Re 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Students of the scriptures who expound passages with the intention of preaching it to their followers have a responsibility to be faithful to their followers. The Book of Revelation, which is full of symbolism drawn from the Old Testament, has become the source of many modern controversial Apocalyptic scenarios. Because gullible people rely on the leadership to teach them, they become indoctrinated with plausible falsehood.
The very first verse sets a contextual time frame for the events described within the book. This time frame is reinforced in the last chapter of the book.
Re 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
If one takes this as a setting for events in the 21st Century then it bore no relevance to its first century publication. God's servant and author John would not experience these events in his Lifespan. Bearing this in mind only a first century fulfillment becomes the contextual time frame for the events described in the book. This does not preclude the total fulfillment of everything in the book, for it describes events that will soon commence, some of which will be totally fulfilled others will continue throughout the Christian Church's existence.
It is time for the Church in all its diversity to reform their thinking and teaching on the Christian Apocalypse. There are many scoffers today about its validity and there have been many false predictions based upon the erroneous time frames attached to its contents.
The claim that the scriptures have been divinely inspired hangs in the balance when interpreters of them stray from the Contextual Historical setting and the the first century Church as the intended audience who handed these writings down to posterity. By staying in the context of their initial publication the history and hopes of the infant church comes alive and the validity of the scripture is supported by the events that have been fulfilled. Rev David Harry Hume. ( 18 November 2008 )
