Introduction⤒🔗

The book of Revelation has long been a source of puzzlement and even con­tention for many Christians. In part, this has been the fruit of an approach which has got hung up on details and has re­sorted to very complex schemes for in­terpreting the visions Revelation contains. As a result many have concluded that Revelation is too difficult a book for the average Christian to understand. This is a tragedy because Revelation is a book written to encourage ordinary Christians in a world in which they are enduring great suffering for their faith and in which evil seems to be winning. It is a book intended for every Christian.

Background←⤒🔗

There is general consensus that Revelation was the last New Testament book written, probably around 95AD. It was written by the apostle John near the end of his life while he was in exile for his faith on the isle of Patmos, which was probably a Roman penal colony. John was the son of Zebedee, the brother of James and a member of Jesus’ inner circle. He is also the author of the gospel of John as well as the three epistles of John.

Revelation was written against the backdrop of a Roman empire in which emperor worship (the imperial cult) was growing and in which it would become the litmus test which determined whether Christians would live or die. Although few were being martyred for their faith at the time Revelation was written, within 10 to 15 years this would change dramati­cally. Towards the end of the emperor Trajan’s reign, if someone was suspect­ed of being a Christian, they would be required to curse Christ and worship Caesar. Failure to do so would result in their execution. Revelation is written to encourage and aid Christians in this situation and its imagery is intended to bring to mind things with which they are very familiar. Revelation is grounded in its historical context. Because Revelation was written for ordinary people facing real problems, its meaning for them should be quite plain and accessible – complex or convoluted explanations of various portions should be treated with healthy suspicion!

Genre←⤒🔗

In order to understand any Bible book, it is important to understand what type of literature it is. Revelation, as its name implies, is apocalyptic literature – it unveils or reveals something previously hidden. Like the book of Job, Revelation pulls back the curtain on the goings on in heaven, putting the events of earth in their real perspective.

Apocalyptic writings are, by their very nature, symbolic and pictorial. It is helpful to think of Revelation as the picture book of the New Testament. It is best understood if it is seen and, as with art, it is the picture as a whole that matters. Much of the confusion to do with Revelation has resulted because interpreters have sought to press every detail, rather than seeing the picture as a whole. The Mona Lisa is best appreciated by stepping back from it and consider­ing the whole picture, not by inspecting it with a microscope! This can be dem­onstrated by considering the picture of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21. It is called a city and is described in physical terms – foundations, walls, gates, streets – and yet it becomes clear that this city is, in fact, the people of God. Its de­scription of thick walls, gates of pearl, streets of gold and foundations of pre­cious stones is clearly not intended to be understood literally and each detail pressed – rather it speaks of things like the history, security and preciousness of God’s people.

Because Revelation is highly symbol­ic, it almost never speaks in literal terms and, like most prophecy, it can allow for multiple fulfillments – literal interpreta­tions of various portions, especially those which pin them down to one particular fulfilment should be treated with a great deal of caution. Read with an eye for the big picture – often the broad thrust of a portion will be quite straightforward.

Lots of Sevens←⤒🔗

One feature of Revelation which becomes immediately obvious is the use of the number seven. There are seven lamp-stands, seven stars, seven spirits, seven letters, seven churches, seven trumpets, seven bowls, seven angels, seven seals, seven plagues – not to mention seven horns, seven eyes, seven hills and seven heads! Clearly the number seven is sig­nificant in Revelation but in what way?

While we will probably never under­stand the full significance of the number seven (or some of the other numbers which recur) in Revelation this side of heaven, it is important to note that seven is the number of fullness or completion. After six days of creation, God rested on the seventh day and set aside this day as a day of worship. Seven thus sym­bolised completeness and it also func­tions this way in Revelation. The seven spirits denote the fullness of God’s Spirit. The seven churches – though they were actual churches in Asia Minor, real churches facing particular challenges – represent the Church as a whole. The seven kings/seven hills seem to repre­sent the fullness of opposition to Christ and his Kingdom and so on.

