Studiu Biblic de Apocalipsa

Introducere 2

1 Simbolismul in Apocalipsa
a Apocalipsa e o carte plina de simboluri
a. Oameni, natiuni si fiinte spirituale sunt reprezentate ca si animale
i. Isus = miel
ii. Diavolul = dragon
iii. Roi de lacuste = probabil demoni (altii spun soldati, altii altceva)
i Fiara cu 7 capete si 10 coarne care guverneaza lumea = ceva
b Doua femei / Doua orase
i Mireasa / Ierusalim
1. Apocalipsa 21: 1-2 - refera clar la ceva ce se numeste in mod simbolic
"mireasa si "noul Ierusalim"
2. Apocalipsa 21: 9-10 - noul Ierusalim este identificat ca fiind "sotia
Mielului"
1 Stim ca Mielul este Isus, deci Mireasa Lui ar fi biserica... adica si
imaginea miresei si imaginea noului Ierusalim sunt biserica, poporul lui
Dumnezeu
ii Prostituata / Babilon
3. Apocalipsa 17 - femeie sezand pe o fiara cu 7 capete si 10 coarne
4. Apocalipsa 17: 5 - ea a identificata ca fiind "Babilon"
5. Apocalipsa 17:18 - ea e identificata ca fiind "cetatea cea mare, care
are stapanire peste imparatii pamantului"
1 Evident prostituata si Babilon sunt un simbol pentru ceva ... dar ce?
iii Aceste imagini nu sunt nici orase literale nici femei literale... una reprezenta
biserica, si celalalta altceva
c Oameni si locuri au nume simbolice
iv. O femeie la Tiatira este numita "Izabela"... acesta probabil este doar un
simbol nu numele ei real. Ea este numita "Izabela" pentru ca personalitatea ei
seamana cu Izabela, nu pentru ca e numele ei real.
v. Apocalipsa 11: 8 - Orasul unde a fost rastignit si Domnul" (Ierusalim), se
numeste punct de vedere spiritual "Sodoma" si "Egipt"
vi. "Babilon" nu este orasul Babilon literal
i "Noul Ierusalim" este un nume simbolic pentru biserica
1 One of these stars has a key to open a bottomless pit (Revelation 9:12) obviously, a literal star cant have a literal key to open a literal
bottomless pit its a symbol for something
d Referinte frecvente la dezastre cosmice si geologice
i Exemplu: cutremure, stele care cad din cer, soarele se face negru, cerul se
strange ca o carte de piele
ii Imagini similare sunt folosite in mod obisnuit in Vechiul Testament sa insemne
rasturnari politice
1 Isaia 13:10 Sa descrie cum Babilon a cazut fata de mezii si persii (BC
539), Isaia spune: "soarele se va intuneca la rasaritul lui, si luna nu va
mai lumina"
a Evident ca soarele nu s-a oprit - este un simbol pentru
rasturnare politica
iii Cititorii originale, familiarizati cu literatura apocaliptica si imagini, ar inteles
ca aceste imagini sunt simboluri pentru altceva, nu de a fi inteles literal

