Book Overview
The Book of Revelation is one of the finest written books in the whole Bible. Its literary genre is challenging to us but its culmination of the whole of Scripture, the way that it ties all of the themes of the Bible together for closure is unmatched in the Bible except perhaps by the great prophet Isaiah. This literary work shows without a doubt the powerful and victorious Lord Jesus Christ as Divine Warrior and final Victor over all the forces of evil, bringing God and His people together for eternity in all things that are made new. This book completes the story of the Bible with excellence, referencing the major themes of the Bible as a whole and showing their completion in Christ alone. The book contains the setting of the end times and shows images of Jesus throughout in the ways that God is worshipped, promised judgments and blessings are dueled out, and the world is brought to a vision of the Risen Lord and His greatness.
Book Author
In the earliest happenings of the Church, it was held that John the apostle was the writer of the Revelation. However, because of its unique apocalyptic style and language, many scholars from the third century on have suggested that there was another disciple named John who lived in Ephesus as well, who was named “The Elder.” This theory has its start in one of the early Church fathers, Papias who died in 130, who had mentioned that there was another John called the Elder in Asia.
Another argument for the author being this other John comes in the opportunities for the writer to clarify that he is the Apostle John. In Revelation 1:1, John identifies himself as a “servant” of Jesus and in Revelation 22:19 he calls himself a prophet. If he gave these titles or functions, the argument persists, why did he not just declare himself the apostle? My personal response to this argument is that if this were the case, why did John the apostle readily refer to himself enigmatically in the Gospel of John as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” if he could have just said Apostle John? Just because John thought of himself as a servant of Christ and a prophet does not mean he is not also the apostle John. Would that those in Christian positions of leadership so humbly thought of themselves today!
While many scholars consider it a mystery and more important to focus on the content, the idea that just because the writing style and vocabulary are different the author must not be John the Apostle is ludicrous. One human being is more than capable of using different writing styles. The subject matter of John’s Revelation warrants such changes in approach and vocabulary by the author. We will hold that John the Apostle wrote this book.
The book of Revelation was written by the apostle John, one of the twelve disciples who spent all of Jesus’ earthly ministry with Him day in and day out. John refers to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” He was one of the inner circle with Peter and James. John witnessed more of Jesus’ life with the inner circle of disciples than the other nine. He is uniquely qualified to help us understand who Jesus is.
James and John of the inner circle were the sons of Zebedee, who owned a fishing boat. James and John were called to follow Jesus in Matthew 4:18-22 and immediately jumped at the privileged opportunity to be disciples of a Jewish rabbi named Jesus. John’s mother may have been Salome, who is mentioned along with the women who went to Jesus’ tomb at the resurrection. Jesus affectionately called him and James the Sons of Thunder when they in faith asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven upon some unbelievers (Mark 3:17).
John may have referred to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved” because of his deep relationship with the Savior. It is upon the cross that Jesus presented his mother Mary to John for him to take care of her as a widow. While we don’t know where the other disciples were on that day of crucifixion, John and Mary were close enough to Jesus to hear Him speak to them.
It is John who outran Peter to the tomb in the Gospels as they began to frequently appear together in events. Later in the book of Acts, we see that John and Peter are still hanging out together in a close relationship as they go to the temple in Acts 3 and are used by the Spirit to heal a paralytic at the gate. They also share the load of witnessing to the Sanhedrin in Acts 4 and he is also with Peter when the Samaritans accept Christ in Acts 8:17-25.
From what we know of his later life, John worked with a community of believers in Asia Minor, especially in Ephesus. He is called “the Elder” in some of his epistles and it is believed he was an elder in his old age in Ephesus. In the end of the Gospel of John (John 21:20-24), we see that Peter asks how John will serve Christ, and Jesus tells Peter to worry about his own walk and leadership. Then Jesus says that if He wishes for John to remain until He returns, what is that to Peter? Although the persecutions were great among the apostles of Christ, it is believed that only John died of old age, yet even he was exiled to the island of Patmos, which is where he wrote this encouraging book about Christ’s ultimate victory even in the face of grave persecution. John is of course the author of five New Testament books including the Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John and the book of Revelation.
Book Date and Place of Writing
When considering the date and place of John’s writing, it must be considered what era the book’s references to Roman history may point. The book is obviously written in a time of great persecution by the empire of Rome upon all Christians. There are two specific eras in the first century in which this occurred empire-wide. The first is during the reign of the emperor Nero, whose insatiable lust for persecution of Christians knew no moral or ethical bounds. This persecution broke out in the empire from about 54-68 AD.
