Parallel REV Intro

The Book of Revelation

Purpose

To challenge readers to remain faithful in the midst of persecution by pointing them to God’s victory over evil and to their future hope

Author

John (likely the apostle)

Date

Most likely the AD 90s, but possibly the AD 60s

Setting

Written to a group of churches in Asia who were experiencing persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire

John’s Apocalypse is a magnificent and wonderfully designed message of the salvation that is available in Jesus Christ. The book blesses all who ponder it and sternly warns those who oppose Christ and the Good News and those whose Christian walk is shallow. The unfolding drama of the book stretches the imagination while bearing witness to God’s supreme power. Its visions describe the plight of Christians, God’s judgments on their persecutors, and eternal hope and promise for God’s faithful people.

Setting

Revelation was probably written in the AD 90s, though it could have been written in the AD 60s. During these periods, Christians experienced increasing pressure and persecution. By the 90s, the Jews had condemned Christianity in their councils at Jamnia (AD 70–85). They then reported Christians to Roman authorities as religious deviants who did not deserve protection under the religious licensing laws that allowed Jews to practice their faith. At the same time, Rome demanded absolute loyalty to the emperor. At that point, there may have been no official persecution in the empire as a whole, but in the pro-Roman province of Asia (modern-day Turkey), those who refused to worship the emperor were prone to face harsh persecution.

In the face of such persecution, Revelation dramatically reminds Christians of the source of their hope and vindication and firmly challenges them to remain faithful. The Christians in the province of Asia may have appeared weak and powerless to the world, but Revelation repeatedly reminded them, as it still reminds us, that the God we serve is almighty. God controls history; he has accomplished our salvation and continues to work out his purposes.

Summary

Revelation begins in an unusual way, with three separate introductions. John first spells out the visionary nature of the book (1:1-3); there is then a letter salutation (1:4-8) followed by a historical introduction (1:9-11).

The book then describes a vision of Jesus (1:12-20). In letters to seven churches in the province of Asia, Christ personally addresses the believers and the life of the churches (chs 2–3). Following these letters, chs 4–5 set the stage for the drama that follows by displaying God’s sovereign majesty and picturing Jesus as both a lion and a lamb.

The heart of the book (chs 6–16) describes a drama in three acts of judgment. In the first act (6:1–8:1), Christ opens seven seals that result in seven judgments. This act also contains the first interlude (ch 7), which shows God’s people being protected from harm.

The second act portrays seven angels blowing seven trumpets (8:2–11:19) in a second view of judgment on the world. The sixth trumpet is followed by a mysterious second interlude (10:1-10) in which an angel, a little scroll, and seven secretive thunders provide an opening for a bittersweet picture of two witnesses who proclaim God’s message (11:1-14). The final trumpet presents heaven, the coming Kingdom of Christ the Lord (11:15-19).

Following the second act, Revelation shifts to a series of three great signs and symbolic portraits. ch 12 depicts the cosmic battle between good and evil and the birth of the promised deliverer, Christ, whom God rescues from Satan’s destructive intentions (12:1-10). Although defeated, Satan—portrayed as a dragon—continues to create havoc among God’s people (12:11-17). The book next introduces two other beasts, who with the dragon form a false “evil trinity” in the world (ch 13). These evil forces contrast starkly with the Lamb of God and his faithful servants standing on Mount Zion, the place of God’s redemption and rule (14:1-5). Three angels deliver God’s message of coming judgment and the destruction of the evil forces (14:6-20).

The third and final act of judgment involves seven plagues (ch 16), which John introduces with a joint song by Moses and the Lamb (ch 15).

After the plagues, John narrates the end of the great prostitute, Babylon (or Rome, ch 17). While the world mourns the passing of this supposed source of security (18:1-19), heaven, the apostles, and the prophets rejoice at its destruction (18:20-24) with songs of God’s victory (19:1-10). God’s enemies have no chance of success against the Lord of lords. The beasts (the power structures of the world) and all who follow them meet their just end in the lake of fire when Jesus destroys his enemies in the battle of Armageddon (19:11-21). While the devil is imprisoned (20:1-3), the saints of God enjoy a respite as they reign with Christ on earth (20:4-6). Despite Satan’s all-out attempt to defeat God in battle, he too is thrown into the lake of fire (20:7-10). All who follow the dragon are judged before the throne of God, and death—humanity’s greatest nemesis—is terminated (20:11-15).

