennialists believe that the unfulfilled, unconditional covenants between God and the patriarchs of the Old Testament provide strong evidence for the dispensational premillenial view. The unconditional covenant that God made to Abraham concerning his offspring has yet to find fulfillment. An absence of fulfillment would indicate that God would be willing to break His own covenant and that would be inconsistent with His character. Therefore, we are guaranteed that God will carry out his promises in the future. Most of the promises made in the Abrahamic covenant have already been fulfilled literally.

Revelation is the last and final book in the Bible, stating the future second coming of Christ. Written by the apostle John, it gives a detailed account of what times will be like when Christ returns. It is written in an apocalyptic manner. There are four main views when interpreting Revelation. Scholars have scriptural evidence supporting each viewpoint but since interpretation is highly subjective there cannot be ultimately one accepted viewpoint as correct. The four debated viewpoints are the preterist view, the historicist view, the futurist view, and the idealist view each holding their own merit.

The differences between views of the millennial originate in the principles of interpretation that each group uses. Albertus Pieters who is ammillenarian states, “The question whether the Old Testament prophesies concerning the people of God must be interpreted in their ordinary sense, as other Scriptures are interpreted, or can properly be applied to the Christian Church, is called the question of spiritualization of prophesy”. 2 This is one of the major differences in opinion between premmillenarians and other scholars. Premmillenarians reject the spiritualization of prophesy while the ammillenarians use it.

The historical, cultural, spiritual, and theological aspects of the texts must be understood collectively in order to fully grasp its futuristic connotations. Each oracle, vision, or prophesy must be carefully dissected and cross-referenced to get the literal, symbolic, or figurative language required. The totality of Ezekiel’s prophecy coupled with the New Testament’s eschatology provided a comprehensive view of the restoration awaiting God’s people. Reading and comprehending the Old Testament prophets’ interpretations provides a clear and correct understanding of the Messiah’s reign and the future of the

According to Revelation 20 there will be a kingdom reign of Christ that will last for one thousand years. The interpretation of the nature and time of this kingdom is matter of debate among theologians and scholars. There are three formal interpretation of the Millennial doctrine: premillennial; postmillennial, and amillennial. Postmillennialists claim that the spread of gospel improves the condition of society; consequently, the kingdom of God is brought to earth. The amillennialists simple deny a future kingdom period on earth because, first, Christ is already reigning in heaven, and, second, because they claim that the kingdom is being fulfilled spiritually through the church. The third interpretation, the premillennialism, claims there

In Paul Kurtz’s Fears of the Apocalypse: The Escape from Reason, he explains that “the fixation on apocalypse grows out of fear of the unknown, and it is fed by hope of redemption” (1). Written a year before the new millennium, Kurtz writes about how different types of doomsday prophecies such as the secular, religious, or New Age have predicted the world’s fate. Although each prophecy has their own tale of how and when the world will end, they can all agree that the new millennium is the end for all of mankind. However, these dates have miniscule significance on these doomsday prophecies. Afterall, time is human creation.