iv Stele care cad din cer pe pamant (Apocalipsa 6:13, Apocalipsa 9:1-2, etc.)
1 Nu este o posibilitate in lumea naturala (stelele sunt mai mari decat
pamantul si incapabil sa cada pe pamant)
2 Una dintre aceste stele are o cheie pentru a deschide fantanii
Adancului (Apocalipsa 9:1-2) - in mod evident, o stea literala nu poate
avea o cheie literala pentru a deschide o groapa fara fund literala este un simbol pentru altceva
Numere sunt simboluri
i 7 = totalitate, desavasire
1 Vechiul Testament numarul 7 e folosit foarte des in mod simbolic sa
insemne desavasire, perfectiune, ceva intreaga (Psalmul 12:6, Psalmul
119:164, Proverbe 24:16)
2 Isus probabil l-a folosit cuvantul cand a vorbit despre iertare completa
(Luca 17: 4)
3 Apocalipsa
a 7 pedepse inseamna pedeapsa totala
b Isus ca un miel cu 7 ochi inseamna ca el vede totul
c Isus ca un miel cu 7 coarne inseamna ca are toata putere
i In Vechiul Testament, un corn este un simbol de putere
(Psalmul 18:2, Psalmul 148:14, etc.)
d Cele 7 biserici din Asia Mica sunt un simbol pentru toate
biserici ... scrisoarea se adreseaza acestora, dar se aplica tuturor
e Altele: 7 duhuri ale lui Dumnezeu, 7 ingeri ale celor 7 biserici, 7
peceti, 7 trambite, 7 tunete, 7 potire de manie, 7 imparati ... 7
Fericirilor (declarati care incep cu "Fericiti ...")
ii 1/3 = o minoritate semnificativa (cea mai mare fractiune intreaga care este
mai putin de jumatate)
1 Vechiul Testament 1/3 e folosit de multe ori sa insemne o mare
minoritate de ceva (Zaharia 13:8-9, Ezechiel 5:1-12)
2 Apocalipsa Fiecare trambita afecteaza 1/3 din ceva (mare, rau,
omenirea, etc.)
3 1/3 shouldnt be thought of as a literal number when elsewhere in the
Bible its clearly meant to be symbolic
4 1/3 nu ar trebui sa fie considerat un numar literal considerand ca
oriunde altceva e folosit in Biblia in mod simbolic
iii 12 = poporul lui Dumnezeu
1 Vechiul Testament - fiii lui Iacov, triburile lui Israel
2 Noul Testament - Iisus a avut 12 Apostoli
3 Apocalipsa
a 24 de batrani (12 + 12)
b 144.000 de persoane pecetluite in Dumnezeu (Apocalipsa 7:14)
(12 x 12.000)
c Noul Ierusalim are 12 temeli cu numele celor 12 apostoli
d 12 porti ale oraului
Ori (ca numere) sunt simboluri
i 1 ora - un timp foarte scurt
1 10 imparati dau autoritatea lor fiarei timp de 1 ora, dar ar fi
nerezonabil sa credem ca acest lucru inseamna un timp literal de 60 de
minute
2 Probabil, o ora reprezinta o perioada scurta de timp
ii 10 zile - un timp care nu este nici prea scurt nici prea lung
1 Biserica din Smirna va avea necazuri timp de 10 zile (Apocalipsa 2:10)

iii 1000
1
2
3

Most likely, this means simply that the church will not have literally 10
days of tribulation, but a time of tribulation thats uncomfortable but
will end before too long
Cel mai probabil, acest lucru inseamna ca biserica va avea un timp de
necaz care este incomod, dar care se va termina dupa cativa timp.
Probabil nu este o perioada literala de 10 zile
de ani un timp foarte, foarte lung, generati si generati
Apocalipsa 20 - Domnia milenar a lui Hristos
Teologi niciodata nu au fost de acorzi cu privire la acest lucru de la
inceput, unii spunand ca este un timp literal de 1000 de ani, iar altii nu
Nu avem nici un motiv sa presupunem ca e un numar literal
a Altele numere din Apocalipsa sunt simboluri
b Altele locuri in Biblia cu 1000 sunt simbolice
i Psalmi 1000 sa cada alaturi de tine, toate fiarele
munilor cu miile lor, 100 de ani sunt ca ziua de ieri, etc.
ii Deuteronom Dumnezeu tine legamantul 1000 de
generatii
iii 2 Petru o zi este ca 1000 de ani si 1000 de ani ca o zi
c If 1000 years means a literal 1000 years in Revelation, that
would be very surprising
d Daca 1000 de ani inseamna un numar literal de 1000 de ani in
Apocalipsa, ar fi foarte surprinzator

2 Paralelismul
a Aceasta este o parte importanta in punctual de vedere Spiritualist / Idealist
b 7 sectiuni paralele (multe dintre ele au si 7 subsectiuni)
i Cap. 1`-3 7 scriisori catre 7 biserici
ii Cap. 4-7 7 peceti
iii Cap. 8-11 7 trambite
iv Cap. 12-14 Dragon care pesecuta
v Cap. 15-16 7 potire de manie
vi Cap. 17-19 caderea Babilonului
vii Cap. 20-22 Cresterea Imparatiei lui Dumnezeu
c Paralelele din cele 7 sectiuni
i Fiecare se refera la a doua venire a lui Isus
ii Spiritualisti spun ca fiecare dintre aceste sectiuni arata intreaga istoria a
bisericii, dar folosind diferite simboluri (biserici, peceti, trambite, etc.)
iii Fiecare dinter cele7 trambite si cele 7 potire de manie afecteaza acelasi lucru
iv Cap. 12 (nasterea lui Isus) si 20 (inceputul Bisericii) sunt foarte asemanatoare
v Cap. 11 (a 7-a trambita) si 19 (calaret pe cal alb) sunt similare
3 Cum este Relatia intre Apocalipsa si restul Bibliei
a Apocalipsa este singura carte din Noul Testament care nu citeaza in mod direct
Vechiul Testament
b Cu toate acestea, imagini din Vechiul Testament si aluzii sunt peste tot, mai mult
decat orice alta carte, creand tesatura din Apocalipsa
i 79 aluzii la Isaia
ii 53 aluzii la Daniel
iii 48 aluzii la Ezechiel (unii comentatori spun de dou ori mai multe)
iv 43 aluzii la Psalmi
v 27 aluzie la Exod
vi 22 aluzii la Ieremia
vii 15 aluzii la Zaharia

