啟示錄：歷史考據的解釋法

Historical Models of Interpreting the Book of Revelation

Jeffrey R. SHARP

The average reader of the last book of the Bible often comes away scratching his/her head wondering what to make of this strange book. Throughout the centuries many methods or models of interpretation have been put forward to interpret the book of Revelation. Broadly speaking four methods have been used: a) the Historicist; b) the Idealist; c) the Preterist; and d) the Futurist. Each view has its supporters and critics. The article introduces and critiques each of the four major approaches which have been offered to interpret the Apocalypse and also concludes with a suggestion about the value of an “eclectic approach.” The author argues that the Historicist and the Idealist views have the greatest weaknesses and the Preterist and the Futurist views provide better insight into the book’s original and ongoing message. The eclectic method avoids getting locked into one and only one model of interpretation and to recognize that a fruitful interpretation of the book must begin with the situation of the church(es) to which the book was written and maintain an open mind to deal with each portion of the book as seen in relation to its context and other parts of Scripture. Each passage must be interpreted in its own contexts (literary, historical, and canonical), and not forced into an over-all scheme that violates the book’s apocalyptic-prophetic genre.