Nero was none the kinder to Christians. He would have them captured and then would cover them in pitch, impale them upon sticks in his garden and then light them on fire. Their burning corpses would shed light on his emperor garden at night. Although Nero was brutal in his persecution of the Christians, this places the time of writing too early. We can see internally that the churches in Asia Minor are degrading, and 54, merely 20 years after Christ’s resurrection, would be too close for the church to have been so infiltrated by false teachers and to have grown so cold so quickly.
The next possible dating within the first century is during the reign and persecutions of emperor Domitian around 81-96 AD. Now this is more probable, agreeing with the churches beginning to wane in their trust that the Lord will return in their lifetimes. With persecution everywhere, they greatly needed encouragement, having been persecuted during Nero’s time, and then shortly after by Domitian.
One of the historical markers that help us in deciding upon the most likely date of writing is that John tells us from internal evidence that he is exiled on the island of Patmos. Patmos is close to Ephesus but has a rock quarry, where it is most likely that John was forced to labor for the Roman empire there. A map is very helpful to see where Patmos is located.
John was sent to Patmos most likely for a year from 95-96 AD. During this time, the book of Revelation was penned. Some would suggest that John returned to Ephesus and penned the book in 96 when he was set free from exile while other scholars contend that he wrote the book during his exile on Patmos, citing evidence from the book where the present tense command to “write these words” occurs (Rev. 9:11, 19). So either way, whether the place of writing is Ephesus in 96 AD after John’s release or during his exile in Patmos in 95, the point is that the book, and thus the canon of Scripture, is finished before 100 AD.
The reason I point this out is because as always there are still other scholars who want to put this book into much later eras such as halfway through the second century or even later! Obviously, the second and third generation Christians who attest to and quote Revelation are good reason to not accept such possibilities. We maintain in this study that John the Apostle wrote the book during his exile on the island of Patmos in 95 AD.
Book Audience
We find the original audience in the opening verses of Revelation 1:4 and following. The audience is the struggling churches throughout Asia Minor, the seven churches specifically are identified as recipients, although there was a practice of circulating all of the New Testament letters to the larger Church. These seven churches were at the time struggling externally and internally. Internally, they were facing false teachers and teachings, wolves in sheep’s clothing. Externally, the Roman Empire was persecuting the church at alarming rates. Both Nero and Domitian enjoyed sustained and intense persecution seasons. The letter is written to steady the churches in the light of these problems. Encouragement was needed, for it had been 60 years and the first generation of Christians were beginning to die off, and the Lord had yet to return.
The audience is not only of the first and second century Christians under persecution, but also for us today. Throughout the history of the church, the book has been considered part of the New Testament canon for the most part. There have been challenges to its apostolic authorship, as apostolic authorship was one of the key factors to accept a book into the canon. It has also been challenged on the basis of its usefulness to the church because of its apocalyptic imagery. However, by the time the canon was firmly in place by the third century, Revelation was in it in the western church. Revelation is not the only book throughout history to be questioned, but its affirmation by the Holy Spirit is unmistakable.
For today’s audience, we must find ways of understanding the images and message of Revelation as it applies for us now. We start by finding out what the first century readers would have already understood as they heard the book read to them. Then we do research to find out how the book’s message can be interpreted for our culture and time today, and then we focus on the forever truths found in these pages. Revelation is not all about the future. It’s about us now. Just as much as its themes applied to its original audience 2,000 years ago, so also it applies to us now.
Book Setting and Purpose
John uses visions, prophecy and apocalyptic imagery to encourage the Christians who are being hunted through persecution by the Roman Empire. Emperor worship had become a big deal and those who would yell, “Caesar is Lord” would soon hear the Christians replying, “Jesus is Lord!”
The book is meant as an encouragement and warning. The encouragement is for those who are suffering persecution, that God will win in the end and that judgment will be swift and just for those who persecute them. God’s justice is on its way. It also is a warning as we see especially in chapters 2-3 to those churches that are opening themselves up to false teachers and heretical views. They need to be enlivened with the passion they once had for Jesus and turn from false doctrines.
Throughout the book, images of Jesus remain the focus. John so elegantly shows us a Jesus who is with us in suffering and persecution, fighting evil even in its strongholds, and saving His people from wrath and judgment. Jesus is the center of the book and the cornerstone of every vision and apocalyptic image. While the details may confuse us, the message is clear and decisive and we must apply it to our own lives and churches today.
Revelation contains the setting of the end times that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. The very opening words of the book declare its object. It is not a revelation of the end times. Jesus has already done that in the Gospels. The end times is merely a backdrop for the revelation. The revelation is of Jesus Christ. Each section shows powerful pictures of Christ as He interacts with the end times events, as we will see. But the main purpose is to reveal that God is the Victor in the end no matter how strong evil seems to be. We can take solace in the fact that God wins and we triumph with Him, and that in persecution, we will be with our Lord!
