Don Carson, TGC.
In this lecture, Don Carson discusses the unique nature of apocalyptic literature, emphasizing its distinct historical context and symbolic language. Carson argues that apocalyptic texts like Revelation can be engaging and evangelistically effective. He discusses the importance of understanding these texts within their original setting and literary genre to grasp their full theological significance.
He teaches the following:
- Apocalyptic literature is often perceived as an “alien genre.”
- The book of Revelation serves as a primary example of apocalyptic literature, offering a narrative framework with divine revelations.
- Revelation presents a cosmic perspective on spiritual realities.
- Apocalyptic literature employs vivid imagery to convey profound truths.
- Revelation blends apocalyptic and prophetic styles, urging repentance amid impending judgment.
- Understanding apocalyptic literature requires immersion in its historical and cultural context.
- Engaging with Revelation can enhance preaching, offering rich theological insights and eschatological hope.
- This genre’s symbolism invites imaginative engagement in preaching.
Transcript
Don Carson: My brief in this first address is to say something about apocalyptic precisely because it is something of an alien genre. A friend of mine a few years ago was passing out free New Testaments on a university campus on condition that people who took them promised to read them. This particular bloke took one, and then my friend didn’t see him again for some weeks. He bumped into him sometime later and said, “Did you read that book I gave you?”
“Well, yes, as a matter of fact I did, right through.” Well that doesn’t happen every day. People take free books and never crack them, but in this case, someone read it right through. “And what did you make of it?” he said to this university student who was, in fact, completely biblically illiterate before he had opened up this New Testament for the first time.