NT 311 Revelation	1.0

I.  Course information
A.	Organization of the course
 1.	 Purpose of the course
We aim to gain an understanding and appreciation of the central message and style of Revelation, so that we will be able to lead the total church membership to profit from reading and studying the book themselves.
2. Learning goals. By the end of the course, the student should be able to:
a. Identify main themes in the book of Revelation.
b. Appreciate the practical purposes of the book.
c. Know how to deal with symbolism in the book.
d. Be able to study, research, and expound any passage in Revelation with sensitivity to its themes, symbolism, and evocation of the Old Testament, and with appropriate application to modern hearers.
e. Have a basic idea of the structure of Revelation.
f. Know the principal approaches that have been historically used to interpret Revelation.
g. Have basic information about the historical background for the book, and competence to investigate more fully where appropriate.
h. Understand and explain the significance of theophany in Revelation.
i. Be able to explain the main issues involved in the millennial dispute.
j. Understand and be able to explain the significance of the vision of the consummation in Revelation.
3. Strategy:
We will concentrate not on verse-by-verse analysis of the whole book, but on themes.  II.  Counterfeiting (13:1-18).  III.  Structure.  IV.  Underlying choices of hermeneutical approach (see 9:1-11).  V.  Historical situation (2:1-3:22).  VI.  Theophany (1:9-20).  VII.  Millennium (20:1-10).  VIII.  Consummation (21:1-22:5).  IX. Worship (5:1-14). My plan is that, through this selective study, you will gain an over-all framework for appreciating Revelation.  Then you can utilize commentaries effectively in trying to understand details in years to come.
If you are interested in more verse-by-verse analysis, see the courses NT 433 or NT 733.
4. Reading assignments
Remember, the study of Revelation will take up only one half of the course General Epistles and Revelation.  The other half will have its own set of reading assignments and responsibilities.  Hence, I have tried to cut the required readings to the bare bones. Full information about the items below is provided in the bibliography for the course.
a.	Read Revelation in a translation in your native language at least twice through.  (This assignment should have top priority.  Very important.)
b.	Background issues: authorship and date
			   Carson and Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, 700-712.
c.	Hermeneutical introduction
George E. Ladd, Revelation, 10-14.
Leland Ryken, ‘‘Revelation,’’ in A Complete Literary Guide, 458-69.
G. K. Beale, Revelation, 50-64.
d.	Topical insights
G. R. Beasley-Murray, Revelation, 24-27, on Christology
G. R. Beasley-Murray, Revelation, 46, on the purpose of Revelation
e.	Theophany
Vern Poythress, Theophany, Parts I and II, 15-195.
f.	Historical introduction
G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 44-49 (interpretive approaches)
g.	Poythress, The Returning King (serving as our textbook) 
h.	The millennium
Recommended for later reading
Meredith G. Kline, WTJ 37:366-375, 39:110-19
J. Ramsey Michaels, WTJ 39:100-109
R. Fowler White, WTJ 51:319-344.
See also further bibliography items on the millennium
5. Discussion sessions

	In addition to our regularly scheduled hours for NT 311, I intend to have two extra 55-minute "discussion sessions," where students may come and follow up with questions and discussion with regard to any issues on Revelation that they wish to pursue.  The exact time for these sessions will be set once we have a class schedule and the class has begun to meet.

B. Course grade

	The grade for my half of the course will depend wholly on a midterm exam. The exam will contain questions on the assigned reading and on the lectures given in class. Some questions will ask for a short identification or definition. But other questions will be essay questions. You can expect that there may be a question on any of the major themes that we will cover in class: counterfeiting and spiritual war; the structure of Revelation; the four schools of interpretation; hermeneutics of symbolism; historical setting; theophany; the millennium; the consummation. There will also be one general question that you may think about beforehand: "What was most valuable in what you have learned about the Book of Revelation in this course?"