viii 9 aluzii la Amos

ix 8 aluzii la Joel
Apocalipsa foloseste imagini din alte parti din Biblia in moduri creative si noi
i Un comentator s-a numit Apocalipsa "o renastere a imaginilor"
ii Doi martori (Apocalipsa 11) Ioan spune ca acesti martori reprezinta doi
maslini care stau in prezenta Domnului, o aluzie clara la Zaharia 4 si cei doi
unsi care stau in prezenta lui Dumnezeu si sunt reprezentati cu maslini
1 Carturari cred ca in Zaharia 4, acesti unsi / maslini reprezenta
Zerubabel si Iosua, lideri in Israel dupa exil in Babilon
2 In Apocalipsa, este clar ca acesti martori sunt alte persoane
Images from the Exodus
i Revelation 1:5 earliest and most accurate manuscripts say, Christ freed us
from our sins by His blood, which clearly draws up images of the Passover
ii Revelation 11:8 Jerusalem is equated with Egypt
iii Revelation 12:3 The dragon persecuting the woman is like Egypt
persecuting the Hebrew slaves (in Ezekiel 29:3 and Psalm 74:13, Egypt is
even called a dragon)
1 The woman has a crown of 12 stars (like the 12 tribes of Israel)
2 The dragon chased the woman into the wilderness (like the Exodus),
where God sustained her (like God sending mana), and where the earth
opened up (like in Korahs rebellion)
iv Revelations plagues are repetitions of Egypts plagues (darkness, hail,
locusts, boils, frogs, water turning into blood)
1 We should be cautious to say these are literal events (Revelation is
apocalyptic and uses symbolism, and the allusions to the Exodus are
very clear)
v Those saved sing the song of Moses and the Lamb (Revelation 15:3) is like
Exodus 15 and the rescued Hebrews singing the song of Moses
vi Most of the tabernacle furniture God told Moses to make appears at some
point in Revelation
vii John is making a clear connection between what is happening in Revelation
and what happened in the Exodus

Images from the fall of Babylon and return of exiles (2 nd Exodus)

i The Babylonian Exile resembles the Hebrew bondage in Egypt (only twice in
Israels history was the entire population slaves in a foreign land and then
later returned to Israel)
1 Both the Babylonian Exile and return and the Exodus are Old
Testament types to describe what Jesus has done for us
ii Babylon appears a number of times as an enemy of God

iii The exclamation Babylon is fallen! (Revelation 14:8, 18:2) is from Jeremiah
51 and the prophets prediction that Babylon would fall and Israel would be
delivered
iv Euphrates River drying up and kings from the east march on Babylon
(Revelation 16)
1 This is an echo of exactly how Babylon fell in history Cyrus, king of
Persia (from the east), invaded Babylon. The city was surrounded by
thick, impenetrable walls that had one weakness - the Euphrates River
ran into the city under the walls. So Cyrus ordered the river diverted,
which dried it up and created a road under the city walls for his army
to march in and conquer.
v Like the Exodus, the fall of Babylon represents another time in Israels history
that God destroyed the enemy and released His people from bondage
1 Revelation isnt talking directly about either the Exodus or the Fall of
Babylon but about some future event that resembles those two, some
judgment on the enemy and deliverance of Gods people
Images from the life of Jesus (the two witnesses)
i The images of the two witnesses contain clear allusions to the life of Jesus
ii They minister for 3 years, have a miraculous ministry, are persecuted, are
put to death in Jerusalem, are dead for 3 days, rise up, and ascend to heaven
iii Whoever these two witnesses are, they contain incredible parallels to the life
of Jesus

