Loft, Johannes. Synerne fra Patmos: En gennemgang af Johannes Aabenbaring . Aarhus: De Unges Forlag, 1919. 112 pp.
Immediately after the war, Johannes Loft, theologian, translator, author and lecturer published The Patmos Visions (Synerne fra Patmos) at the publishing company of the Danish YMCA and YWCA (1919). Johannes Loft was teacher at Herlufsholm, Viborg Katedralskole (my high school, by the way) and Odense Katedralskole. He was one of the founders of The Danish Society of teachers in religion (Religionslærerforeningen).
The commentary is brief, but communicates contemporary scholarship. Loft emphasises that Revelation proclaims Christ’s coming, not in grace, but for judgment (pp. 9f). He rejects the church-historical approach. He prefers to interpret chs. 6-19 symbolically about “principles and forces,” while chs. 20-22 depicts the Second Advent of Christ.
Loft exercises restraint throughout the commentary, not least in his interpretation of Rev 20:1-10: “here it is God and the Devil that meet in the last conflict. It must be enough for us to know that the conflict ends in the judgement and eternal punishment of the Devil” (p. 106). Unlike those of Revelation 11-18, the principles of the millennium are unknown to us (ibid.).
Loft gives a series of short retrospects, dealing with geography, people, the dead, nature, and demonic forces (pp. 89-96).
Updated: October 14th, 2015.
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