Revelation Introduction
The Apostle John was "in the Spirit" on the Lord's Day, and he heard a loud voice
saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches." John was
on the Island of Patmos having been exiled there about AD 94.
We dare not study this book without first considering what is promised to the
scholar in the way of a warning and a blessing.
- Chapter 22 verses 18 and 19, "I warn every one who "hears"
the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to
them, God will add to him the plagues described in this
book, and if any one takes away from the words of the book
of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the "tree
of life" and in the Holy City, which are described in this
book."
- Chapter 1 verse 3, "Blessed is he who reads aloud the words
of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep
what is written therein."
Realizing the degree of difficulty and to aid us in rightly discerning the truths
in the Book of Revelation, all interpretation must be made in light of three
criteria:
- The nature and message.
- Its place in history.
- Its purpose.
The nature and message of this book is extremely important to understand in order
to understand the method of writing and its application to us.
The book is "apocalyptical" in nature. The word literally means, "to draw back a
curtain to see what lies behind it." It is written in the same nature and style as
the book of Daniel.
The message is "prophetic". It gives insight into the final days of the Kingdom of
God. Its message is "ageless". We must interpret all portions of this book in
light of these two statements.
The book deals with the reality of the "Anti-christ". We should begin with an
understanding of this term. The word literly means, "instead of Christ". The
concept is a conflict between the forces of good and evil. The evil forces are
referred to by John as the "Anti-christ" or the "Beast". Paul refers to them as
"Man" or "False Teachers". He describes them as disciples with apostasies who
deny the basic Christian beliefs.
They are those who deny that Jesus was the Christ. They are within the church
and that's what makes them so dangerous. They will be conquered at the second
coming of Christ.
We said that the book is "apocalyptical" in nature and we acknowledge that it is
this fact that makes it so hard to understand. Therefore we need to spend some
time explaining this method of writing.
In Chapter 1 verse 1, John identifies his book as an "apocalypse", a "revelation".
This style of writing had been popular at the time of John for about three
centuries. Generally, apocalyptic writings appeared in times of defeat and
persecution.
They often sought to show that the tragedies were happening according to some
"predetermined" plan. They symbolically showed the struggle between order and
chaos, the fall of men and angels, the conflict between God and Satan and wars in
heaven and on earth. They usually spoke of two ages, the present evil age and the
godly age to come.
The writers believed that history had been pre-determined in the dim past. Man was
at the mercy of the inevitable. The Authors received their information thru
visions, Angels or even thru conducted tours thru heaven. They were always
commanded to write and seal their books. They usually employed animal symbolism.
They wrote of a catastrophic event that would occur before the end of time. They
also expressed the hope of a "Messiah". They wrote of a "judgment", an "abyss"
and a "lake of fire".
Now lets look at a few samples.
- Daniel is the most important single source of information
for the interpretation of the book of Revelation. Much
of John's imagery comes from the book of Daniel. Daniel
saw four beasts arise out of the sea, representing four
kingdoms. Their horns represented the kings. He featured
angelic heavenly visitors. He saw stars fall to the earth.
He witnessed great wars. He was able to interpret dreams
and foretell the future.
- The Book of Enoch is the most important of the non-biblical
writings. Enoch declared that God had given him the
revelation. An Angel had shown him a vision and explained
all that would come to pass in the future. He saw God's
Kingdom located on seven mountains. He saw the "tree of
life", the resurrection, the judgment, Sheol and it's
divisions. He divided history into 10 ages of which the
seventh had arrived. The eighth was expected soon and
it would be filled with righteousness. The wicked would
be destroyed in the ninth and the tenth would bring a new
heaven and a new earth.
- The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs that bear the names
of the 12 sons of Jacob. These books prophesy the
inclusion and forgiveness of the Gentile. They speak
of the coming of a Messiah, a Paradise, the "tree of life"
and the resurrection. They tell of wars between Satan
and the Messiah, Satan's ultimate defeat and being cast
into the "lake of fire" and a "New Jerusalem" and an
"Everlasting Kingdom".
- The Apocalypse of Ezra. In this book, much like the book
of Revelation, everything is based on the #7. To Ezra,
the end was near, pessimism abounded because it was
believed that it would have been better had Adam had
never been created. There were two worlds, the earthy
and the heavenly. The earthy was drawing to a close.
Judgment was based upon the opening up of the books.
A Messiah would appear and reign for 400 years. There
would be a general resurrection and judgment, then
paradise and the lake of fire would be created. A
woman symbolized the New Jerusalem.
In light of these four examples, is Revelation apocalyptical? We see in the four
examples the following characteristics:
- The attitude is pessimistic.
- Each foresaw a terrible end.
- Each contrasts the present evil age with a godly age to come.
- Mystery and secrecy are constantly displayed.
- They employ apocalyptic symbols of Angels, heavenly bodies,
animal imagery and great woes that will precede the end.
Careful study will reveal similarities between the above examples and the Book of
Revelation, it will also reveal differences.
- John is optimistic about man's ultimate outcome.
- The conflict takes place beneath God and there is never
any question about His sovereignty.
- There is never but one god.
- God is held in awe and wonder but there is never any
hint the He is removed from or disinterested in what
was going on.
- He never threatens man's freedom or responsibility.
- The letters to the seven churches show that John thinks
that man's decisions in this world do shape history
as well as personal destiny.
- He seeks for understanding never for concealment.
- His message is not to be sealed up but to be read
publicly and proclaimed.
