How to read the book of Revelation
The book of Revelation in the Bible has inspired people to do many things, most of which have nothing to do with the book at all. I will spare you a list, but I think you know what I am talking about. So, how is it possible to read and comprehend this very strange book?
To find an answer, we must first consider the nature of this book.
The answer is not easy to find and requires some attention, but I think it is worth the time.
What is the genre?
A genre is a type of literature. The way we approach a text will depend on the genre.
For example, when you read a scientific work, you ask for evidence and expect nothing but truth.
In a poem you don’t expect that at all; instead you might look for unique metaphors that stir the emotions.
When you open a letter that’s addressed to you, you’d expect a lot of personal references and content that is related to you and your specific situation.
The reason why the Book of Revelation is difficult to understand is because:
- it is not just one type of literature, but three (letter, prophecy, and apocalyptic).
- all of these three types are not in typical use — we will come to that later.
- this type of apocalyptic work most readers are not familiar with and is easily misunderstood.
In the rest of this article we will focus on these three types of literature, what they are, and what they mean when we read the book of Revelation.
A letter
Let us begin with the nature of the letter. There are many aspects that reflect the book as a letter
- the formal introduction known from all the other letters in the Bible.
- the formal ending used in many of the letters in the Bible.
- the fact that the book is intended as a letter to seven churches. This is seen at the beginning of chapters 2 and 3, but their topics are referenced throughout the book, e.g. many of the promises given to these specific churches are answered in chapter 21
Of course, the book does not follow the standard form of a letter in the Bible:
- it is not only a letter, it is also prophetic and apocalyptic.
- it is addressed to seven churches at the same time.
Despite this, the book of Revelation maintains the basic flow of a letter. It
- makes the Church aware of who Jesus is (chapter 1)
- addresses the basic issues and their implications (chapters 2–3)
- gives a theological explanation of how to deal with them (chapters 4–21/5)
- provides some conclusions (chapters 22/6–21)
Now that we know this, it makes sense to expect a guideline for these churches in chapter 4-21 - on how to deal with the problems they had in their specific time. This does not necessarily mean that we have different problems now, or that these answers cannot be applied to our lives.
If we say that the majority of this book refers to events that are only applicable in the future (even from our time), we have not considered the letter aspect of the book.
A prophecy
When people hear the word “prophecy”, most of them think of a supernatural glimpse or vision into the future, mainly describing things to come.
While this thought is not incorrect, when it comes to the prophetic books of the Bible, the word means something different.
The prophetic literature in the Old Testament was based on the covenant at Mount Sinai. There God did not just give people a list of rules to follow, he gave them a way of thinking. He said that:
- we are all equal before the law
- we should have mercy on the helpless as Israel was slaves before, God protects the helpless , e.g. Lev.23/22
- the most important law is to love God and to love your neighbor. This is confirmed in the New Testament where we learn that everyone is our neighbor
When the people did not follow these concepts, the prophets were obliged to reprimand them. The message was:
- God gave you the law and look — you have broken it (mostly by following idols, resulting in injustice to the poor).
- therefore, God will judge you (future aspect) as described in the law. (The intention was to train the people of God - see the term is repeated in different variants of “if you still do not do”. Whenever this happened God would increase the pressure to see if Israel would change their behaviour.).
- He has mercy on us when we repent especially when we sow that we've learnt our lesson.
Thus, the main features of the prophetic message are:
- to comfort the oppressed
- to challenge the unjust to change their ways
- in a concrete historical situation
- this is a memo to the people of God.
This does not mean that this message is limited to the first and second centuries and that we will never find ourselves in a similar situation.
Revelation uses many prophetic elements as it:
- begins with a section that is also found at the start of many prophetic books in the Old Testament.
- has a vision with a calling which is found in Isaiah 6.
- references many prophetic books in the Old Testament such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, etc.
- warns the people to get out of Babel, e.g. don’t let your love grow cold, don’t allow false teaching, etc.
- comforts: God’s people are protected, no one will get lost, God’s kingdom will surely come
The goal of a prophecy is to change behavior. It often uses vivid pictures to elicit a response from the reader or listener.
But there is another perspective. The intention of prophecy is sometimes to not come true. This sounds a bit surprising, but we see it in the book of Jonah when Jonah refuses to prophesy against the enemies of Israel (Nineveh was the outpost of the Assyrians) because they might repent and then God’s judgment would not come to pass. And that is what happened.
Revelation prophecy is not like the standard Old Testament prophecy. Visions are often introduced with a simple “and I saw”, whereas in the Old Testament they are introduced more elaborately.
An apocalypse
The first words of the book: “Apokalypsis Iesou Christou” which is translated as “The revelation of Jesus Christ”. While the word “apokalypsis” literally means “revelation”, this direct translation is misleading because is does not mean a secret foretelling about some event in the far or near future. It is also not about the end of the world, but about the end of the evil rulers and society. The only other apocalyptic texts in the Bible are only in Daniel 7-12; Mark 13; Matthew 24 and Luke 21. These are also difficult to understand.
But let’s start at the beginning: Apocalypse is a genre like any other. Even if we don’t have a complete definition of what an apocalyptic book is, there is some information that can help us.
The purpose of such a book is to
- encourage the people of God in a crisis, such as persecution
through
- scathing criticism of the oppressors
- passionate calls for resistance
- trust in God’s ultimate victory over evil
This is achieved through dualism
- in time: The current time is evil, but a better time is coming and only God can make that change.
- in character: There is a cosmic/spiritual dualism (God vs. Satan, angels vs. demons, heaven vs. hell), which causes a profound dualism (good vs. evil through alliance with God or Satan and their allies).
The intention is to force everyone to choose a side. There is no neutral ground.
Symbolic language is used to make the (dual) reality clearer and is not meant to describe the future reality but to give us spiritual insight.
The closest comparison to an apocalypse might be a political cartoon.
When we see this picture, we get the message without assuming that dragons are doing yoga or that they even exist. When we look at the book of Revelation, we see the following elements:
- There is clearly an evil ruler (against the people of God), but in chapter 21 we read that a better time is coming with the new creation.
- The book has no room for compromise and is full of “either … ors” (e.g. Lamb vs. Dragon, Jerusalem vs Babel, the seal of God vs the mark of the Beast, worshippers of God vs worshippers of the Beast) that challenge the political order and its ideology. The key point is that the true king is Jesus not the emperor, the goal is the Kingdom of God not the Roman peacefaith is Jesus is needed,, not loyalty to the emperor.
Conclusion
When we read the book, we must realize that it is:
- a letter that needed to make sense to people in the first and second centuries.
- a prophecy that should encourage people to act differently right here and now - not sometime in the future - by means of strong emotional material.
- an apocalypse which forces God’s people to avoid compromise and to oppose wrong rulers by describing an “either … or” world.
The book is not
- a look into the future (for the ancient listeners) to describe events in the distant future that will have no relation to them
- a description of what the future will look like.