Similarly, the use of the number seven helps us grapple with the structure of the book as a whole. Since seven denotes completeness, each cycle of seven found in Revelation likely denotes a complete cycle. This means that the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven bowls containing seven plagues and so on, each picture the same event – God’s judgement on the earth – from a dif­ferent perspective. Thus Revelation, in keeping with apocalyptic literature in general (e.g. Daniel chapters 7 through 12) does not follow a linear, consecutive approach with each “seven” following the last. Rather it retells the same set of events several times, highlighting different aspects – each retelling serving to fill out the picture. This repetition also serves to show the completeness of God’s victory over His enemies and His judgement on those who oppose Him.

A Book about Worship←⤒🔗

One seven which is easily overlooked in Revelation is a series of seven doxo­logical scenes – seven scenes of worship in which glory is ascribed to God (Rev­elation 1:4-8; 4:1-5:14; 7:9-17; 11:15­ 19; 14:1-5; 15:1-8; 19:1-10). In fact, worship perhaps gives us our clearest window into what Revelation is all about.

More than any other New Testament book, Revelation resounds with worship and praise of God. When this fact is con­sidered in relation to the age in which Revelation was written, it becomes clear that one of its primary concerns is that of right worship. Or, put another way, Revelation unfolds a theology of power – who holds the key to the future, with whom does real power rest and who is therefore worthy of worship? Against the claims that real power rests with Rome and with Caesar, Revelation shows that “the future belongs not to the Roman emperor ... but only to Christ who was crucified for the salvation of mankind ... Real power rests with Christ, the Lion.”¹

Revelation places before the reader the stark choice about whom to worship. Will they worship demons and idols (9:20), the dragon (13:4), the beast and his image (13:4, 8, 12, 15 etc), or will they worship God and the lamb? Revelation shows that which choice they make will have both cosmic and eternal con­sequences.

In this sense, Revelation is very much a book for our day. There are only two kinds of worship – true or false. There is only worship of the living God or idola­try. Revelation places before us, too, the consequences of our worship.

It is also worth considering the fact that Revelation is written after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. For Jews living at this time, there must have been a real temptation to believe that Rome had triumphed over Jerusalem and, perhaps, even over their God. Yet Revelation shows that God has been building the true Jerusalem and that it is there that true power rests. Revela­tion 21 shows this Jerusalem descending from above – not vanquished but victorious, not a ruin but a city which eclipses even Rome with its glory and beauty. This city is an enormous cube with each side the length of the distance from Adelaide to Darwin. The only other cube in the Bible is the Holy of Holies in the temple – the place of God’s dwelling on earth. Yet about this city, the New Jerusalem, it is said “Now the dwelling of God is with man, and he will live with them.” (21:3) and “I did not see a temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” God’s people – those who have worshipped him – have now become the Holy of Holies where God dwells!

Conclusion←⤒🔗

Revelation is a challenging book and we must approach it with a good deal of humility. Yet it is an important book for every Christian. While there are many things that we cannot pin down precise­ly, its broad thrusts are plain. It shows us where true power resides and who is worthy of worship. It shows us the victory of God and of the Lamb – as one song writer has said “I’ve read the back of the book and we win!”

Revelation can be read with great benefit by every Christian if we remem­ber a few broad principles. It was written to give comfort and encouragement to ordinary Christians in a real situation and was meant to be understood by them – and by us. It is written in symbolic, pictorial language – don’t get hung up on details, drink in the big picture, the broad contours. It’s about worship and its consequences – let it lead you to right worship of God and the Lamb.

So how should we approach Revela­tion? It is hard to put it in better terms than those of New Testament scholar, Vern Poythress: “Let the images ‘soak into you’. Get involved in the Book. Don’t try to puzzle it out. Enjoy it. Sing about it. Cheer for the saints. Detest the beast. Rejoice in God’s power and glory. Praise the Lamb.”²