Dear James,
Frankly, I personally believe that there is some merit to the belief that all of the material in Revelations has already been fulfilled. However, I realize there are many who would disagree. The fact is, the whole subject of Jewish eschatology is very complex. And, that is what the book of Revelations is - Jewish eschatology. As a matter of fact, the book of Revelations happens to be the most Jewish book in the New Testament.
There are some very subtle and somewhat sarcastic statements that are made in the book at the very beginning when the author says "Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophesy and keep those things which are written therein." ha ha - as if anybody is going to. But, it is a very Jewish way of approaching the subject. However, in the Mishnah, Order Moed, Tractate Chaggigah, Chapter 2, it says, "There are four kinds of people for whom it would have been better had they never been born on the face of the Earth: Those who want to know what is up above (what heaven will be like), those who want to know what is down below (what is hell going to be like), those who want to know what is out in the future and those who are perpetually looking to the past - for any discussion on these four subjects is nothing more than useless speculation and idle prognostication and serves no worthwhile academic purpose but only serves to cause one to fall away from true Biblical faith."
So, to be honest with you, I really don't concern myself with all of these discussions and usually leave that to those who are much smarter than I am. |
