There’s a lot of wrong teaching about the message of the Book of Revelation. Many see it as a book of secrets and like to magically show how those secrets point to current events and signal what is about to take place in the geopolitics of our day. As these predictions have proven false time and again, the average person is left confused.
The Book of Revelation tells us how it’s to be read, and if we would just follow its directions, we would benefit from the book and better understand its message. We still might not agree on all of the details, but we would be a lot closer, and we would have a common basis for our discussions.
Consider these 3 principles that the book itself gives us.
1. It was written to them before it was written to you
One of the most popular ways of interpreting Revelation in North America in the last century taught that most of the book (i.e., chapters 4 to 18) refers to a 7-year period at the end of history when they believe none of us will be present. When you hear who this letter was written to, that becomes very hard to believe.
The book tells us that God gave John a revelation “to show to his servants the things
that must soon take place” (Revelation 1:1). Scholars believe that John received this revelation in AD 95 or 96 when he was exiled to the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). He was writing to Christians who were facing false teaching (Revelation 2:2) and persecution (Revelation 2:9). They needed a challenge to remain faithful and witness to the truth at a time when the cost of following Jesus was high.
If we’re going to read the book properly, we need to first read it through their eyes. None of them would have thought, “Revelation is very confusing. It must be talking about some future time thousands of years from now when the U.N. is formed, vaccines are introduced, and people pay with cards instead of cash.”
2. It’s written with symbols from the past addressed to the present and speaking to the future
The first verse of the book gives us its name, “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1). But this also tells us what kind of writing it is. The word “revelation” is the Greek word “apocalypse.” It means revealing or unveiling but it described a form of writing that was popular in the first century. Apocalyptic writing describes visions with vivid imagery and symbols. To try and read everything in Revelation literally is to ignore how the book tells us it should be read.
Even if we didn’t know anything about the rules and form of apocalyptic writing, Revelation teaches us to look for symbolism. We’re told, for instance, that the stars are actually angels, the lampstands are churches (Revelation 1:20), the bowls of incense are the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8), and the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints (Revelation 18:16). These clues teach us to anticipate that the book will use imagery often drawn from the Old Testament to describe present realities.
Similarly, we’re supposed to expect symbolism in the numbers. Did you notice that there are 7 blessings, 7 angels, 7 spirits, 7 lampstands, 7 stars, 7 seals, 7 horns, 7 trumpets, 7 plages, and 7 bowls? And there are no random numbers in the book. There aren’t 46 or 152 or anything!
The imagery in Revelation is clearly from the Old Testament, and it’s addressed to – and therefore understood by – first century readers, but it speaks to us today as well. It’s as if the message addresses the challenges of the first century but in a way that will speak to the struggles of each generation as the climactic ending draws near. In that sense, it’s appropriate that every generation sees Revelation describing, to an extent, the problems and dynamics of their own day.
3. The book is about embracing Him not figuring out when
Revelation is first and foremost “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1), not the revelation of the Antichrist, the revelation of the date of the second coming, or any of the other rabbit trails we might be tempted to follow. The book tells us that there’s a blessing in hearing the message and following it (Revelation 1:3). Our tendency is to do neither and instead listen to people speculate about things it doesn’t teach and argue about our own opinions. That leaves us without the strength God intended to provide. Let’s read the message that God gave John to deliver to those first-century believers, and let’s be faithful in honouring Jesus as He’s revealed to us in this great book.
In awe of Him,
Paul
P.S. If you’re interested in digging deeper into Revelation, check out my sermon series here: https://www.gracebc.ca/sermons/series/understanding-the-book-of-revelation
