QUESTION: I was wondering what you thought the value that apocalyptic literature holds in today’s society and how it has been used in church history. Also, do you think that there are any dangers associated with engaging in these texts?
ANSWER: I began a online Bible study entitled “Decoding the Apocalypse. Here is a like to the section that deals with Apocalyptic Literature which is called “Apocalyptic What?. I would encourage you to signup for the whole study at: Decoding the Apocalypse.
Any Dangers? No, I think the genre of the text needs to be understood and interpreted within the boundaries of the kind of literature it is. Like all literature, if you don’t know what kind it is, poetry, narrative, etc., you might discover that when reading it you might come to a different conclusion that the author’s intent because you do not know what kind of literature he/she is using to convey the message to the reader/listener.