Interpretive Methods
As far as the Structure of Revelation, we find several centering opportunities. One of them is to understand the book through the system presented in Rev 1:19, which tells John to write about what he saw (past) in the vision of Jesus (1:9-20), what he sees in the present (Chapters 2-3), and finally what is yet to come (Chapters 4-22). Another approach notices that there are seven sets of seven in the book, which is harder to see but is truly in the text. We’ll mention this second form throughout our study, but we are basically following the first option. There are four basic approaches to interpretation of the book that seek to take in all of its framework and substance. These four basic views give us an idea of the varied nature of the literary structure and content of the book.
1. Preterist
Most if not all of the events found in the book of Revelation were meant for and fulfilled in the first century AD.
- Advantage: the book in its original setting is for the churches in Asia Minor, and it says so as it opens with the declaration of its audience. They would have best understood the imagery.
- Disadvantage: The book, although addressed to specific first century churches, would have been circulated beyond these churches and refers much to the Church in a much larger view than the original audience, and the cosmic imagery and events seem to be more universal than just for these seven churches.
Historical
Every part of Revelation is about the Church throughout the ages and its historical happenings. They usually denote seven different church ages according to the book.
- Advantage: This seems to fit well with the first part of the book where there are imagery and language for the churches that seem to be useful for the church in different ages today, like when the church grows cold for its first love.
- Disadvantage: There is no clear connection that John would have done this on purpose or would have known that the church throughout the ages would have these historical ties. The historical view also does not fully account for everything in the book and at times has to stretch its interpretation.
Idealist/Spiritualist
The book is primarily figurative and symbolic, full of timeless truths rather than tied to any specific persons or events.
- Advantage: Because of the many apocalyptic, cosmic and symbolic images, events and numbers, this view lends itself quite nicely to the book’s framework. It also helps to make the book applicable to every believer in every time period and situation.
- Disadvantage: It neglects some of the clearly futuristic events such as the Millennial Reign of Christ and also the letters to the churches which are quite literal and historical rather than symbolic. The actual events are given to us as events that have happened or will happen. It could minimize the predictive ability of prophecy.
Futurist
A literal view that everything in the book especially after chapter 4 or 6 has yet to happen and will be part of the happening of the end times and the coming of Christ.
- Advantage: This view takes literally the events and people in the book and it allows free reign for predictive prophecy, suggesting that these were indeed visions of John about the future, and the struggle is to explain a future he does not understand.
- Disadvantage: The view minimizes the symbolism in the book and the apocalyptic imagery attempting to make literal what is intentionally symbolic. It stretches interpretation to make sense of cosmic imagery.
Language and Literary Genres
The language of the Revelation is sometimes very hard to interpret and to translate. Sometimes it is rushed and sometimes it is not very coherent. Part of this according to scholars might be due to John’s thinking in Aramaic and then converting to Greek. Another explanation is the dependence upon Old Testament images and poetic devices. I would suggest a third, as I have suggested in Paul’s writings.
When one is having an experience with God such as a vision or in some way praising God, language simply does not completely convey the experience, and so because John is experiencing these amazing visions, he may be just a bit emotionally elevated and less able to record these images he is witnessing. Paul seems to do the same thing in doxology sections. As more poetic and image oriented parts of the book arise, the author is finding it harder to write rather than to praise God.
Apocalyptic Imagery
Much apocalyptic literature was written between 200 BC and 100 AD in the Jewish community. These pieces of literature have a couple of elements in common with John’s Revelation, such as cosmic imagery, Old Testament references and allusions, a desire for a new earth rather than fixing this one, for example. However, John’s Revelation is different from apocalyptic literature in other ways, such as John is the writer, not a pseudo named author, Jesus is the Messiah who speaks for Himself rather than a future messiah, and Revelation does not retrace history with a prophetic bent like Jewish apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic imagery relates to the Old Testament images and also to cosmic images such as angels and celestial bodies like the sun and moon, etc. We will speak much about apocalyptic imagery throughout our study in more detail.
Epistlatory Sections
There are parts of Revelation that look like a regular Greek letter called an epistle. Especially in the introduction to the book (Rev 1:1-9), the letters to the churches (Rev 2-3) and the ending of the book (22:6-21) we see marked elements of the epistlatory format. There is an introduction to the author, an audience, specific propositional statements and clear commands to the churches, as well as a warning at the end of Christ’s imminent return.