Finally, John paints a marvelous picture of heaven, stretching the human imagination with design, size, and symbolic images (chs 21–22). These scenes, with their vision of hope, make a fitting conclusion to Revelation and to the entire Bible. The Spirit and the church invite all readers to come and receive God’s eternal promise (22:17). The book closes with the ongoing prayer of those who follow Christ: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (22:20).

Interpreting Revelation

The book of Revelation is an exciting work that has bewildered many readers, perhaps because of its nature as both a prophecy and an apocalypse. John Calvin, the Swiss reformer, wrote commentaries on every book in the Bible except Revelation, which indicates that he wasn’t confident that he fully understood the book. Martin Luther did not think that Revelation taught enough about justification by faith; therefore, he assigned Revelation a sub-canonical status, not viewing it as authoritative for doctrine but only for Christian life. In light of the interpretive difficulties, many Christian teachers follow suit by avoiding the book of Revelation entirely, or only speak about the letters to the churches (chs 2–3).

Through the centuries, interpreters have argued over the meaning of Revelation. Some have used their interpretations of the book to categorize as apostate or heretical other Christians who don’t share their views. Others spend months and years searching the book for information about recent and upcoming events. The study materials in this product tend to interpret the visions as reflecting the world and experience of the original churches—situated in the Roman Empire—to whom it was first written. The entire drama and message of the book, however, reveals great treasures to encourage believers of all eras in their faith.

The Nature of Revelation

The entire Bible is inspired by God (see 2 Tim 3:15-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21). Some books, such as Romans, the historical books, and some of the prophets, primarily address the intellect. Other books, such as the Psalms and other poetical writings, engage the emotions. The book of Revelation, however, appeals to the imagination (as do some Old Testament works, such as Ezekiel and parts of Daniel and Zechariah). Revelation speaks through visions, images, and figurative language rather than logical reasoning. The book sometimes presents the literal and the symbolic in intriguing combinations. It resists being treated as a system of end-times doctrines, as those who have tried to systematize it have often discovered.

Because of its nature, reading Revelation requires imagination. It is like entering the realm of dreams with God and discovering that they contain a marvelous message from him. Instead of trying to fit all of Revelation’s scenes into a logical system, readers will benefit from thinking in pictures. For example, when John says that “all the green grass was burned” (8:7) and then later says that the locusts are instructed not to “harm the grass” (9:4), such statements seem contradictory. The incongruity is resolved, however, when we realize that John is describing what he saw in two different visions and that the two visions are not meant to narrate a sequence of events—they are meant to portray God’s message in pictures. Similarly, we read in the vision of heaven that “the Temple of God was opened” (11:19), but later we find “no temple” there (21:22). Again, the focus of each vision is different; readers must not try to read one vision into another but instead concentrate on the main point of each vision on its own terms. Early readers, familiar with the logic of metaphors, understood the nature of picture-thinking. Just as they knew not to read one of Jesus’ parables into another, they avoided trying to systematize or conflate John’s visions.

Apocalyptic Writing

Through word pictures and visions, John magnificently transports our minds to the realm of imagination. John was not alone in writing this way—he used a familiar kind of literature to convey his message. These imaginative works are called “apocalyptic” (Greek “uncover”) because they claim to reveal a new vision of reality. Such works were often written during times of great stress and persecution as encouragement. Apocalyptic writings often used symbolic names, numbers, and descriptions as a “code” so that outside readers (particularly enemies) who did not possess the key to the code would not understand the implications of the message. The work would seem to them like double talk or nonsense. In Revelation, for instance, Babylon is used as a code for Rome (17:5-9).

The Old Testament contains examples of apocalyptic literature in Daniel and Zechariah (see Daniel Book Introduction, “Daniel as Literature”; Zechariah Book Introduction, “Literary Genre”). In Jewish apocalyptic literature, God is usually pictured as transcendent and fully in control of history, even when the situation might seem bleak to readers. God’s message is usually presented through visions, dreams, or journeys to cosmic or spiritual realms. These revelations gave seers, dreamers, interpreters, and prophets messages of hope and salvation for God’s people and messages of judgment on God’s enemies. The prophets were obliged to share their messages with others—particularly with God’s people, who were under persecution and in distress. Readers understood that the promises of hope would not be fulfilled immediately; these promises were generally expressed as part of a coming cataclysmic judgment in which God would destroy his enemies and bring final bliss to his people. Meanwhile, God’s people were to remain faithful and persevere in the face of suffering, understanding that God would soon deliver them. All of these features find expression in Revelation.

As a seer or a visionary, John also refers to his work as a “prophecy” (1:3; 22:7); he does not mean that it is prophecy simply in a predictive sense, but in the Old Testament sense of proclaiming a message from God that is addressed to his people. John’s prophetic visions emphasize that God’s answer to distressing times will not be entirely realized until the end of history and in the coming eternity.