- His history has meaning not meaningless like the others.
John has drawn heavily from the "format" of apocalyptic literature, but his book is
the inspired Word of God, a prophesy of things to come written in distinctive
Christian theology. Broadman sums it up by saying, "John's purpose is decidedly
Christian, his theology is Christian but his illustrations are often pre-Christian.
I believe it is "revealed prophesy" dressed up in apocalyptical expressions. Now
remember, the apocalyptical format is man's invention but prophecy is from God. I
like what John Walvoord says in his commentary, "If this book is a human
invention, it is of little value, but, if it is of God, divinely inspired, it is an
open door into precious eternal truths."
Having thus established the nature and message of the book, let us look at the
second one of the "necessary criteria", it's place in history.
There are three historical approaches to the Book of Revelation:
- The Contemporary Approach. This view is based on the
assumption that John wrote only for his generation.
The entire book should be interpreted in this light.
The visions were symbolic of the persecution from
the Roman Empire in the first century. This view is
widely accepted by many bible scholars and it has
several advantages. It is faithful to the historical
setting and the book can best be understood from this
point of view.
- The Continuous Approach. This view holds that Revelation
is a detailed forecast of history in all of it's
successive stages. One writer describes this view
as a "allegorical panorama" of the history of the
"church" from the first century AD to the second
coming of Christ. Advocates of this view often develop
"calendars" which attempt to date the "end times".
This, unfortunately, has led to a great abuse of the
book. John Walvoord, in his commentary, holds to this
view and in his introduction he says, "First century
Christians did not completely comprehend this book
but as history unfolds and prophecy is fulfilled,
much more is understood and even more will be
understood in the future as these events take place."
- The Futurist Approach. This view is the opposite of the
Contemporary View. It holds that Revelation deals with
the "end times" of history. The message is entirely
about problems in the future and about an end to the
world at some distant time.
Then there are those that believe that Revelation is simply a literary work and
does not apply to any particular age in history. These people hold one of four
views.
- The Allegorical Approach. An allegory is a series of
actions symbolic of other actions (symbolism). A
veiled presentation of an event metaphorically
implied but not expressively stated. Pilgrims
Progress is a good example of an allegory. This view
holds that the meaning is not obvious but is definitely
there and must be sought after thru study and prayer.
Christ often taught allegorically by the use of parables.
- The Analytical Approach. This view holds that Revelation
was composed from different sources and believes that we
must identify and deal with each of these sources in
order to evaluate the text. The common fault with this
view is that it never asks, "What meaning did John
intend to convey and what was his purpose for writing."
- The Literal Approach. This view holds that God has written
the details of future history and, in fact, Revelation
is a history written in advance. Literal interpretation
requires that you accept the "dragon" and the "beasts"
as real zoological specimens. This view also believes
that John was in error when he said that these things
"would happen soon", totally misunderstanding the
statement.
- The Dramatic Approach. This view holds that Revelation is
an elaborate drama, dramatizing certain Christian events.
The terminology and use of animals are but vehicles
symbolic of real people and depicting real events
After much study and prayer, I believe that John would have us look at this book as
a continuous historical account (No. 2) written as a literary allegory (No. 1).
I believe we can, at this point, accept the following:
- John intended to convey a message that is Christian
in it's theology.
- He wrote it in an "apocalyptic" manner or style.
- His views of Jesus Christ are definitely Christian.
His method of writing is allegorical and ours is the
task of translation.
The basic message is to assure all Christians of the ultimate triumph of God over
ALL who rise up against Him and His Saints. To those of John's generation, it was
written to encourage them to hold fast in spite of persecution and false teachers.
To us, it is written to encourage us to stand firm in our beliefs in the midst of
those who would distort and "water down" basic Christian doctrines. To those in
the future, it is written to warn them of persecution of the kind the church has
never known. Sadly, this apostasy, will come from within the church.
The book provides meaning and perspective into the "end time" events that herald
the Second Coming of Christ and the events that follow. John establishes in
chapter 1 that the book is ageless. His instructions were to write the things
which he had seen and the things that are and the things which will take place
after this.
DeHaan suggests in his commentary that we:
- Treat it for what it is, a revelation.
- Do not attempt to understand all the symbolism.
(one need not be able to identify every tree
in the forest to appreciate the beauty of it.)
- Use literal interpretation.
- Approach the book with an open mind.
- Study prayerfully and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now, I hope that I have not discouraged anyone. I hope that all who continue with
this study will enter with great enthusiasm and claim the promised blessing of
Chapter 1, verse 3.
There are numerous outlines for the book of Revelation. I have chosen this one
because basically the book is a "book of sevens", the number appearing some 54
times. We need to remember that the number 7, in the bible, means "completeness".
I will be reading from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. I have used the
following commentaries:
- Matthew Henry's Commentary.
- The Bible Knowledge Commentary.
- The Broadman Commentary.
- Wiersbes Commentary.
- De Haan's Commentary.
- Walvoord's Commentary.
John receives his message from various sources:
- In the Commission God gives the message to His Son, Jesus
who in turn gives it to an Angel, Gabriel, who then
relates it to John.
- Later we see Christ, Himself, conveying the message.
- In chapter 7, God uses an "Elder", elsewhere, a voice out
of heaven. Regardless, it is all inspired of God.
A Study of the Book of the Revelation
Previous Chapter |
Return to Outline |
Ask Questions |
Next Chapter |