Revelation: Introduction

Condemned and assigned to a future of exile, the aging John is fulfilling his destiny as an apostle.

"For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all," Paul observes in 1 Corinthians 4:9, "as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men."

"To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless," Paul continues in verse 11.

According to Paul's comments in 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, God's servants are afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed.

John, also known as the "disciple whom Jesus loved," manifests the life of His master in his own and thus fulfills his destiny as a Christian as explained in 2 Corinthians 4:7-12. Through afflictions, hardships and distresses, John possesses all things (2 Cor. 6:4-l0).

Any discussion of the book of Revelation is useless unless we understand some facts about Bible books in general and prophetic writings in particular.

There are some basic rules that must be followed when studying the Bible. One of these is that most passages in the Bible are to be considered to be literal unless there is something in the passage itself that calls for a figurative interpretation. The reason we say that most passages follow this rule is that the situation is reversed for prophetic books. Due to the nature of prophecy itself, passages in these books are to be taken figuratively unless there is something in the text itself that requires a literal interpretation.

What kind of book is Revelation? It is a book of prophecy. How, then, should it be interpreted? We should expect to find figurative meaning in its contents.

Consistency and honesty are critical here. We cannot jump back and forth arbitrarily between literal and figurative interpretations in a given passage just to defend some doctrine that we have invented.

A second rule tells us that, regardless of the kind of passage, we use the Bible to interpret the Bible. If we have a question about a verse, we look to other parts of the Scriptures for the explanation.

Another thing that will help us in our examination of this book is an understanding of the figurative use of numbers. In the Bible, certain numbers have figurative meanings. These numbers are especially common in books such as Revelation. The number one, for example, symbolizes unity. The number two often stands for strength. Remember that Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs. The number three is symbolic of heavenly unity or completeness. The Divine Nature is made up of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The number four represents earthly completeness. We talk about the "four winds" or about the "four corners of the earth."

The number ten provides additional fullness, completeness or perfection. Other numbers are often multiplied by ten (or multiples of ten) to make them even greater. In Matthew 18 Peter asks whether they should forgive someone seven times. Jesus responds to forgive them until seventy times seven.

These numbers can be combined to arrive at other ones. Three, heavenly completeness, is added to four, earthly completeness, to arrive at the number seven, which portrays Complete fullness. If seven is complete fullness, then six marks failure. It is an attempt at perfection that does not succeed. And half of seven, or three and one-half, means incompleteness or something that is not finished. If seven is unlimited, then three and one-half stands for something that is limited.

Three plus four gives us seven, and three times four produces 12. We would expect this combination of complete numbers to also result in a number that represents fullness. And this is what it does, often in the context of God's covenant relationship with man. How many tribes were there in the Old Testament? How many apostles did Jesus select?

And these numbers are occasionally squared or cubed to amplify them. Remember again the Lord's instruction to Peter to forgive until seventy times seven. This is seven times seven times ten, or seven squared, times ten for extra emphasis. So what Jesus is really saying is to forgive a countless number of times.

Although there is disagreement as to when the Revelation was written, evidence in the book itself indicates that it was recorded during the reign of Vespasian in the eighth decade A.D. In chapter 17 John mentions various kings. If we compare this list with the Roman emperors, we learn from verse 10 that Vespasian is ruling when John writes the book. We will take a closer look at this chapter when we get there.

Revelation can easily be divided into seven sections, each of which begins with a vision.

The first section opens with the vision recorded in chapter one.

The rest of the section contains seven letters to churches in Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardus, Philadelphia and Laodicea. This includes the first three chapters of the book.

Section two (chapters 4-7) begins with a vision of heaven, followed by the opening of seven seals. It will help to remember that opened seals reveal. Toward the end of this section there is an interlude to seal the faithful in order to protect them. In fact, there are interludes for a similar purpose in sections two through four.

In the third section (chapters 8-11), the vision is followed by seven trumpets. Just as opened seals reveal, trumpets warn.

Following the vision in the fourth section (chapters 12-14), we are introduced to three adversaries: the dragon, the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth.

Section five (chapters 15-16) parallels section three, in that the vision is followed by the pouring out of seven cups, many of which correspond to the seven trumpets. But trumpets warn, while cups are poured out. In other words, the cups represent action that is actually taken.

Section six (chapters 17-20) opens with a vision of judgment, followed by specific judgment against figurative Babylon, against the two beasts and against the dragon. Notice that these characters exit in reverse order of their appearance.

The final section (chapters 21-22) includes a vision of comfort and punishment, followed by the presentation and description of the New Jerusalem. Verses 6-21 of the last chapter form a conclusion to the book.

Let's take just a second to review before we go on. What kind of book is Revelation? It is a book of prophecy. So should it be interpreted literally or figuratively? As a book of prophecy, it requires a figurative interpretation. And we must be consistent in applying this interpretation.

The symbolic numbers that appear in this book include two, three, four, seven and twelve, along with squares of some of these numbers. Occasionally, these numbers or their squares are multiplied by 10 or a multiple of 10 to amplify the meaning. Two represents strength. Three stands for heavenly completeness, while four carries the idea of earthly completeness. By adding these numbers we arrive at seven, which is a complete number. But seven minus one equals six, which stands for failure. And one-half of seven stands for incompleteness or limitation. The product of these same numbers, 12, is another representation of completeness.

One more thing: why was this book written? It was written to encourage Christians who were facing terrible persecution. They faced prison and even death, and only God could pull them through. He did just this by revealing to them the truth about what was really happening. This was a truth that would set them free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."