How do I read the Book of Revelation?

The Apocalypse!!! The word “apocalpyse” means “lifting of the veil” and deals with literature that is heavy in symbolism (Beasts, dragons, dreams, and visions and such) and is reveiling something to the reader. Today the word usually means the end of the world but it is more like the end of the age and doesn’t have to be about the literal end of all things. It deals in the Bible with the revelation of things hidden by God to humanity. There were many types of books that fit this bill in the ancient world but only two made it into the Bible (Revelation and Daniel). There are types of apocolyptic passages found in other places (Mark for example) but one book in the OT (Daniel) and one in the NT (Revelation) that completely fit that bill. Next blog I’ll deal with Daniel but in this one let’s talk about Revelation.

Revelation captures the imagination of many. First let’s get it clear that the book does not have an “s” at the end. Often in horror movies they say “Revelations” which is not how it reads! Second let’s realize that like all the other topics we’ve discussed in this series of blogs there is not ‘one’ Christian view. There are diverse views of this book.

Different Views of the Book Exist!Some Christians say it is about the past. John is having a vision to help Christians persecuted by Rome to survive. The Beast is the Roman Emperor Nero (dead but a symbol of evil). Babylon is Rome. And the entire book is about survival in the past. Some Christians say it is about the future: Those are those who see this as a future book. The see the symbols as pointing to an upcoming apocalyptic war. The “Left Behind” books are a view based on this interpretation. The rapture folks really have pushed this view and it is the most marketable view out there.

And there are those who hold that it is about the past and the future: Some of the book is for the past and some does point to the future. In fact most of it is about the past, but some of it (the visions of the return of Christ) point us to the future. However, those images about the future also contain symbolism. “The New Jerusalem” image of heaven is not necessarily a literal image that we can get the complete exact measurements of heaven! It is an image of heaven like the other images found in the Bible (paradise, worship of God, and the vision of God) that we find. I personally hold to this view. John the RevelatorThere is a great song called “John the Revelator” that I love. Of course the author in this book is “John.” But who is John? Traditionally the book was thought to have been written around 95 CE, by John the disciple. John is the disciple who traditionally is thought to have been the author of the Gospel of John and 1, 2, and 3 John. This acceptance goes back to the church fathers but there have been those who have said it is another John who was a leader in the church. Christians were under persecution by Domitan (81-96) and this John is a prisoner on a desolate island and his vision happens near a small cave that still exists today. This is where we believe the book was written. It was a prison colony and a church was present. He was there for his faith. Rome saw this John as a threat.

A Controversial Book

This book is controversial. It was debated by Christians in the beginning and on today. Many views have existed and there is no one Christian view of this book. Care should be given to using it as a “How to” book about the “end times.” The book is one that has offered hope and encouragement to Christians in history who have suffered through persecution. Yet many have struggled with this book and have read many things into the visions and symbolism. Those who hold to the rapture are not the only ones to read things into the book other than it being about Rome and Christian persecution. Some did not want to put it into the canon or warned Christians about reading it because of the way extreme people read it.

Let’s look at some popular images in the book!

The Mark of the Beast 666: Gematria was a way of taking numbers and coming up with Hebrew alphabet. 666 is the sum value of the Hebrew letters that spell the name of the first century Emperor Nero. Nero was evil and cruel and probably responsible for the death of Peter and Paul. He was dead by the time this was written but he had become the symbol of evil (think Hitler or Osama Bin Laden). Rumors continued that he would come back from the dead or his spirit woudl return. The author uses Nero as the ultimate symbol of evil and emperors who followed in the path of this Nero were coming! Some argue that this was a code that the Romans didn’t get and was a way to slip it past them and others say the Christians knew and didn’t care but it was a popular way of doing this. Nero’s image was on coins and you had to use his coins to buy things and so the ‘mark’ of Nero was everywhere. Now the future crowd says that one day we will be forced (or those left behind) to have a literal 666 or a numeric system on our hands or forehead that a world Anti-Christ will force on humanity. Some feared debit cards and pin numbers and other inventions for this reason. Discussions of a common currency scare folks who take this literal future view.

The Lamb of God- Jesus: A Symbol that Jesus is the lamb slain- refers back to the OT. Horsemen of Death- White Horse of War, Red Horse of Blood/Violence, Black Horse of Famine, Green Horse of Death: Popular to use images to represent things and this represents suffering and the troubles that hit civilization.

Babylon: A particular civilization or civilization in general? Usually thought of as Rome. Again some see a future Babylon that exists during the tribulation. I believe Babylon (that old enemy) was seen in Rome for these Christians.

The Whore of Babylon: Another symbol of Babylon/Rome by calling her a “whore.” Or “Great whore.” Some would later blast others and call them this. Recently John Hagee and other television preachers elude or declare that the Roman Catholic Church is the Great Whore and this of course is misguided and cruel.

The Beast or the Anti-Christ: Means opposite of Christ. Is this the Roman Emperor or a symbol of evil or a literal upcoming world leader? Many have many opinions. The Bible often speaks of a class of people and not just one person fitting this bill. 1 John 4:3. Some see the Anti-Christ as the “man of sin” or “son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Or in league with the Dragon, Beat, False Prophet or Whore of Babylon in Revelation. Matthew warns of false Christs (Matthew 24:5, 24:24). Revelation does not mention the name “Anti-Christ” but talks about two beasts coming from the sea. One is tied in to the Anti-Christ and the other the ‘false prophet’ in various interpretations. These are symbols of evil. Roman empire? Roman Emperor? Nero? Some future leader? Some talk about the ‘unholy Trinity’ (Satan, False Prophet, and Anti-Christ). 144,000: 12 is important (12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel) and this is a symbol of 12 that means completion and not literally the only people redeemed. Jehovah’s Witnesses take this literal but that becomes problematic.

1000 Years: Literal time of peace or symbolic? Again numbers are usually symbolic. Read my blog on the rapture regarding this millenium issue.

When I teach or discuss the book of Revelation I go into greater detail than this article could go. I also admit I don’t know it all. I smiled when I saw John Hagee on a youtube video where in twenty minutes you can ‘understand’ the entire book of Revelation. He was talking and said that if you hold to another view you are simply wrong. I guess I’m just as bad as he is because I’d say he is wrong. However, I’ll admit I could be wrong too! I do believe that the best scholarship shows us that this book like all books of the Bible had a context and a audience in the original day. This does not mean it is not inspired. When you read Paul’s letters you find that those letters are not written directly to us but to a specific audience in a specific time. Yet they are Scripture and inspired and therefore have universal application and meaning for us today. They are just as important to us today as they were then but to get the most out of them we need to study them in context.

Christians who lived almost 2000 years ago did not care about the UN, America, Korea, or anywhere else. The concepts “Left Behind” brings into play did not exist or compute to John. John had a real message those folks needed to hear right then! Yet as Scripture it speaks to us today. Christians in persecuted lands can really relate to this book. They live under threat every day because they believe in Jesus. In free places like America it is harder to understand and yet we to are ‘aliens and strangers’ and can find hope in this book to survive today. And the overall message is that Christ will return and will bring peace everlasting to a troubled and evil world.

You might be growing weary of these blogs and I hope not. I hope they are stretching your thinking. Do not get mad if you disagree. Study hard and feel free to disagree. I’ve got one more blog on the subject and it’s coming up (Daniel). After that we’ll move on to other issues/topics.

Blessings,

Derik