THESIS SUMMARY
Future without Past: An hermeneutical examination of the interpretation of the book of Revelation in Finnish Pentecostalism
This thesis is submitted to the Global University School of Graduate Studies in partial requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. The study examines the interpretation of the book of Revelation in Finnish Pentecostalism. The subject of the thesis is the following: Future without Past: An hermeneutical examination of the interpretation of the book of Revelation in Finnish Pentecostalism. The working hypothesis is following: Finnish Pentecostalism has not used the same hermeneutical approach in its interpretation of the book of Revelation as it uses in the interpretation of other books of the Bible. This study is limited to analyses of the following hermeneutical approaches: the historical context of Revelation, Revelation as apocalyptic literature, and Revelation as biblical prophecy.
There is no official interpretation of Revelation in Finnish Pentecostalism. As a result, its interpretation can only be observed through the commonly accepted works of individual Finnish Pentecostal authors, dictionaries, and Ristin Voitto magazine, which is the weekly publication of the movement. This study works with authors and teachers that are used in the congregations and the Bible College of the Pentecostal movement.
Finnish Pentecostalism is known for its emphasis on the situation and practices of the early church. One example is the practice of baptizing Christians by immersion. The historical context is emphasised in the arguments supporting the views of the movement. However, the present interpretation of Revelation creates a fearful waiting for the last events. This has a paralyzing effect on Christians in changing their environment, both individual and communal. These teachings concerning the immanent return of Christ leave people disillusioned and cynical toward the teachings in the book of Revelation. The reassessment of the message and teaching on Revelation should lead to restoring the reputation of teaching and teachers of Revelation. Confidence in teachers is an important issue for the whole Finnish Pentecostal community.
If the interpretation of the Bible has a negative influence, the search for a better hermeneutic should be the first step. This is why the focus of this study is hermeneutical. It examines the book of Revelation according to established hermeneutical principles. According to these hermeneutical principles it is possible to find a method that works for any book of the Bible, including Revelation.
The purpose of the book of Revelations for its original audience was Rome and the oppression of the popular emperor cult in the area of Roman Empire, especially in Asia Minor. This caused difficulties in Christian living and created the feeling of an unsecure future. This environment pressured Christians to participate in the cultic rituals and emperor worship. John wrote to encourage Christians to endure in the battle against these antichristian powers and to witness on God. Even the time and place differ from the original, the principles presented in the book of Revelation are similar. We are also in need of godly vision in order to endure in our call.
The purposes of this study are to clarify the questions related to the problem statement and increase interest in the book of Revelation and its timeless message. Furthermore, the study seeks to expose new methods of interpretation in order to expand the understanding of the book of Revelation in Finnish Pentecostalism. The answers that are given to the subproblems seek to promote the Kingdom of God and its ethical and moral values for the present generation.
The purpose of this study is to determine how Finnish Pentecostalism identifies the historical context, apocalyptic nature and biblical prophecy in its present interpretation of the book of Revelation.
The first subproblem is to determine if the historical context of the book of Revelation is considered in the interpretation by Finnish Pentecostalism. The second subproblem is to determine if Finnish Pentecostalism identifies the book of Revelation as apocalyptic literature. The third subproblem is to determine if biblical prophecy is correctly interpreted in the book of Revelation by Finnish Pentecostalism.
The first hypothesis is that Finnish Pentecostalism does not observe the historical context in its present interpretation of the book of Revelation because the book is assumed to be written only to reveal future events. The second hypothesis is that the book of Revelation is not recognized as an apocalyptic literature but instead as prophecy literature. The third hypothesis is that Finnish Pentecostalism has limited biblical prophecy its interpretation of the book of Revelation to concern only predictions of future events in.
The adoption of the present method of interpretation is connected to the arguments of the late forties shown to be deficient. Therefore, the new method, influenced by Darby and presented by Vilho Hartonen was not rejected, or accepted. Later it became normative and was supported by some authors such as Hal Lindsey.
Answers to the Subbroblems
According to study, Finnish Pentecostalism identifies the book of Revelation as a prophetical book, which was written for future generations. The central message of the book of Revelation, according to Finnish Pentecostalism, is the second coming of Christ.
The first part of the study shows that Finnish Pentecostalism has ignored the historical context in its interpretation of Revelation. This is due to the fact that it is seen as prophecy that concerns only future events. Thus the meaning of the book of Revelation for its original audience is not considered important even though the historical situation is described briefly in some of the sources.
The exegetical side of the study values the historical context. Therefore, examination of the context surrounding the original audience aids in understanding the message of Revelation. This context, also helps clarify the meaning of the mysterious pictures and symbols for the present age, too.
The second part of the study presents the movement and thought of apocalyptic literature. This exposes the fact that the Finnish Pentecostal movement does not identify the book as apocalyptic literature. A standard hermeneutical approach identifies the book of Revelation as apocalyptic literature that includes the biblical prophecy. The understanding of apocalyptic language helps to interpret difficult pictures in the book of Revelation.
The third part of the study examines the book of Revelation in the light of biblical prophecy. The study supports the view that apocalyptic literature has roots in prophetic literature. Both are the methods through which God reveals himself to man.
First, the biblical prophecy is defined. Biblical prophecy is mainly forthtelling (exposing things), but has a foretelling (predicting) feature, too. Although Finnish Pentecostalism expresses a knowledge of the foretelling features, it seems to disregard the forthtelling value of the message of Revelation. The view of Finnish Pentecostalism on prophecy in the book of Revelation is narrow compared to general biblical prophecy.
This narrow view of prophecy concludes that an original reader could not understand the book of Revelation. It concludes, too, that today a reader has better possibility to understand the political and technical descriptions found in the book of Revelation.
Standard hermeneutics accept the foretelling nature of the message of Revelation but it also emphasizes that the prophetic purpose for the original reader as source of advice, encouragement, exhortation, and hope in their immediate situations.
Answer to the Problem Statement
The interpretation of the book of Revelation in Finnish Pentecostalism ignores the central principles of hermeneutics. All of the answers presented to the subproblems support the answer given above. Every area of the standard hermeneutic used in this study is mistakenly approached, because of a disregard of both historical and literature context.
The study supports the first, second, and third hypothesis. The fact that Finnish Pentecostalism has narrowed the meaning of the biblical prophecy only to concern the future has led to ignoring the context and the features of apocalyptic literature. This leads the interpretation away from the original purposes of God and the author of the book of Revelation. The way the original readers understood the book of Revelation is forgotten also, which disregards the apocalyptic movement as part of the contextual phenomena of ancient times.
Conclusions and Discussion
In Finnish Pentecostalism the book of Revelation is read through emphasis on futurism and dispensationalism. Of these two, dispensationalism is not fully supported by biblical texts, but later views of scholars. Therefore the interpretation of the book of Revelation in Finnish Pentecostalism is based only on historical tradition, and not on the original meaning of the biblical text. Dispensationalism, as well as the futuristic emphasis, views the churches presented in the book of Revelation only as symbolic.
When biblical prophecy is narrowed into foretelling of the future, the timeless spiritual message is lost. The book of Revelation remains only as a speculative skeleton of timetables. Apocalypticism urges us to focus our hope on God despite times of troubles. God has the key to the coming ages and offers hope for the future. According to the apocalypticists victory over Satan is guaranteed for followers of Christ. Because of the rejection this apocalyptic emphasis, the rest of the timeless message is lost. Apocalypticism, along with biblical prophecy carries the eternal encouraging message of Revelation to every generation.
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