A Bible School Manual: Studies in the Book of Revelation / An introduction, analysis, and notes, containing a concise interpretation according to the symbolic view, numerous references to authorities, and general mention of other interpretations, with the text of the American revised version edited in paragraphs, for the use of Bible students

by Stephen Alexander Hunter

Preface

The purpose of this volume is to present in concise form the general thought and meaning of the Book of Revelation, to give an analytic view of its contents, and to summarize the results of critical study. It is intended both as an aid to interpretation, and as a guide to the use of the many valuable commentaries which are now accessible to the English reader. It is specially designed to meet the needs of the student in the theological seminary or the modern Bible school, the busy pastor in his field, the teacher of adult Bible classes, the Christian Association worker, and the general reader of the Bible. With this object in view it essays to provide in a direct and helpful form (1) the essential points of Introduction; (2) an Analytic Study of the book which aims to discover its meaning as a whole rather than to deal with it text by text; and (3) a brief statement in a series of Appendices of some of the underlying conceptions which give color to its thought and enter into its literary structure.

The increased impetus given to Biblical study by advanced scholarship in late years has created a demand for a class of works that give the results attained by the masters of exegesis and critical research, without attempting to give the various steps by which these results have been reached. And it is one primary aim of this work, while attempting to give a fresh statement of the teachings of the book, and to present such thoughts as have come to the Author in the course of extended study, at the same time to give due consideration to the varying opinions of others, and for the most part to reproduce in the form which these have taken in his own mind the best and most satisfactory explanations of the many difficulties in the book which have hitherto been given by leading scholars and commentators. For the book has proved a fertile field for expositors that has been widely even if not always well worked in the past, while in the last half-century really substantial progress has been made toward the general interpretation; and it may be confidently assumed that any one who ignores these results has almost certainly nothing to contribute to the solution of the real difficulties that confront us. In response to extended popular inquiry some excellent commentaries and expository works on the [pg 015] Revelation have been prepared in late years for the general reader. And it is in order to further meet this requirement of intelligent Bible study, and to contribute in some measure to what is believed to be one of the most common needs of the general student of Scripture, a comprehensive view of each book, that the publication of the present Studies in the Book of Revelation has been undertaken.

It is necessarily true that a work so largely poetical in its thought as the Apocalypse, and appealing so much to the imagination, does not lend itself easily to logical analysis. Every such division, if exhaustive, must be in a measure arbitrary. The main purpose in attempting it is to present the principal ideas of the book in what is conceived to be their proper relation. And in this we need not assume that the particular outline which we adopt was formally in the mind of the writer. It is quite enough if we can be assured that the formative ideas were conceived of in somewhat the same relation, and that the analysis we accept at least measurably represents the author's point of view. This form of statement enables us to grasp the contents of the book in their entirety and to retain them in memory.

The view presented in the Analysis and Notes of this volume is not intended to be controversial but interpretative. Hence other views of particular passages have often not been stated, or are given only in foot-notes, and no special effort has been made to support the view given by any extended discussions, as that would lead us too far afield for the purpose in mind. For those who wish a wider view, references are given to well-known authorities. Much that might have been said has been left out for the sake of brevity; for in this busy age few find time for extended study, and the great works on the Revelation often lie unread on the shelves. To reach the man of this generation the message must be short, clear, and decisive. And with this in view the chief aim is to show that the general meaning of the Revelation can be clearly understood, whatever difference of opinion there may be concerning the more difficult portions; and as a contribution toward this end to give in a direct form what the Author of the present work regards as the correct method of interpreting it. Other interpretations have been introduced where they serve to illustrate this main purpose, or have special force and afford additional light, or have been widely accepted and have affected the course of opinion. The outline interpretation [pg 016] given in this work, while it does not follow without deviation any particular view throughout or in every respect—for a blind acceptance of any one method of interpretation would often block the path to better knowledge, and perhaps cause us to miss the real meaning—yet it accepts the principles of the Symbolical or Spiritual School as affording in the main the best solution of the problems of interpretation. The authorities cited in connection with any passage, when not quoted, though they may differ somewhat in statement, will be found to hold in some form the view given in the analysis.

It is not without considerable hesitation, and a personal sense of the shortcomings of the present work, that it is now given to the public. It necessarily contains much that is already familiar to the reader, and it should be regarded as an effort to present in concise form and in one's own way what has been gathered through many years of patient study, and by constant comparison with the works of the best commentators, together with such thoughts as have come to the Author in the course of his inquiry. And if thereby the reader should be in any measure led to a clearer understanding or a more careful study of this marvellously beautiful and strangely eloquent message of Christ to his church which is contained in the Book of Revelation—the meaning of which has been too often misunderstood by the Christian reader, or passed by as an insoluble mystery,—it will be to the Author an abundant reward for his effort and a cause for personal gratitude to Almighty God.

Stephen A. Hunter,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

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