This topic deals with works who treat the themes of persecutions and the imperial cult with or without reference to Revelation. Although some scholars have uttered their disagreement, until recently few Revelation scholars have doubted that there were imperially initiated severe persecutions in Asia which was the primary reason for Revelation. Now, however, several scholars [...]
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Introductions on topics
Ancient Asia Minor naturally attracts the attention of the student of Revelation, as it mentions seven cities. The topic Asia Minor deals with various aspects, including its history, archaeology, sociology and geography. The topic of persecutions and imperial cult have their own topics or categories.
Eschatology – the teaching on the Second coming of Christ, the temporary state of the dead (cf. Hill, Regnum caelorum), the resurrection of the dead, and the Last Judgment – plays a major role in the interpretation of Revelation, either positively as a specific and usually central topic or negatively in that it is denied [...]
The topic Revelation and Ecclesiology deals with the theological discussions and definitions of the church, her organisation and her responsible leaders (pastor and/or bishops), and the vocabulary and concepts used.
Introduction The interpretation of the ‘thousand-year’ text in Revelation 20:1-10 (more precisely in verses 2-7) has lead to a flood of literature on this topic. The various views exist in many different versions, and there is hardly two substantial works that agree on all aspects. This ‘thousand-year’ problem is part of the larger issue of [...]
Revelation uses many Christological titles, such as ‘Christ’ and ‘one like a son of man’. Revelation also describes Christ in a number of ways that scholars have tried to isolate, describe and determine the background of. My own position is that the titles and imagery employed have their origins in the OT and in the [...]
There are relatively few studies of the relationship between Revelation and the rest of the NT. More research is called for. A lot of complicated issues are involved, such as dating, authorship, the origins of the New Testament writings, and methodology. It is disputed whether John makes use of other NT writings. There is, however, [...]
The issue of symbolism in Revelation is one of the most complicated problems. It is often stated that consistency cannot be expected in an apocalyptic writing. Furthermore, there is considerable disagreement as to whether several texts should be understood “literally” or “symbolic”. Moreover, the proper context of the various symbols is often determined quite differently. [...]