What more confusing and off the wall book in the Bible, can there be, then the book of Revelation. It has all sort of odd things being talked about, all sorts of weird events that seem to only be connected when you twist the mind to the maximum of your imagination. So many people, in religions, have tried to explain this off the wall book and yet refuse to face the fact that it might just be complete imagination of nonsense. Better yet, what if John was smoking something or taking some mind altering drugs at the time. The use of mind altering drugs, alcohol and so on, were not something that did not exist back then. I am just more prone to read this book, these days, and think this man must have been smoking something amazing. Have you ever thought this or do just buy into someone else explanation of this nonsense?
The book of Revelation, the word of God, or one hell of a drug trip?
by free2beme 23 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
Abandoned
Although I made the spoken dude all frazzled when I suggested this in a previous thread, I think John must have been on something. It could be some ancient form of Alzheimer's or other type of dementia as well, but I think John would have fit right in to the '60s. Though, I doubt he would have been a witness.
-
free2beme
I remember reading the book in Book Study, in which we read from the Bible, and then what the Watchtower said it meant. We would be sitting there thinking, "Oh really, yeah right?" and no one ever said what I know what they were thinking, which was "This is just a mess!"
-
stillin4now
The WT society book on Revelation is what gets me. They take every verse in that bible book and apply it to themselves.
Trumpet blasts = conventions, locusts etc.= preaching of JW's, and on and on. Give me a break! How arrogant to think to
insert their publishing organization into the true meaning of prophesies that are supposed to affect everyone on earth.
I dont know if anyone really knows what it all means but that Revelation Climax book is way out there.
V.
-
Pubsinger
Wrong bloke.
Ezekiel. 3 years or so laying on one side staring at a brick.
Then wheels within wheels and loads of strange creatures.
LSD.
-
Hecklerboy
I just watched a program on this and they suggest that John was writing in code to the Christians. Since it was illegal to write anything bad about the Roman goverment at the time.
For example: When he talked about 666 he was probably talking about emperor NERO. Since every Hebrew letter has a numeric counterpart and when you match 666 with Hebrew letter it spells out NERO. Also the beast with 7 head could refer to Rome since it sat on 7 hills.
-
Mary
Better yet, what if John was smoking something or taking some mind altering drugs at the time. The use of mind altering drugs, alcohol and so on, were not something that did not exist back then.
My opinion is this: The opening verses of Revelation tell us that John was thrown onto the island of Patmos, after being persecuted by the Romans for preaching. John probably endured physical beatings, food deprivations. torture and plenty of mental anguish. Magic mushrooms grew on the island and John could have easily eaten them. As we all know, magic mushrooms have a hallucinigenic effect. After enduring persecution, if he ate the mushroom as started seeing these "visions" of wild beasts, angels, demons and a host of other bizarre things, it would almost certainly have been credited to God "presenting it in signs".
-
gaiagirl
I'm sure that Revelation was specifically written as a political slam against Rome, who at the time was ruler over the lands formerly belonging to Israel. The former nation of Israel was not at all happy about this, and longed for a time when Rome would fall, kind of like some people in the Southern U.S. still resent having lost their attempted secession from the Union, and would like to see the North fall. At the time John wrote Revelation, there had already been one failed attempt by Jews to revolt against the Empire. John was writing to disgruntled Jews who longed for deliverance from Roman rule, and that is the entire meaning of Revelation, no secrets for the modern day. Christians living during and after the rule of Constantine considered Revelation to have been fulfilled when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as the state religion.
-
jstalin
I don't think most people realize today what daily life was like 2000 years ago. Food wasn't nearly as easy to come by, health care didn't exist, and conditions were squalid. If you'll notice, most "prophecies" in the bible stem from someone fasting or under extreme mental anguish. I bet most of the biblical writers who were having "supernatural" experiences were most likely just hallucinating - as I'm sure is the case with John and Revelation.
-
Narkissos
Neither. Within the NT Revelation may sound strange, but if you step back and consider the so-called "apocalyptic literature" as a whole -- both in the OT, e.g. Daniel or Zechariah II, and in non-canonical writings such as the books of Enoch or 4 Esdras -- it appears as an average sample of a widespread literary genre, which required a big literary background (and a bit of creative imagination) rather than ecstatic visions.