How can I possibly understand the book of Revelation? If you’ve ever tried to read the final book of the Bible, you’ve likely asked yourself that question. Multi-headed dragons, frightful beasts, resurrected lambs, cosmic calamities—it’s all so terribly confusing.
Still more confusing are the interpretations men have ascribed to this book. “It’s about Nero!” “No, it’s about Hitler!” “Oh wait, it’s about some as-yet-future leader we’ve never even heard of!” “It’s about the end of the world, and the events are beginning to unfold as we speak!” If the so-called experts with their libraries and their degrees can’t come to a consensus on the book, what hope does a humble Christian with just a Bible have?
Well, my studies have convinced me that the Bible is all you really need and that if you will take a breath and look closely at the very first verse of Revelation, you will find four keys that allow you to understand these visions more clearly than ever before. In fact, these keys will also let you see through many of the false ideas men proclaim from this inspired book. I was recently told by a Bible class student that she is understanding the book of Revelation better than ever, and it’s all because she’s kept these keys in mind. I do not doubt that they will help you to see the meaning of Revelation more clearly as well.
But first, let’s consider an even more basic issue: is it even possible to make sense of such a mystifying book? Let’s answer that question by considering a related issue. According to Revelation, the ultimate source of this vision is none other than God Himself. It is self-described as “the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him…” (Revelation 1:1)1. Would God inspire a message He didn’t expect people to understand? Would He providentially preserve a book that could only confound future readers? No, and no. Such behavior is completely inconsistent with the God of the Bible who is “not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). So yes, Revelation can be understood and God even wants you to understand it. So, how can we? Well, let’s look at the first verse for the four keys that will unlock this great book to our understanding.
Key #1: Revelation Is Apocalyptic
The first two words of the book are “The revelation.” “Revelation” is apokalupsis in the original Greek and it is from this word that we get the English word “apocalypse.” Now, we use this word to refer to the end of the world or some other great catastrophe but that’s not how the Greek language used the term. To the first-century Greek speaker, the term simply meant the unveiling of something that had been hidden. In other words, a revealing or a revelation. By the way, this is another point which should make it clear that God intends for us to understand this book—you don’t reveal something if your desire is for it to remain completely hidden.
It is also significant that the Jews had an entire genre of literature described as apocalyptic. Portions of the Bible (particularly among the Old Testament prophets), as well as numerous uninspired books written in the intertestamental period, belong to the apocalyptic genre. While the majority of apocalyptic literature comes from man and not from God, even uninspired books help us understand the “rules” of the genre.
For example, apocalyptic literature is highly symbolic and its images are not meant to be interpreted literally. Nations or kingdoms are often represented by animals, important traits are revealed by colors, and concepts such as complete/partial or good/evil are often communicated by numbers. The symbolic nature of Revelation is further confirmed by the wording of verse 1—Jesus “sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John” (NKJV). The word “signified” literally means “to give a sign.” Thus any interpretation of Revelation that looks for a literal seven-headed beast to rise from the sea, or expects a literal third of the stars to fall to earth, or limits the saved to a literal 144,000, or looks for Christ to reign for a literal 1,000 years, has failed to take seriously the figurative nature of Revelation.
A deeper question is this, can we properly understand the symbols of Revelation? Well, in many cases, the meaning of the symbols are revealed for us. For example, in Revelation 5:8, John sees a vision of living creatures and elders pouring out bowls of incense before the Lamb. We are explicitly told these bowls of incense “are the prayers of the saints.” Now, if I were to claim that these bowls were symbolic of good deeds done in the name of Jesus, I am clearly not being faithful to the book. When God has revealed the meaning of a sign, we have no right to reinterpret it.
We can also gain insight into the signs by looking at similar imagery in the Old Testament. Revelation is full of Old Testament allusions. There are 404 verses in the book of Revelation, and 265 of them contain some reference to the Old Testament. Should you find yourself “stuck” on understanding a particular symbol or image, it may very well be helpful to look at how the Old Testament authors used that image. Chances are John is applying the symbol in the same or at least a very similar way.
This actually points us to another key feature of apocalyptic literature. While such messages were meant to be understood by the intended recipients, they were also meant to be confusing to outsiders. In that sense, Revelation can be thought of as a coded message transmitted to those behind enemy lines—the “good guys” understand it while the “bad guys” are left in the dark. John’s Christian audience of the first century would have been familiar with the “code book” of Old Testament imagery and would have understood the symbolism so as to decode the message. In contrast, Roman authorities would have been left scratching their heads trying to decipher its meaning.
