Gregory K. Beale, author of "The Temple and the Church's Mission" (which I haven't read) has four free lectures on the book Revelation @ the preteristarchives site.
Link, with four of five lectures and an article:
Gregory K. Beale: Lectures on Revelation
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Edited in: DEC 10, 2007
Here are all five lectures:
G.K. Beale,
Seminar on Revelation
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Beale is described as "evangelical, amillennial, idealist, and historical preterist" (aka, partial-preterist, of the 'orthodox' kind). His four lectures are: "Why the New Heaven and the New Earth are Equated with the Temple (parts one and two), The Two Witnesses in Revelation, and The Key to Understanding Symbolism" and are well presented (though at times he speaks in a low voice and was hard to hear, for me anyway).
I haven't really read or studied much on the "idealist" view of the book of Revelation as it is usually described as depicting "the great conflict between good and evil throughout history" and "the view held by most liberals". Anyone who reads Revelation can see it depicts Good V. Evil, as far as that may go.
Till not long ago I wasn't all that interested in "idealism" as I thought it wouldn't have much 'new' to say; I assumed it be would the standard liberal 'mythological [heilsgeschikte, German, "history of religions") view'. But fairly recently, a friend of mine (I know from the web) who is something of a minor expert on Revelation, teaching it in his church, said his view was idealist. This man is a 'solid and scholarly' Christian...so he'd gotten my curiosity up on idealism. I 'accidentally' found Beale's lectures while searching for something else about a week ago....
After listening to Beale's lectures about three times now, I want to go through them again. A good portion of his presentations cover Revelation 21-22, especially the New Heavens and Earth, the Temple, and the New Jerusalem "coming down from God" to be among men.
In Beale's view, he believes---as Steve Gregg points out in his lectures 'on the different views of Revelation'---that the Church is the actual dwelling of God on earth in His Temple. In other words, the Temple in Revelation 21 isn't a merely a future "place" we will go to after we die or at the end of history as we know it. Rather, we ARE that Temple, which is already on earth [in us] and is "expanding its borders and being built," says Beale.
Peter and Paul taught believers are God's Temple, as we know. But I'll admit I've always seen this 'metaphorically' and haven't taken it all that seriously in terms of what it might mean (seeing it as only a very good metaphor). But Beale, a professional scholar who appears to have devoted considerable time in his studies of Revelation, sees the Church as literally the Temple of God! ... while at the same time acknowledging a future and final realization of it at the end of the age.
Considering what Beale proposes is fascinating and challenging. Is Revelation 21 already in partial-and-ongoing fulfillment? Can we help build God's Temple? and see God's-and-our finished work when we see Him face to face? Does Beale mean to say we're in partnership with God and are already, and have been, making that Great Temple of Revelaton 21? We're also already "in" it? Well, these things are what Greg Beale sez!
Staggering! ... to me anyway!
(I've not thought about it like this all that seriously before)....
Wow-E,
Rick
P.S. Those who have heard Steve Gregg's Revelation lectures will hear similar recurring themes like, "The Old Testament interprets the New Testament." This is good stuff, whether you might agree with Beale or not!