4 Date of Writing
a Next week, were gonna look in depth at each of the four schools of thought
regarding Revelation. One of those schools depends on an accurate dating of the
book, so lets cover the date now
i Preterist Revelation is about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, so if the
book was written after 70 AD, its not about the destruction of Jerusalem
b Two Opinions
i Late date: near the end of Domnitians reign, somewhere near 96 AD
1 Most modern scholars hold this view, as did most of the church fathers
ii Early date: near the end of Neros reign, somewhere before 68 AD
1 Most scholars in the 1800s as well as a number of very early church
fathers held this view
c Internal verses External Evidence
i Internal evidence: Statements within the book itself that give us clues to its
date. This is the more authoritative evidence because its from the Bible itself
and without errors.
1 Internal evidence generally supports an early date (Nero)
ii External evidence: Statements from the early church that give us clues to its
date. This evidnce is open to error, as its not contained in the Bible.
1 External evidence general supports a later date (Domnitian)
d Evidence for a Late Date (Domnitian)
i Most well-respected modern scholars hold to a late date for Revelation
ii Revelation 13 describes emperor worship, which was not an issue until the
time of Domnitian
1 Weakness: John is prophesying, the whole book of Revelation is
prophecy, so it would not be unlikely that he would see something from
the future that was not yet a reality

iii Extent of Persecution during Neros day, the persecution was only in the city
of Rome, but Johns audience is in Asia Minor it wasnt until Domnitian that
there was persecution of Christians throughout the empire
1 Weakness: Revelation itself never mentions an empire-wide
persecution, which you would expect it to do if it were happening, nor
do the 7 churches addressed seem to be under a universal persecution
(Smyrna and Philadelphia are persecuted by local Jews, Pergamum is
persecuted by local Roman authorities, and several arent persecuted
at all)
iv The state of the 7 churches how the 7 churches are described doesnt fit
with an early date
1 Laodicea is wealthy
a In the early 60s, there was an earthquake in Laodicea that
completely destroyed it, so how could John describe them as
wealthy if it was written so quickly after the earthquake?
b Weakness: Laodicea could have rebuilt quickly even if they
havent rebuilt, whats being discussed is their attitude of pride
and wealth and ease, which may not have changed even with an
earthquake John doesnt specify that hes discussing physical
wealth, so he could be talking just as easily about spiritual
wealth
2 Smyrna didnt exist during Pauls life
a Paul died in 67 AD, and we have some possible evidence that
the church in Smyrna didnt exist in his lifetime, so it seems
unlikely that it would be planted so quickly and then included in
a book written before 70 AD
b Weakness: that doesnt make sense couldnt someone plant
the church in 68 or 69 AD?
i Difficult Evidence a letter from Polycarp (elder at
Smyrna, disciple of John) written to the church in Philippi
(from 2nd century)
1 Polycarp writes, Among you the blessed Paul
labored for concerning you he boasts in all the
churches who then alone had known the Lord, for
we had not yet known Him.
2 Some say Polycarp is saying that Smyrna didnt yet
know the Lord during Pauls life
3 Others say hes saying Smyrna didnt yet know the
Lord while Paul wrote Philippians and spread the
letter around to the other churches, which would
mean the church in Smyrna was planted sometime
after 61-62 AD, plenty of time before an early
writing of Revelation
3 Spiritual decline in the churches
a Ephesus left its first love, Sardis lost real life, Laodicea is
lukewarm
b Scholars ask, How could a church go bad so quickly, if the book
was written before 70 AD? The churches were planted in the
late 50s, early 60s, so they say that wouldnt be long enough to
decline.

