There is no other book of the Bible that is as strange or as misunderstood as Revelation. Beasts, dragons, angels, plagues, talking scrolls, dead people, a harlot riding a beast, and cataclysmic catastrophes—how do we make sense of all this?
Revelation doesn’t have to be scary. If you want a very user-friendly book that will lead you through the jungle of imagery, I’d recommend The Heart of Revelation by J. Scott Duvall. Last year, we also wrote on Revelation in Getting Over My End Times Phobia. Consider this article, part 2, that builds on previous insights.
Revelation is a Letter
Revelation is firstly a “letter” to the Christian churches (1:4,9–11). As a letter, it is written to a very specific audience: the seven churches in the province of Asia (1:11). Letters to churches were carried around regionally and read aloud in the various congregations. To understand the message of this letter, we need to understand what it is communicating to the original listeners.
This letter, which we call Revelation, was written either during the persecution of the Roman Emperor Domitian (95–96 AD) or shortly after Nero’s persecution in 64–68 AD. “Jesus is Lord” was viewed as a direct threat to the Roman Empire’s authority, whose maxim was “Caesar is Lord.” Therefore, the empire weaponized political, social, economic, military, and religious pressure against the Christians in an attempt to make them comply. The Christians faced antagonism in every direction, including internally as well. Therefore, Revelation was a letter written to encourage and strengthen their faith in the midst of false teachings internally and persecution externally.
Revelation is an Apocalypse
Revelation is also an Apocalypse, [apokalypsis], “unveiling” or “revelation.” Other Jewish Apocalypses include the book of Daniel, 1 Enoch, The Testaments of the XII Patriarchs, The Sibylline Oracles, The Assumption of Moses, 2 Baruch, 3 Baruch, and 4 Ezra. They are exotic. And Revelation, as an Apocalypse, bears the tell-tale traits with those other Jewish books.
Apocalypses contain a few common elements. They are usually (1) a divine message (2) relayed through a heavenly figure (3) to a well-known human figure, such as Enoch, Moses, Daniel, or, in this case, John. (4) The message may be conveyed through visions, epiphanies, otherworldly journeys, angelic interpretations, or secret books. (5) The message often reveals how transcendent realities—things going on in the heavenly realms—are having an impact on temporal realities. (6) The language used is often metaphorical, symbolic, and poetic. For example, even the bodiless and Eternal God is imagined seated on a throne and appearing beautifully colored in liquid diamond pulsing inside a verdant green aura. The imagery is vivid, meaning-rich, and emotional. Jesus is depicted with fire in his eyes (19:12), with a sword in his mouth (1:16), as a lamb looking as if it had been slain (5:6), and a warrior on a horse with a name tattooed on his thigh (ch 19).
Duval describes the overall effect as akin to putting on Virtual Reality goggles. Suddenly, we see the present world through an entirely new spiritual lens. Through metaphoric language, earthly realities are overlaid and reinterpreted through the transcendent dimensions that are normally not observable. In this way, the letter written to the struggling churches of Asia was an encouraging and hope-filled message given in pictorial language.
Biblical Allusions
Almost every sentence in Revelation is bulging with references to Hebrew Scripture; you won’t understand Revelation unless you deeply study the Old Testament. As an example, look more closely at Jesus’ appearance in the first chapter:
- When Jesus speaks, He has “a voice like a trumpet” (1:10), which reminds us of God’s authoritative voice speaking from Mt. Sinai: “a very loud trumpet blast…the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder” (Exodus 19:16,19).
- The seven-fold lampstand Jesus appears among (1:12) reminds us of the Tent of Meeting where the light of God’s presence shone upon His people (Exodus 25:31–40; 37:17–24; Leviticus 24:1–4) and of Zechariah’s prophecy in Zechariah 4:1–9.
- Jesus is called “one like a son of man,” which is the divine figure Daniel prophesied of in his apocalypse (Daniel 7:13).
- Jesus’ wardrobe of a robe reaching to his feet and a sash around His chest reminds us of the priestly garments (Exodus 28:39; 20:26).
- His head and hair, “white like wool, as white as snow,” resemble the Ancient of Days in Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7:9).
- His blazing eyes of fire conjure the jealous love depicted in the Song of Solomon (8:6).
The book is dripping with Biblical references and layered meaning.
How Do We Live In Light of Revelation
The purpose of the book was not to create a Da Vinci Code riddle for people to solve, or an End Times chronology for people to check off. Revelation is about hope and worship in the midst of crisis and persecution. The truths thatRevelation is describing are so enduring that they are relevant to every generation. I’m not suggesting that Christ isn’t literally coming back or that there isn’t one final judgment. I’m simply stating that the message is timelessly true until he comes back.
The major themes of Revelation are as follows. God is sovereign over this seemingly hostile world. Justice ultimately prevails. Evil has been conquered, and God will soon judge the evil powers. Jesus is already enthroned and is being worshipped on His throne of power—right now! And His people, who look weak today, will outlast the oppressive and powerful regime that is persecuting them. God has a new creation in store for His faithful children, and the pollution of evil will not contaminate it. Therefore, to all those faithful followers of Jesus: “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12), and “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). No matter how dark it looks in this moment, God wins in the end. What a wonderful reassurance of the hope that we have in Jesus.
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