Author

Many Jewish apocalypses were written after the books that now make up the Old Testament canon were completed, at a time when Jews believed that prophecy had ceased and that the word of the Lord for them was primarily to be found in the Law and the Prophets. These Jewish writers wrote under the names of earlier godly persons such as Ezra, Baruch, Enoch, Isaiah, and even Adam so that their writings would gain credibility and acceptance. These works are called pseudepigrapha (literally “false writings”) because they were written under pseudonyms. Similarly, in the post-apostolic era, fanciful writers and false teachers adopted this practice by using the names of earlier followers of Jesus (such as Peter, James, John, and even Mary) to gain a hearing from Christians.

By contrast, the books collected in the New Testament were written under their authors’ own names (see Rom 1:1; 2 Thes 3:17) or were legitimately apostolic even though they do not claim an author by name (e.g., Matthew, Hebrews). The author of Revelation identifies himself simply as John (1:1, 4, 9). In the early church, this John was generally identified as the apostle John, who refers to himself in the Gospel bearing his name as “the disciple Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7); in his epistles, he calls himself “the elder” (3 Jn 1:1).

Date of Writing

John received the visions presented in Revelation while he was a political and religious prisoner on Patmos, a rocky island used as a Roman prison off the western coast of Asia Minor near Ephesus (Rev 1:9).

John probably wrote Revelation during the concluding years of Domitian’s reign (AD 94–96) or immediately following (AD 96–99). The eight kings (17:7-11) may refer to the eight Roman emperors from Augustus to Domitian. It is also possible that Revelation was written during the AD 60s, when Nero was persecuting the church and killing Christians.

During these times, Christians were experiencing significant anguish and persecution (2:9, 13; 3:9; 13:7). John called his readers to endurance and faithfulness (13:10).

Recipients

The recipients of Revelation were the churches in the Roman province of Asia (the western part of modern Turkey). The seven cities mentioned in chs 1–3 were joined by a triangular road system forming something like a mail route. These cities all lie in ruins today except for Smyrna, which is now the bustling modern seaport of Izmir, Turkey. The order of the cities in the seven letters is geographical and follows the route a courier probably took as he carried the book to each church to be read.

Meaning and Message

Revelation portrays the stark nature of evil while emphasizing how God is always present and at work to accomplish his purposes on behalf of his people. Even evil can only do what God allows (e.g., 6:3-4, 7-8; 13:5-7). Jesus is “the Alpha and the Omega” (1:8), the Lord over all history from beginning to end. Ultimately the powers of evil are futile. Satan has already lost the war (12:12); he can merely imitate and pervert what God does.

Revelation clarifies that what is done on earth has eternal consequences. God’s suffering servants may sometimes wonder whether Jesus is powerful enough to accomplish God’s purpose of salvation (6:9-10). Despite all the evil in the world, however, Revelation assures readers that the crucified and resurrected Lamb of God is truly the powerful Lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5-6). He is fully worthy to receive our praise (5:12), as he is united with the eternal God (5:13-14). Although the ways of the world result in war, violence, economic imbalance, and death (6:1-8), and although some people seem to profit from alignments with evil (13:15-17), these things will ultimately reap distress and doom (18:9-24). God’s people may be persecuted and die for their faith (13:7), but they will ultimately triumph with Christ (14:1-3) because they have been marked by the seal of God (7:4) and have been granted the white robe of victory (6:11; 7:9). They will have access to their heavenly dwelling (21:7), will continually praise God and the Lamb (7:10), and will live forever (22:5). Revelation reminds readers that the great victory over the powers of evil has already been won at the cross (5:5-6). Armageddon is a desperate act of defiance by a foe who is already defeated. While Satan is allowed to kill the saints (13:7), they have already conquered him through Christ and their own witness (12:11).

The message for Christians who suffer at the hands of Satan’s servants is not to weep or be afraid (1:17-18; 5:5) but to endure their suffering faithfully (13:10). With God they will prevail (1:6-7; 11:17-18). People will ultimately be judged by what they do and how they act (20:12), and God will bless those who pay attention to the words of this book (1:3; 22:7). God’s holy people are therefore called to persevere faithfully in order to be victorious (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). Revelation calls them to obey God, maintain their witness (12:17; 22:7), endure patiently (13:10; 14:12), and remain vigilant (16:15; 17:14) in the face of persecution, knowing that cowards will face eternal punishment along with evildoers (21:8).