"Don't wake me for the end of the world unless it has very good special effects."
- Roger Zelazny -
Revelation's "Hear/See" Paradigm: Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3
I have found the "Hear/See" pattern to be one of several important "Keys to Unlocking Revelation."
In the first installment of this series,
we introduced the "Hear/See" pattern, a paradigm that appears a number of times in the pages of the book of Revelation. We directed your attention to what is perhaps the clearest, most unequivocal example of that pattern, a short passage in which John the Apostle is told (Hear-audible-) that the Lion of Judah has conquered. When he then looks to see this Lion (See-visible-), his gaze falls upon a Lamb.
In this article, we'll take a look at a second very clear example of the pattern.
Keys to Understanding Revelation
Image courtesy of Arek Socha and http://pixabay.com
Have you heard of "The Bride of Christ?"
If you're not completely new to bible study, I suspect that you have, and so I won't go into extensive proofs that the church, i.e. Jesus' redeemed people, is spoken of in scripture as his bride.
"Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal."
- Revelation 21:9-11
Once again, we have the "Hear/See" pattern in action.
Hear a description...
Image courtesy of Ilona and http://pixabay.com
Notice what John hears:
“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
Hearing that, what would you expect to see?
See what was described...
Image courtesy of Gerd Altmann and http://pixabay.com
Wouldn't you expect to see a bride?
A woman, dressed in white, ready for her wedding?
A bride...
Image courtesy of photo-nic.co.uk nic and http://unsplash.com
Imagine yourself in John's place.
You're told by the messenger that you are about to see the Lamb's bride.
Now you turn, and what do you see?
You see a city.
A city...
Image courtesy of Jonathan Roger and http://unsplash.com
You see a city, not a bride.
The City of God is widely accepted by students of scripture as another metaphor for God's people. We, as God's people, are spoken of as living stones, construction material for his city.The truth is, the bride and the city are one and the same.
This is the Hear/See pattern again.
A Lion and a Lamb. A Bride and a City. In each case, not different things - merely different ways of looking at the same thing.
The pattern occurs, again and again, throughout the book of Revelation. John first hears descriptions and then sees what was described. And what he hears and sees are the same, though symbolically described in radically different ways.
Keys to Understanding Revelation
Image courtesy of mastersenaiper and http://pixabay.com
I hope you're getting excited.
By observing the clearest examples of this pattern in Revelation, you can begin to understanding that what John heard and what he subsequently saw are the same thing. Then you will be able to cut through the confusion brought about by all too many careless bible teachers in dealing with other, less agreed upon passages where the "Hear/See" pattern occurs.
Join us next time,
when we'll uncover another example of the "Hear/See" pattern. I think we may cut to the chase and expose the truth about one of the most widely misunderstood passages in the book of revelation.
FIN
P.S. If you have an "in" with anybody at Steemit, Inc. - Would you please ask them to get rid of these damn, extremely annoying "off-website" arrow/boxes? The have, overnight, made Steemit ugly. There are much better solutions.
For more theological discussions,
please CLICK our Library Christianity Shelf.
LOOK! Check out our amazing product:
Introducing: The SILVERengines proton - Image by 
CONTACT US - Will Exchange for Steem
Thanks for your time and attention.
You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
⬇️To Check Out 's World⬇️CLICK Each Image Below⬇️
|
|
|