8. Revelation and Interpretation.mp4
This video captures a Bible study session focused on Revelation Chapter 8, which describes a dramatic moment of silence in heaven after the seventh seal is opened, followed by the sounding of seven shofars (ram's horns), not trumpets. The video emphasizes the need for context in biblical interpretation, using a story about an overflowing teacup to illustrate that readers must "empty their cup" of preconceptions before studying scripture like Revelation. Furthermore, the participants explore the Wesleyan Quadrilateral—which advocates using scripture, history, experience, and reason—to achieve a deeper understanding, noting that cultural and historical background (especially Jewish life) is crucial. The video highlights a debate over whether the calamities brought by the first four shofars, such as the destruction of a third of the earth and the turning of water to bitterness, reflect a racial memory of ancient, worldwide natural disasters, like a comet strike.
For many of us, the Bible is a source of comfort and guidance, its lessons woven into the fabric of our earliest memories. We hold dear the Sunday School stories of our youth, expecting them to be a lamp unto our feet as we navigate the complexities of adult faith. But what if our most cherished lessons are the very things holding us back? What if the simple frameworks we were given as children have become a barrier to deeper understanding, especially when facing profound and challenging texts like the Book of Revelation?
There is a story of a spiritual seeker who visits a Trappist monk for guidance. The monk offers him tea and proceeds to pour until the cup is full, and then keeps pouring, letting the hot tea overflow and spill across the table. The monk’s lesson was simple: before you can receive anything new, you must first empty your cup.
This idea—that we must empty our minds of preconceived notions to truly learn—can be a revolutionary act of faith. In a recent bible study discussion, five powerful, counter-intuitive ideas emerged that challenge our common approaches to scripture. They invite us to empty our cups and discover the text anew.
The story of the spiritual seeker and the Trappist monk is a powerful metaphor for approaching scripture. The seeker, eager for wisdom, is told he cannot receive it because his cup is already full. Before we can truly understand, we must be willing to set aside what we think we already know.
...you have to empty your cup before you can understand the scripture what he's talking about is our cup is filled with all the things we've learned in sunday school and sitting through numerous sermons... you've got to empty that cup and start fresh...
This is a profound, even unsettling, invitation. It asks us to question not our faith itself, but our certainty about what that faith looks like. This isn’t about discarding belief, but about approaching the text with fresh eyes and intellectual humility. For a book as complex as Revelation, this is essential. We tend to look at its symbols and try to make them fit into our existing frameworks. But what new truths might we see if we were willing to admit our cup is full and start with a desire to learn, rather than to confirm?
Once we’ve committed to emptying our cup, the next step is to find a reliable landmark to begin our journey. Imagine arriving in a new city by train and asking for directions to the library. One person tells you, "It's across from the college." Another says, "It's down the block from the hospital." Both statements are factually correct, but if you don't know where the college or the hospital is, the information is useless. Finally, someone says, "It's two blocks north of the train station." Now you have a point of reference—something you know—and can find your way.
Reading the Bible can feel like receiving directions without a reference point. We are given facts and stories, but they remain abstract without context. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, proposed a framework for study using four key points of reference: