Notes on 1 John and Revelation

(Originally written January 25, 2006)

Roles of God in Salvation

Father = Election
Son = Redemption/forgiveness of sins
Holy Spirit = Secures the believers' future inheritance, blessings = glorified bodies

What can we learn from I John 1:1-4
- we can have fellowship with believers and with God and Jesus
- letter is about the word of life eternal
-note emphasis on sensory perception of the word

1 John 1:5-10 Belief and Practice must be wedded

vv. 5-10 concern what will be true orthodox beliefs

vv. 6, 8, & 10 are directed against the teaching of the heretics

Confession steps
1) call it sin
2) call it forgiven
3) call on God for help

Heretics
- claimed to walk with God but did not
- claimed they had no sin to be cleansed

Why was I John written?
- To expose false teachers who are leading true believers astray (2:26)
- To give true Christians assurance of their salvation

Non-Biblical Gnostic dualism led to five errors:
1) human body is evil, soul is good
2) salvation is escape from body
3) Denied Christ's true humanity in two ways:
-Docetism: Christ only appeared to have a body
-Cerenthianism: the divine Christ joined the man Jesus at baptism and left before he died
4) Asceticism
5) Licentiousness

What is the sin that leads to Death in 1 John 5:16
1) Either referring to physical death that is caused by sin (Old Testament and I Corinthians 11). God ending a life so as the man is brought home rather than damned to hell.
2) A person who stayed in the community but then were heretics and left the community of believers.

Introduction to Revelation

Apokalypsis (Greek) means the uncovering, laying bare, Metaphorically it means a revealing

Revelation = Prophetic Apocalyptic Literature

-Apocalyptic Literature - starts in post-exilic Jewish writing
-Contains dreams, spiritual realm, savior from despair

Prophetic Apocalyptic - incorporates Apocalyptic literature with prophecy of Israel

Symbolic language has real implication

Revelation is a prophetic red book.

Unholy Trinity
Satan - Red Dragon
Antichrist - The Beast
False Prophet - The other beast

Four Interpretive Approaches to the Book of Revelation (or Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21)

1) Idealist approach (NIV Study Bible likes this)
-Theological poem depicting between good and evil
-No events will actually happen
-Expressions of basic principles of how God acts

Weaknesses of Idealist approach
-Continues the allegorical approach
-No historical fulfillment

2) Preterist Approach
-Contents are factual/historical
-Everything in it except visions in Chapters 21 and 22 was fulfilled by the time John wrote

Weaknesses of Preterist approach
-the decisive victory never happened
-view cannot fit all the events of Revelation chapters 2-19 into the year AD 64-70 or AD 64-96.

3) Historicist Approach
- Revelation chapters 2-19/20 is a forecast of the course of history down to present day
- Revelation sketches the history of Western Europe from the Popes to Charlemagne to Napoleon to Hitler

Problems with the historicist approach
-Totally subjective
-No significance to first century readers

4) The Futurist Approach
-Major emphasis is on the future final victory of God over evil
-Many believe that from 4:1 on is future
-Letter to 7 churches are something held to represent the predominant types of churches in successive stages of church history
-John being taken up into heaven is symbolic of rapture

Major Weakness
- Most of the book was irrelevant for those whom it was addressed
- Little comfort to the original readers who would have to wait for 7 ages of the Church for Christ to return

Revelation 3:14-22

Church at Laodicea: Self-Satisfied Church

Hot/Cold/Lukewarm: Popular view vs. Correct view

Hot: Believer (popular) Medicinal (correct)
Cold: Unbeliever (popular) Refreshing (correct)
Lukewarm: Indifferent (popular) Miserable (correct)

Laodicea had to import water from other places:
1) was a hot spring that by the time the water got there it was lukewarm
2) was a cold water source [Colosse] but by the time it got to Laodicea it was lukewarm.
The water was no longer medicinal or refreshing, it was miserable.
(John knew his readers!)

Perceived Anti-Christs: George III, Napoleon, Reagan, Roman Popes, Mussolini, Hussein, Hitler, Gorbachev

Central passage for the Millennium: Revelation 20:4-6

Christ speaks of two ages
1) Present age
2) Age to come

Views on Millennialism:

1) Amillennialism: there will be no millennium
- The saints are reigning with Christ now in heaven
- Eternity begins at the second coming
- Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled spiritually in the Church

2) Postmillennialism: Jesus returns after the millennium to reign with the saints
- Satan is bound now
- World won to Christ through the preaching of the Gospel and will experience a "wonderful" period of peace
- Church prepares the world for the second coming of Christ

3) Premillennialism: Christ returns to earth before the millennium
-Millenium is a time when God fulfills the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants with Israel
-Church shares in new covenant promises, but God is not finished with Israel yet.

Premillennialists debate the Rapture

Pre-tribulation Rapture/Seven Year Tribulation (Chapters 6-19)/Post-tribulation rapture