tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20068297.post4052320557716728016..comments2023-02-23T04:39:54.111-08:00Comments on Barefoot Priest: Cosmic Bible versus Earthly BibleAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436919241794573417noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20068297.post-89747312100589564642007-11-06T07:36:00.000-08:002007-11-06T07:36:00.000-08:00What is the correct paradigm for reading Revelatio...What is the correct paradigm for reading Revelation? — now there's a big question!<BR/><BR/>Revelation has never been one of the texts that I frequently turn to. While I've studied many other books of the Bible in depth, I haven't done so with Revelation. So I can't say much about it except that different scholars propose different paradigms.<BR/><BR/>The whole genre of apocalyptic was intended to provide encouragement for God's people during times when they weren't faring so well. The genre depicts events in this world as part of a cosmic struggle between God and the forces of darkness, which sometimes (temporarily) appear to have the upper hand. Eventually, God will decisively right the ship.<BR/><BR/>But will God do so in this world or the next? Depends which scholar you read. These days, the evangelical scholar N.T. Wright insists that the eschatological texts refer to a this-worldly righting of wrongs.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure that we can completely abandon an other-worldly fulfillment of God's promises. But with respect to Revelation — I doubt that it provides a literal road map to the events to come. I think it is a thoroughly metaphorical book: i.e., its descriptions of heaven and earth are both equally metaphorical.<BR/><BR/>So yes, I think your proposed interpretation is eminently defensible.stchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04018824090441668781noreply@blogger.com