Background and Setting Imagery
We must not forget the original audience’s situation for the setting of this book. John was writing to encourage fellow believers who struggled with persecution and staying true to Christ, holding fast to the teachings of the apostles and Scripture. They were in the melting pot of the great Roman persecutions. They needed comfort and encouragement. They did not need to know the end time events in detail with dates. We tend to approach Revelation seeking clear and consice understandings of the end times, but the end times are not the point of this book. It is not a Revelation of End Times Events for your fancy little chart. It is a Revelation of Jesus Christ and how we will see Him in the end times. The end times are merely a background that John uses to reveal Christ to us through those images and events. This does not mean the events don’t happen, but that we cannot dogmatically chart them. The book tends to have moments of chronological order and then moments of thematic or episodic order. We must be open in our approach to this book.
Poetic and Prophetic Imagery and Reference
Much of the book of Revelation references the whole story of God’s revelation to humanity. It has affinity and quotations with the Old Testament prophets and is itself a prophetic work speaking to future events. There are clear moments of predictive prophecy that help us to know what is coming, but don’t necessarily tell us exactly how God will bring these things to pass. We must treat prophecy that we know has not yet been fulfilled with humility instead of dogmatism. There are also extremely poetic images and sections of the book, lending themselves to the same rules for interpretation as poetry. This book has something for everyone!
Theological Themes
The Victory of God
Throughout this book, we get the impression that God is not even slightly phased by the power evil has accumulated. At no time is the reader ever in suspense as to who the victor of the story is. Jesus Christ is presented as the victor throughout the book without question. This shows that no matter how bad things look, God is the one in control and God wins.
The Finite Rule of Evil
Not only does evil not have a shot in the dark of winning the cosmic battle against God, but its reign has a time limit. Evil will end. It will not continue as in dualism. God only allows evil now, but He will destroy it and no longer will it have a foothold. Revelation is the story of how evil’s days are numbered by God and how God finishes evil for good.
Allegiance to God or the Devil
Throughout the book, possibly because of the historical background of suffering through persecution of the saints, we are constantly reminded that we don’t have to wait until issues like the Mark of the Beast to choose sides between God and Satan. We can choose our sides now, and we do. We will always be allied with someone in this war, but the question is who you are allied with right now.
Final Judgment for Current Suffering
There are several poignant places throughout the book in which the question of suffering and persecution is answered with God’s judgment of the persecutors and the wicked. Throughout the Bible, God’s stance has been for believers to leave judgment and vengeance up to Him. The suffering that believers face in the present will be counteracted with the suffering of the wicked later. This book introduces later to the persecutors and turns the tables on them so they suffer while the current sufferers are victorious, but for eternity, not a limited time!
Spiritual War Amidst Physical Existence
It was Paul who reminded us that there is a war going on in the spiritual world that is interwoven with this one, and that we must fight spiritual beings, not physical ones. The book of Revelation brings that spiritual warfare and battle into the physical realm, showing us how the two are interrelated and how the battle rages on. We must never divorce the spiritual from the physical or vice versa. The two are connected and we must treat them as such.
Our Approach
First, no one completely understands the book of Revelation. So it is my contention that we will have differing views on the details, but I believe there will be great consensus on the main themes and points of this book. Its interpretation is not easy at all, but the benefits of delving deep into the text are outstanding to all of us. I will make great attempt to not push off the meaning of the book to the future but show how there are present implications in every section of the book of Revelation. This book is meant for you now, not for the church later.
Next, I believe that the book of Revelation is primarily images of Jesus Christ with the setting or backdrop of the end times. Instead of searching for some roadmap to the end times, I will focus on images of Jesus in those events. Where is Jesus? What is He doing? How does that affect our view of Him? I am less concerned with eschatology, although it is present as background. We will discuss it as it arises, but our main view will be of Jesus. I do not go to Revelation to find out what events specifically take place and their timelines. I go to Revelation to see my Lord and Savior as a Victorious King, among other images. Studying what will happen in the future, especially when we will be in heaven after the Rapture, has little use to how we live now. But seeing Jesus as victorious teaches us how to live victoriously!
Next, as far as interpretive frameworks, I will present to you a hybrid of the four interpretations listed earlier. I do not believe any one interpretation completely satisfies the book of Revelation. I believe each framework can contribute in different ways to the understanding of the book. However, in the events of the book, I will rely more heavily on the futurist view, because these things will happen. But when there is imagery, I will rely on the spiritualist/idealist view, because it is often in these views that we understand how to apply the book today. The preterist view is helpful for understanding the original meaning and intent of Revelation, and the letters to the churches. And of course, the historical view will be relied upon heavily in the letters as well.
As to the eschatological framework that I work with, I believe in a pretribulational premillennial view. It is my attempt not to indoctrinate anyone but to present what I believe is the strongest preference in the book itself. I do not believe in charts outlining exact happenings of eschatological events, but I am open to a general succession of events. We will find in Revelation that the book is sometimes chronological and sometimes episodic. We will seek to use the best of all of these frameworks for our understanding. The key is to apply the book to us, not to push it all into the future.
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