Symbols in Revelation

[MissKate13]

Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,…”

Would you agree that John’s revelation was given by signs or symbols?

Would the Jews in the first century have understood what those symbols represented? How would they know?

Why do you think Revelation was written with symbols?

How can we know today what these symbols mean?

Would anyone be open to discussing the meaning of the symbols in Revelation 4, and then perhaps the symbols in other chapters later?

[Miles]

Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,…”

Would you agree that John’s revelation was given by signs or symbols?

If by signs or symbols you mean letters and words, then yes.

Revelation 1:1-3
1 This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must happen soon. And Christ sent his angel to show it to his servant John, 2 who has told everything he saw. It is the truth that Jesus Christ told him; it is the message from God. 3 Great blessings belong to the person who reads the words of this message from God and to those who hear this message and do what is written in it. There is not much time left.

Would the Jews in the first century have understood what those symbols represented?

As I understand the Jews of the first century, with the exception of the priests just about all were illiterate.

How would they know?

They would have to have been told by those who could read.

Why do you think Revelation was written with symbols?

Because they were part of the Aramaic


................


and then Greek alphabets.


................

How can we know today what these symbols mean?

Google is your friend

[MissKate13]

[Replying to Miles in post #2]

Hi Miles. Thank you for your response. I think signs and symbols are pictures that represent various things. The Revelation given to John by Jesus was to “show” his servants things which must shortly take place. The book is filled with visions John saw. Jesus tells John to write down what he saw.

We have a couple of good examples of what some signs or symbols represent in chapter 1. We don’t have to guess what they mean. John tells us. The seven golden lamp stands represent the seven churches. The seven stars were the angels (messengers) of the seven churches.

Do you think there were only seven churches? I don’t. There were congregations at Antioch and Colossae which were nearby. In my humble opinion, seven is a number that represents completeness. The seven churches is representative of all the known churches at that time. But then I could be wrong. Who knows. It really doesn’t matter. The main message of the book comes through loud and clear. Remain faithful, and you will receive a crown of life. In the end, Christ wins. Satan loses.

I agree with you. Most were illiterate at that time, they knew the Scriptures from being raised in them and hearing them preached every Sabbath. In my humble opinion, I think they knew what the symbols represented.

My question is why was the book written in symbols? What was the purpose? I can only speculate.

[Difflugia]

Would you agree that John’s revelation was given by signs or symbols?

Yes.

Would the Jews in the first century have understood what those symbols represented? How would they know?

"Jews" at large? No. Revelation was written to a much smaller audience, like a specific Christian church. Some commentators think that Revelation was originally for an apocalyptic Jewish sect similar to that at Qumran and later coopted by Christians.

Why do you think Revelation was written with symbols?

Apocalyptic sects had their own sets of allegorical and symbolic language.

How can we know today what these symbols mean?

Without a related corpus of texts or interpretive clues by the authors, mostly guesswork.

Would anyone be open to discussing the meaning of the symbols in Revelation 4, and then perhaps the symbols in other chapters later?

You might get more traction if you pick one yourself and give us your interpretation, giving others something to disagree with.

[OneWay]

Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,…”

Would you agree that John’s revelation was given by signs or symbols?

Neither one.

[JehovahsWitness]

Would you agree that John’s revelation was given by signs or symbols?

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words





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[2ndpillar2]

Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,…”

Would you agree that John’s revelation was given by signs or symbols?

Would the Jews in the first century have understood what those symbols represented? How would they know?

Why do you think Revelation was written with symbols?

How can we know today what these symbols mean?

Would anyone be open to discussing the meaning of the symbols in Revelation 4, and then perhaps the symbols in other chapters later?

Revelation is to be understood by those given eyes to see and ears to hear. (Mt 13:13) Revelation 5 gives interpretation for its symbols, including symbols of Revelation 4. As stated in 1 John 2:27, the "anointing" is the teacher of all things. Without the anointing, one pretty much remains in the dark. Basically, Revelation is a perspective of prophecy unfolded. It's best parallel is the book of Daniel, which gives a different perspective of the same events. The "end" ends with judgment for the nations/Gentiles, such as Har-Magedon (Rev 16), and judgment for those with the "mark of the beast", such as judgment for those who call themselves "Christians", who carry the mark of the beast with two horns like a lamb (Rev 14:10). The lesson to be learned is that of Matthew 3, which is to confess your sins (transgression of Law), repent, and get baptized by the Spirit of God (get the anointing), or face the laid-out consequences, which for the "tares"/lawless/wicked/sinners is to be thrown into furnace of fire (Har-Magedon) (Mt 13:30)

[MissKate13]

Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,…”

Would you agree that John’s revelation was given by signs or symbols?

Neither one.

Look at Revelation 1:1 again.

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to SHOW His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and SIGNIFIED it by His angel to His servant John. (emphasis mine)

The Greek term used for signified is semaino. It means to give a sign.

◄ 4591. sémainó ►
Strong's Concordance
sémainó: to give a sign
Original Word: σημαίνω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: sémainó
Phonetic Spelling: (say-mah'-ee-no)
Definition: to give a sign
Usage: I signify, indicate, give a sign, make known.

Jesus gave the revelation to SHOW.

Examples of our English word signified used in a sentence.

The number five may be signified by holding up five fingers.

Nodding the head signifies yes.

Shaking the head signifies no.

Hope that helps.

[MissKate13]

[Replying to 2ndpillar2 in post #7]

Imho, Revelation was written to first century Christians who understood the meaning of the various symbols because they had heard them from their teachers throughout their whole lives. The symbols in Revelation can be found in the prophetic book of Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, etc.

Some symbols can be understood. Some we can give our best quess at what they mean. Some we can only speculate about. I think it’s a bad idea to be dogmatic about any of them unless the Scripture makes them clear such as the seven lamp stands representing the seven churches. What’s important about Revelation is knowing that if we keep the faith unto death we will receive the crown of life, and in the end, Jesus wins. Satan loses.

[OneWay]

Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,…”

Would you agree that John’s revelation was given by signs or symbols?

Neither one.

Look at Revelation 1:1 again.

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to SHOW His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and SIGNIFIED it by His angel to His servant John. (emphasis mine)

The Greek term used for signified is semaino. It means to give a sign.

◄ 4591. sémainó ►
Strong's Concordance
sémainó: to give a sign
Original Word: σημαίνω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: sémainó
Phonetic Spelling: (say-mah'-ee-no)
Definition: to give a sign
Usage: I signify, indicate, give a sign, make known.

Jesus gave the revelation to SHOW.

Examples of our English word signified used in a sentence.

The number five may be signified by holding up five fingers.

Nodding the head signifies yes.

Shaking the head signifies no.

Hope that helps.

Is this you posted to me a symbol or a sign?