Is the book of Revelation a false prophesy? (Why is it canon?) EDITED TITLE

[TimothyH]

The stars falling from the sky and the sky rolled up was the veil of the temple.

The veil was made of porpoise skin and had the moon and constellations painted on it. When the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, they rolled up the veil and took it to Rome as a trophy for the emperor.

*…the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up,… (Revelation 6:14) *

-Tim-

 

[mikekle]

Well, I think its important to remember God told them that they would be thrown in prisons, brought before judges and kings to be persecuted, all because of belief in Jesus…look at the world today, this is already happening in some areas of the world and not that far from happening in the US in my opinion, so we must be getting somewhat close…right?

Another thing he says is the world will be similar to the times of Noah…many people say our world today is fairly close to how people lived back then, so this has to mean something important imo.

 

[Prayer_Warrior]

The Scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit but written by men. It is not like they took direct dictation from God. This is illustrated in several verses of Scripture but no where is it clearer than when St. Paul says that he could not remember who he baptized in 1 Cor 1:16. If he had been taking dictation, this verse would not be there because the Holy Spirit did not forget. The Holy Spirit inspired John to write Revelation in a particular way that would have meaning for the people of his time. We must remember that the Scriptures were written over 2,000 years ago. All authors of Scripture used the language and expressions of the day. They were written to a particular audience. The Scriptures, especially the Revelation, used metaphors and imagery that would be familiar to the people of the day. We must remember to keep the Scriptures in context and not try to read these verses like we would an astronomy book.

“There is nothing figurative or metaphorical about verse 13.” Au Contraire! Stars are representative of government/ rulers and also time keeping-- signifying that time is up. Additionally, some commentators believe that the entire segment is a take on Genesis. Instead of creation, it is a de-creation.

 

[oldcelt]

Throughout this thread I keep hearing multiple interpretations of the same verses. How do people plan on correcting these obvious flaws for a modern world that simply knows that the events as described literally could not happen?

I have long been of the opinion that Revelation was added to frighten people into obedience. It causes great division among the various sects and serves no other purpose that I can see. Sorry, but I do not see a loving God as someone who would find it necessary to write a horror story to draw His people closer.

 

[Razanir]

Throughout this thread I keep hearing multiple interpretations of the same verses. How do people plan on correcting these obvious flaws for a modern world that simply knows that the events as described literally could not happen?

I have long been of the opinion that Revelation was added to frighten people into obedience. It causes great division among the various sects and serves no other purpose that I can see. Sorry, but I do not see a loving God as someone who would find it necessary to write a horror story to draw His people closer.

Do you expect apocalypses to be peaceful? Watch Ghostbusters. I’m sure you’ll see as much panic in Revelation’s apocalypse as in any other apocalyptic movie.

Also, this comment is presupposing that the horror story is the most important part. You’re failing to take into account, however, that Revelation is also kind of hopeful. No matter how horrible life can get, no matter how hopeless it can feel, we know God wins in the end.

 

[TimothyH]

The Book of Revelation is not just about the end of the world. Everyone wants to focus on that but the end of the world is only a small part of what it is about. It was written to address the problem of emperor worship in Asia Minor. The seven Churches were highly persecuted because they would not participate in emperor worship.

It is a message of hope for those who persevere to the end.

It is a recounting of how God has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ and how Jesus Christ continues to be present in his written word, in the liturgy and in the Eucharist.

It is a covenant lawsuit.

It touches upon the fulfillment of all things in Christ but it is not entirely about the end of the world.

Apocalyps in Greek means unveiling. It meas to reveal. It is about God’s revelation of himself.

-Tim-

 

[ericc]

Throughout this thread I keep hearing multiple interpretations of the same verses. How do people plan on correcting these obvious flaws for a modern world that simply knows that the events as described literally could not happen?

I have long been of the opinion that Revelation was added to frighten people into obedience. It causes great division among the various sects and serves no other purpose that I can see. Sorry, but I do not see a loving God as someone who would find it necessary to write a horror story to draw His people closer.

Our world will end anyway. Either the sun runs out of fuel or what John wrote becomes true. Why are you so negative about the religious way for the world to end vs the scientific way? You have no place to hide!

If the Catholic faith is true, eternal bliss/punishment awaits you. If it is not, it doesn’t matter anyway since we are just a random act of nature. Take a bet on Pascal Wager. When the payoff is enormously high, what is the best choice?

 

[ericc]

**13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. **

It is clear to me that this prophesy is written upon the knowledge of the man, not upon the knowledge of Jehovah. To the author, the stars appeared small and were something that could fall to the Earth. However, God would not prophesy such a thing, for God knows what the stars actually are. There is nothing figurative or metaphorical about verse 13. He does not say asteroids or meteors; He says stars. The men who canonized this book did not have the scientific knowledge to know that this is not possible and if they had known what the stars were, I do not think they would have canonized this book.

The last I checked, there is no Greek word for asteroid.

“Greek scholar Charles Burney Jr., who originated the term asteroid, which means “star-like” in Greek” in year 1802.

Now, you can now blame John for not prophesying the word asteroid will be used in the future. In fact when it was first coined, it was rejected by most.

phys.org/news/2013-10-greek-scholar-term-asteroid-reveals.html

 

[Nita]

Good Morning,

I left the TV on last night and woke up to a Christian show that was going step by step over the Book of Revelation. In Chapter 6, there are these verses:

12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

**13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. **

14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;

17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

It is clear to me that this prophesy is written upon the knowledge of the man, not upon the knowledge of Jehovah. To the author, the stars appeared small and were something that could fall to the Earth. However, God would not prophesy such a thing, for God knows what the stars actually are. There is nothing figurative or metaphorical about verse 13. He does not say asteroids or meteors; He says stars. The men who canonized this book did not have the scientific knowledge to know that this is not possible and if they had known what the stars were, I do not think they would have canonized this book.

The Book of Revelation itself indicates that the terminology can be symbolic.
“Stars” can be symbolic for “angels”

 

[Nita]

Good Morning,

I left the TV on last night and woke up to a Christian show that was going step by step over the Book of Revelation. In Chapter 6, there are these verses:

12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

**13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. **

14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;

17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

It is clear to me that this prophesy is written upon the knowledge of the man, not upon the knowledge of Jehovah. To the author, the stars appeared small and were something that could fall to the Earth. However, God would not prophesy such a thing, for God knows what the stars actually are. There is nothing figurative or metaphorical about verse 13. He does not say asteroids or meteors; He says stars. The men who canonized this book did not have the scientific knowledge to know that this is not possible and if they had known what the stars were, I do not think they would have canonized this book.

The Book of Revelation itself indicates that the terminology can be symbolic:

“Stars” can be symbolic for “angels”
*Rev. 1:20 "… the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches *

And “angels” in turn can be symbolic for “bishops” (heads of particular churches)
*Rev. 2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: … *

**Thus, “stars falling” can refer to bishops apostasizing **such as happened on a group scale, so to speak, during the Arian heresy and later in the Protestant Reformation.

 

[jochoa]

Good Morning,

Good Morning! To answer your original question, the Book of Revelation is not a false prophesy. It is actual, which is why it is canon.