12/11/19 Brian Cheng Period 8

12/11/19

Brian Cheng P8

Modern Myth 2020

The Book of Revelation

In today’s class, Mr.Misciagna discussed with us The Book of Revelation which is the Bible’s interpretation of the end of the world. To start the conversation off he briefly talked about how we in the modern world perceive the apocalypse and how many songs and films have references to the symbols in the Book of Revelation. Then we transitioned to the brief history of The Book of Revelation. The person credited with writing the book is John the Apostle who was banished from the Roman Empire to a small island. During his time on that island, he wrote to several groups of Christians in the Asia Minor area. What he wrote to them was the Book of Revelation. Supposedly he had received a vision from God and he saw the events of the end of the world. 

After briefly explaining the history of the Book of Revelation, Mr.Misciagna then asked us to identify symbols, figures, or anything of interest that came up across our assigned reading.  Some symbols that were mentioned were the number 7, the 4 horsemen, angels, the devil, 666, and natural disasters. At first, it seemed like he was just listing our symbols at random but once he started filling up the board it looked as if he was separating certain symbols in specific columns. Once the board was filled, he created 4 columns and explained that each of them was talking about the same story but in different versions. The reasoning for the 4 variations and the number of symbols was to protect the contents of the book from the Romans. Only true readers of the Bible would be able to decipher what is being said in the Book of Revelations. The 4 versions of the same story correlate with the 4 Gospels that are found in the beginning of the New Testament introducing the idea that the end would bring everything back to the beginning. The 4 Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and they all depict Jesus in a different way. In Matthew, Jesus is king, in Mark, he is a servant, in Luke he is man, and in John he is God. Also, we know that the 4 versions talk about the same thing because they have a lot of overlap including how long the “great tribulation” will be and what type of natural or unnatural phenomena will occur. From there Mr.Misciagna talked about how the “great tribulation” would by the Antichrist being born. The Antichrist is the Devil personified just like how Jesus is God personified. 

Reflection:

Today I learned about the Book of Revelations, its history, symbols, and purpose. The reason why I learned it is because the contents inside the book are displayed very prominently in our culture and as humans, we will always talk about the end of the world. Being able to see certain concepts throughout other texts that were inspired by the Bible will be very useful. In every text that deals with world-ending events evil always builds up to an unreconcilable point and the only way to atone for those sins is to wipe the slate clean and start over. One figure will always come down and save the “chosen people”. However, with all the death and destruction comes a golden age and a period of peace. The things I learned today can be applied to how I approach future readings. I will be more on the lookout for certain motifs and timeless themes like the ones found in the Book of Revelations.