Weakness: Its foolish and contrary to evidence in the Bible and

the real world to think churches cant decline quickly
i Only a few weeks after Paul was in Galatia, the churches
abandoned the Gospel for a counterfeit one
ii The church Paul planted in Corinth, in his lifetime, began
to reject the resurrection of the dead and to accept incest
and other gross sins
v External Evidence
1 Most early church fathers seemed to believe the book was written
during Domnitians reign
2 Irenaeus a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John
a In discussing the mark of the beast in 185 AD, he wrote, Now
since this is so, and since this number 666 is found in all the
good and ancient copies [of revelation] and since those who had
seen John face to face testify and reason teaches us that the
number of thename of the beast appears according to the
numeration of the Greeks by the letters in it, we will not
however incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name
of the antichrist. For if it were necessary that his name should be
distinctively revieled in the present time, it would have been
announced by him who held the apocalyptic vision, for that was
seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, toward the
end of Domnitians reign.
b Confusion in the statement that was seen
i Does it mean the vision was seen in Domnitians reign?
ii Does it mean John was seen in Domnitians reign?
1 This is more likely in my opinion
c Evidence Irenaeus means John was seen in Domnitians reign
i History shows that John clearly lived to the end of
Domnitians reign and would have been seen
ii Earlier in his statement, Irenaeus refers to those who had
seen John, so its not unlikely that he would again be
referring to the same subject
iii Iraneus refers to the early copies of Revelation as
ancient but to the end of Domnitians reign as almost
in our day
1 It would make no sense for the book to be written
in Domnitians reign (almost in our day) but also
called ancient
2 If the book was written in Neros day (before 68
AD), Iraneus (writing in 185 AD) could call the early
copies ancient and the end of Domnitians reign
almost in our day
iv Elsewhere in this writing, Irenaeus has some serious
errors, leaving his credibility in question
1 For example, he says htat Jesus was crucified at 50
years old
vi Summary: Internal evidence isnt very convincing, and the external evidence
could be interpreted either way but leans toward a late date
Evidence for an early date (Nero)
i Many well-respected scholars hold to an early date

ii Revelation 17:9-10 this is a reference to Nero reigning over the Roman

Empire
1 The verses describe the beast as having 7 heads which represent 7
kings 5 having fallen, 1 is, and the other will come in the future
2 This is very obscure and mysterious, but perhaps helpful
3 Perhaps this is a reference to Roman emperors, in which case John is
saying that 5 had already reigned, and currently a 6 th is reigning, which
would be Emperor Nero
4 Weakness this understanding assumes kings means emperors,
where elsewhere in the Bible (Daniel), kings means empires
iii Revelation 11:1-2 He measures the Temple and doesnt include the outer
parts because theyll be given to the Gentiles, which seems to imply the
Temple is currently existing but will be destroyed, meaning the book had to
be written before 70 AD
1 Weakness: Its a vision, so theres no guarantee that its historically
accurate
iv Situation between church and the Jewish community
1 Smyrna and Philadelphia are persecuted by the Jewish populations in
their towns
2 After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, it seems unlikely that the
Jews would be strong enough and motivated enough to be a force of
persecution but rather demoralized and weakened
v Number of the beast (666) Caesar Nero in Hebrew numbers exactly to 666
1 Scholars unanimously agree that this is the numeric equivalent of a
mans name
a Letters of alphabet in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin all double for
numerals (ie. Roman Numberals I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, etc.)
2 Names were often referred to by their number equivalents
a Graffiti in Rome says, 387 loves 294
3 John says, This number of the beast is the number of a man, and his
number is 666, and he expects the wise among his readers will
understand
a This would mean the beast is a person alive during their time.
How could even the wise calculate the number of the beast if
the beast wouldnt be born for another 2000 or 3000 years or
whatever?
4 Caesar Nero when translated into Hebrew and its letter values
calculated adds up to 666
a This isnt true of Domnitian or any other emperor or known
Roman figure from the 1st century
b The only contemporary person we know of whose name could be
666 is Nero
c Why would we have to translate it into Hebrew to get the
number?
i John doesnt want the Romans to realize its a reference to
the emperor. Because they would know Latin and Greek
but probably not Hebrew, he converted it to Hebrew first.
ii John expects that his readers know at least some Hebrew
(some of them are former Jews plus, he uses Hebrew
words elsewhere in Revelation Armageddon, alleluia,

angel of bottomless pit has a name given in Greek and

Hebrew)
vi Persecution of the 7 churches is similar to what we see elsewhere in Neros
time
1 1 Peter written to churches in Asia Minor before 64 AD, discusses
very similar persecution to what the churches in Revelation 1-3
experience (1 Peter 1:1-6, 4:12, 5:9)
2 Pauls experiences of persecution in late 50s and early 60s in the book
of Acts are very similar to what the churches in Revelation 1-3 are
experiencing (Acts 13:50, 14:5, 14:19, 17:5-8, 17:13, 18:12)
vii External Evidence
1 Some of the earliest versions of the New Testament place an early
date, before 70 AD (Syriac Version 2nd century, Muratorian Fragment
170-190 AD, Aramaic Peshitta, Monarchian Prologues)
viii Summary: Internal evidence for an early date is pretty convincing though
open to interpretation, and there is definitely some external evidence