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"Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetic writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. 'Apocalypse' is a Greek word meaning 'revelation, an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling'". Wikipedia There are several apocalyptic books in the Bible. Ezequiel, Daniel, Zachariah, Joel and The Revelation are the prime examples. Throughout Scripture there are hints of endtime events but the concentration of material is in these specific works.  When you read this genre you need to read with understanding of the characteristics of this type of literature in mind. Strange scenes of beasts, spirits, creatures and mysterious people are not uncommon. The author may be whisked from place to place and even from future to past in a matter of sentences. Revelation, for example, was not written chronologically, but sweeps back and forth from one e...

 Reading this book in one setting takes an hour. Understanding this book takes… well, who really understands it? Many have written much about it. These writings explain each author's research and opinions about John's letter to the seven churches. In all the ink spilt over these visions not many students come to the same conclusions.  Did the Holy Spirit throw us a curveball in this, the last letter/ book of the Bible? Was his purpose to leave us guessing as to what he really wanted to communicate? Or are we just slow learners? I believe (opinion coming) that we could answer yes or no to each of the above questions. Thus leaving yet one more enigma.  Someone has said that the Great Apostle John left none more confused about his last book than his commentators. Others have noted that the Revelation is the only book in the Bible which begins and ends with a blessing. Strange but true.  We may have memorized Revelation 3:20 as part of an evangelism class. It's the verse...

  Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. Sounds pretty straightforward doesn't it. I mean, for a fisher guy, how complicated could this authorial effort be? John is the Apostle of love. He uses the word love 53 times in his New Testament works, more than any other author of the Bible. What could he say in 22 chapters that might leave the world a tad scared? Plenty! It's not that the Revelation is complicated linguistically, because his vocabulary isn't really difficult. It's not a long read. An average reader, me for instance, can read it in a little more than an hour. Really. It took me one hour and seven minutes. On several attempts.  Revelation is just different. One of the most important aspects to know about the letter, which Revelation is, a letter to seven churches, is that it is apocalyptic literature. The Apocalipse literal...

I always thought this verse curious. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 states the following, "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie"  For context here we need to examine 1 and 2 Thessalonians. You might know that the books of first and second Thessalonians talk about end-time events. Paul wanted the believers in this church to know what to expect with regard to the next events on their escatological calendar.  Each chapter division highlights the great apostle's prophetic perspective. Let's look at what he said.  1 Thessalonians 1:8 The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from...