I'm reading a GREAT book. "History the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilization" by Jonathan Kirsch.
As a JW, I grew up reading, rereading, and rereading the Revelation Book. At every news story, my parentsjumped to conclusions by naming who was the Antichrist, Army of the North, etc.
But, Kirsh's book shows the history behind the writing of Revelation,the other apocalypses which were dissed by rabbis and early Christians, how the Church thought it was garbage, and how each generation applied it to their historical figures, etc. And, I'm only on page 31, but this book is a real eye opener for me.
Here's an excerpt:
"No better example can be found than the ancient but enduring practice of linking the Antichrist to a living historical figure. The "beast" of Revelation has been a man of all seasons; Muhammad was seen as the Antichrist in the early Middle Ages. Saladin at the time of the Crusades; the Grand Sultan of the Ottoman Turks when they threatened the gates of Vienna, Napoleon in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Martin Luther denounced the pope 9papacy) was the Antichrist, and the pope returned the favor. Each generation hurls up its own candidates: Lenin and Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini, Roosevelt and Kennedy,Moshe Dayan and Anwar el-Sadat have all been proposed at various times at the human manifestation of the Beast.
Speculation on the identity of the Antichrist, in fact, can be seen as a kind of Rorchach test for the anxieties of any given age. Henry Kissinger , for example, came under suspicion when he was shuttling
between Washington, Moscow ,a nd Beijing in the 1970s, and the Ayatollah Khomeini was nominated only after Americans were taken hostage in Tehran during the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. Only a few years ago,Sadddam Hussein was seen as a promising contender; significantly, the best-selling Left Behind series identifies Baghdad as the seat of its fictional Antichrist. Nowadays, of course, Osama bin Laden seems to have taken Saddam's place as the satanic adversary whose coming s predicted in Revelation"
So...this got me thinking......George Bush is a Born Again. I wonder if the Iraq war was instigated, in part, based on a series of fiction books? I still think it was to destabalize oil prices so he'd
profit....but, it's an interesting concept. I've heard him talk before about his being "in place" by God. He thinks he's God's right hand man......
New Book on Revelations
by skeeter1 6 Replies latest watchtower bible
-
skeeter1
-
StAnn
For another take on the book of Revelations, read Dr. Scott Hahn's book, The Lamb's Supper.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Rolocdi4etcC&dq=inauthor:Scott+inauthor:Hahn&pgis=1
Whether or not Bushy was influenced by the Left Behind books is a good question.
-
Leolaia
I love those kind of books. I have wanted to a similar thread on Daniel, and how one short passage was reinterpreted in a mind-boggling number of ways in several hundred years.
So few actually read Revelation in light of the historical and literary context of its own day. It instead becomes a vehicle for a each generation's own eschatological beliefs.
-
kurtbethel
I started with the Hal Lindsay book, Late Great Planet Earth. It was interesting, though I have noticed with more recent books, and going back to 19th century books, that the writers are very adept at mapping supposed prophecy on to the current events of their time.
After learning more about history and the early church, it makes more sense to read Revelation as a coded message of its time. -
buffalosrfree
skeeter, is George Bush saying he is in place by god, a ploy to get nominated to the Governing bodice? Possibly huhj, that way he can still make decisions that crap on people while at the same time looking benevelent (dictator wise that is).
-
Gopher
There is NO WAY a book written by some first-century guy on drugs has any significance in the 21st century.
Here's what it says at the very end of Revelation (22:20) --
He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon!" Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
Every century has had its nutcases who say "soon" or "shortly" meant right then and there!
Prophesy wouldn't be exciting if they said "it'll come true hundreds of years in the future".That's why the Bible's "Revelation" and the claim that it will be fulfilled "soon" lends itself so well to hucksters.
-
Gopher
In the 1980's the number 666 (which is said in Revelation to be a "man's number") was applied to American president Reagan. This wasn't by JW's, but by some other Revelation/Apocalypse enthusiasts. You know, there are 6 letters in each of his names - Ronald Wilson Reagan. So obviously the prophecy HAD to point to him!
See this spooky/disturbing website that "proves" Reagan was the antichrist: http://pages.prodigy.net/lightoftheworld/omens.html
- If you take the letters R and E from red and add them to the letters A G O and N from dragon you have a possible spelling for Reagan. Red Dragon is a Biblical name for the Anti-Christ. (Rev 12:3)
- The names Ronald Wilson and Reagan each have six letters. (Rev 13:18)
- Reagan's house number was 666 before Nancy had it changed to 668.
- Reagan was shot and wounded and recovered from the wound. (Rev 13:3).
- On election day of 1980, 666 was the winning lottery number in both New Jersey and Maryland.
- In 1984 on the Saturday after his re-election 666 was again the winning lottery number in Maryland. It was sold out making it the number with the most winners until that point in time.
- In his first speech as President Reagan mentioned the number 666 as the cost in dollars that was added to new cars by government regulations.
- Reagan's first budget predicted 666 billion dollars in government revenues.
- Reagan's re-election campaign cost 66.6 million dollars.
- Reagan's first primary victory in the California Governors race came in 6/66
- July 6, 1999 California votes to produce Reagan license plates in a 66 to 6 vote.
- Reagan's first film was the 666th film released by Hollywood.
- His adopted son was rumored to have been born on a 6/6 at 6 am.
- In the film "Knute Rockne All American" he played one of The Four Horsemen. (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?)
- One anagram for Ronald Wilson Reagan is "Insane Anglo Warlord."
- Another anagram for Ronald Wilson Reagan is "I ran old war on Angels."