The Book of Revelation
When I ask people what book of the Bible they’d like to understand better, the most frequent response is Revelation. I get that.
John’s future-focused vision recorded in the book of Revelation overflows with evocative imagery that sparks our imagination even as we struggle to make sense of it.
Revelation is an intriguing prophecy, full of fascinating allusions, overflowing with enigma. What does it mean? When will it happen?
Many people have invested time—perhaps too much time—attempting to interpret the uncertainty of John’s epic vision. Even with their best work, it’s as if we see into the mirror dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Additionally, each person who tries to explain this vision often piles on additional complexity to an already complicated narrative. Too often, I fear, in a pursuit of clarity they end up connecting dots that may not relate.
We should not strive to make Revelation into something it’s not. It’s not a precise cipher detailing what will happen in the future. We also shouldn’t try to link John’s compelling narrative with real people, places, or events.
Instead, we should understand Revelation as the glorious mystery it is, embracing one essential, concluding idea: In the end God will prevail, vanquishing the enemy permanently and living for eternity with his purified bride, the Church of Jesus.
The goal of this book is to take a fresh approach. Read on to find out what to expect and what not to expect in this book.
As you move forward, my prayer is that you will walk away with practical and understandable insights that you can apply to your life and spiritual journey today.
To begin, let’s consider the three basic options we could take to explore the book of Revelation.
A Future Look
The apostle John’s vision as recorded in the book of Revelation is a future-focused glimpse into what will one day be. The most common investigation into Revelation examines this prophetic future and attempts to explain it.
If you’re someone who wants a detailed treatise on what the end times will look like, I’m about to disappoint you.
Here is the essential summary, the key takeaway concerning the future, from the book of Revelation:
At the end of time, we will see an epic battle between good and evil.
God wins.
The end.
The details don’t matter to us today. Not really. Here’s why.
First, let’s consider prophecies in the Old Testament, which anticipated Jesus, the coming Messiah who would save God’s people.
Though today we can read the Old Testament text with clarity and understand what the prophecies predicted, most people in Jesus’s day got it wrong. Even his disciples were slow to catch on (Luke 24:25).
Two thousand years ago, most everyone’s understanding of the prophets was to expect a military savior who would free the people from the tyranny of an oppressing ruling nation (John 12:13).
Few people expected a spiritual savior who would free them from the tyranny of sin (Matthew 1:21 and 1 Timothy 1:15).
The people of that day had much less information to deal with than we do now, whereas we have a multitude of narratives and conflicting views constantly bombarding us.
If they were confused then—in a simpler time—how much more likely are we to face confusion and make a wrong assessment of John’s New Testament prophecy?
Next, Jesus says that no one will know when the end will happen. Yet many attempt to use Revelation as a primer to unlock the code that will reveal exactly what Jesus said is unknown (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32, and Revelation 3:3).
Paul and Peter agree with Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 and 2 Peter 3:10).
Third, many people think we’re currently living in the last times and that the end is near. Yet Jesus’s followers thought the same thing two millennia ago (1 Peter 4:7).
Every generation, I suspect, has voiced this same perspective ever since. As such, I don’t think the end is near. I don’t expect to be around for these end time events (Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7, and Luke 21:9).
Last, even if we did correctly interpret John’s vision of what will be, what difference would it make?
What will happen will happen. And if we are here when it happens, there’s nothing we can do about it but remain faithful to Jesus and seek his strength to stand up under what will occur at that time.
A Past Look
The second basic approach to take in understanding the book of Revelation is to apply its narrative to the culture of that day. That is to take John’s imagery from his vision and connect it with the events from the perspective of life 2,000 years ago.
Though this makes for a most interesting excursion, what effect would this new knowledge have on how we live our life today?
Though we’d know more, we’d only be amassing knowledge and not informing our actions and our attitudes to affect our faith journey. Jesus wants changed hearts, not changed minds.
Another weakness of this approach is that we must rely on historical accounts of the past to enlighten us on that day’s correlation with the imagery of John’s vision.
The items we connect will be only as accurate as the version of history we choose to consider. Just as historical accounts disagree, any conclusions we make would diverge.
To put this in a more practical perspective, how often have we heard a preacher explain the historical context surrounding a passage of Scripture?
The explanation illuminates our understanding (our knowledge), but later another teacher offers a different—and sometimes conflicting—historical perspective.
Therefore, connecting Scripture with history is only as valuable as the accuracy of the historical account we follow.
This effort can produce a most intellectually satisfying result, but we can expect little more from it.
A Present Look
The third approach we can take to the book of Revelation is to explore the ways that we can apply it to our lives today.
Though taking a future look or a past glance have their intellectual rewards, we can benefit most by seeking how Revelation can best inform what we do, think, and believe today.
That’s the goal of this book.
In doing so, we will not ignore the essential future-focused message and the hope it provides, but we will do so only to the extent that it illuminates our understanding today.
Questions:
- What do you think about the book of Revelation?
- Are we living in the end times today?
- What is your experience about God speaking through visions?
- What is your reaction to the concise, three-line summary of the book of Revelation?
- How can the knowledge that God will triumph over evil impact our view of life today?
[Discover more about how to embrace the book of Revelation in 2 Timothy 3:16.]
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
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Read more in Peter’s devotional Bible study, A New Heaven and a New Earth: 40 Practical Insights from John’s Book of Revelation.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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