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AFTER vs WITH/AMONG/IN MIDST
-- JOHN HAD "FLASHBACKS" --
This essay is intended to encourage the study of Revelation using
the premise that the Apostle John did not write the Book in a
completely chronological order. The overall presentation in Revelation
is chronological, but many details are written as further explanation of
subjects previously discussed.
In general, the whole book is presented in an "iterative"
format where
many subjects are discussed again and (sometimes) again. The
"iteration"
occurs on both macro and micro scales: i.e. major subjects are usually
repeated (macro) later in the Book, but details (micro) of those
subjects
are often given immediately after the major subject has been described.
Prime examples of "micro' iterations occur in each of the six
instances
where John is thought to have written statements such as "... after
this ... after these things ... after that ..." . These statements
are accompanied by actions such as "... I looked ... I saw ... I
beheld ... I heard ...". Invariably, these are thought to introduce
new subjects, or new activities, in the sequence of events in
Revelation. BUT, THESE ARE NOT NEW ISSUES! These introduce additional
information concerning the subject material just previously presented.
Our English translations (of Revelation) use the word "after"
when the
true meaning is more like "with, among, in the midst of". The
Greek
word is "meta" (Strong's #3326) having the primary meaning of
"with,
mid, amid, in the midst, and among to imply accompaniment". This
changes the entire meaning of what John has written -- in six places!!
Probably the best explanation would be to refer to these portions of
Revelation as "flashbacks". In other words, John is giving
more information
on the subjects and events he has just written about. These are not new
subjects or events!! They are amplifications of the information just
presented!
It must be pointed out that the word "meta" can mean
"after" when it is
used with the mention of time or some other event: e.g. "... after
six
days ..." as in Mt 17:1, or "... till the thousand years
should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be loosed ..." which is stated in Rev 20:3.
The first "flashback" is when John uses "after this"
in Rev 4:1 where he
wrote: "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in
heaven:
and the first voice which I heard
...". Then, in the following verses, he
wrote about being taken to heaven and tells what he sees and then
describes "one" that sat on the throne (verse 2), and then he
places
emphasis on varying amounts of detail about the elders, lightenings,
thunderings, seven lamps, sea of glass and four beasts (creatures)
through verse 11. Previously, in Rev 1:10-20, John had heard a voice
(verse 11) and, in Chapter 4, he refers back to that voice (the "first
voice"
mentioned above) to indicate he is dealing with the same subject again.
In the earlier writing, John presented a very detailed description of
Christ,
and in the "after this" comment -- meaning "in the midst
of" -- his
descriptions include only a little more about Him. This
"flashback" placed
its major emphasis on some of the many other sights and activities in
heaven.
John had already been in heaven before the "after this"
statement
(meaning "with this"), and is simply providing more
information of
what he saw at that time. The more correct translation would be:
"with, amid, in the midst of, or among 'this I looked, and, behold
a
door was opened ... ' ".
The same general pattern follows with the other five usages of the
"After this ..." type of phraseology. They are introductory
openings
to additional information being provided to explain more about the
previous visions.
Evidently, Bible translators have agreed that the term "after"
is not
a proper translation in these instances (I read this someplace, but
failed
to record the reference), but they have chosen not to make any
corrections because of "TRADITION"!! Modern day Phariseeism?
It sure has helped mess up the proper understanding of Revelation!
Hopefully, this information will help you in the understanding of
Revelation.
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