And if you understand that meaning, you can quickly realize this need for secrecy. The overall message of Revelation is that Christ and His people are victorious over every enemy. Now, if you were a first century Christian, being persecuted by the Roman government, you can see why it might be a bad idea to carry and distribute literature that says, “Christians will overcome Rome.” Such would likely move you straight to the front of the lion-fighting line. As it was, Revelation was able to provide comfort and encouragement to threatened Christians without exposing them to any greater danger.
And that point introduces us to a final important feature about apocalyptic literature: the emphasis is more upon the character of events than the specific details of those events. In other words, apocalypses are concerned with the “big picture.” As an example, consider an apocalyptic vision recorded in the Old Testament book of Daniel. In the seventh chapter of that book, Daniel receives a vision that contains very similar imagery to John’s Revelation. There are varied beasts, some even sporting multiple horns, but ultimately they are all defeated by the power of a heavenly figure. From Daniel 7:2 to 7:14, thirteen verses are devoted to recording the vision. Yet, when Daniel asks for an explanation, only two verses (17–18) are required to explain the fundamental meaning of the vision. It was more important to grasp that central meaning than to understand every single detail. The same is true in Revelation. We have an English expression: “Don’t miss the forest for the trees.” It’s sometimes easy to become consumed with the details that we overlook the obvious big picture. So don’t feel like you have to understand the significance of every detail of every vision contained in Revelation. Instead, focus on the big picture because that is how apocalyptic literature like this should be interpreted. That brings us to…
Key #2: The Big Picture is Jesus
Returning to Revelation 1:1, we find this book is described as “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The expression “of Jesus Christ” has three possible meanings. It can be this book is given by Jesus Christ, or it is about Jesus Christ, or even both. Reading just a little further in verse 1, we are told this is “the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him.” So, ultimately, the message of this book is given by God the Father. Therefore, I believe “of Jesus Christ” is best understood as meaning this book is about Jesus Christ.
A simple survey of some of Revelation’s key words can confirm this interpretation. For example, “Jesus” appears 12 times while the title “Christ” appears by itself another 4 times. More significant still is that the image of “the Lamb” appears 27 times in the 22 chapters of Revelation. The Lamb is one of the easier images to interpret. In chapter 5 verse 5, this Lamb is described as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,” both of which were Old Testament descriptions of the coming Messiah. Clearer still is the description that this Lamb stood “as though it had been slain” (v.6) and that “by [His] blood [He] ransomed people for God” (v.9). When we remember that Jesus’s blood was “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28) and that we have been redeemed through His blood (Colossians 1:14), there can be no doubt that this Lamb is Jesus Christ. First and foremost then, Revelation is a book about our Lord.
What then does this book reveal about Jesus? Two fundamental truths are repeated again and again. First, He is worthy.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!
Revelation 5:12
Whenever Christians feel in any way discouraged, they need to remember how worthy the Lord they serve truly is. Secondly, the Lamb (and consequently those allied with Him) will overcome all opposition. Make no mistake, there will be opposition. Revelation does describe earthly powers that “will make war on the Lamb,” but this war will not be some close-run affair for “the Lamb will conquer them” (Revelation 17:14). At its core, despite all of its “scary” imagery, Revelation is a book of victory—a victory won through the Lamb of God. Chapter 12 describes the ultimate victory of Christians over Satan by saying, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11). If someone tries to scare you with the book of Revelation, it’s quite likely that they have missed the purpose of the book, for at its heart, it is about the worth and victory of Jesus Christ. What message could possibly be more comforting than that?
Now let’s consider…
Key #3: You and I Aren’t the Original Audience
Let’s extend our reading of Revelation 1:1 a little further still, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His servants…” Obviously this includes John who was the direct recipient of the visions, but the use of the plural “servants” tells us that more than just John are intended. So who are these servants?
Looking just a little further in the book we find, “John to the seven churches that are in Asia” (Revelation 1:4). So, Revelation was first and foremost written to a specific group of congregations. In fact, chapters 2 and 3 are composed entirely of letters from Jesus, dictated to John, and written to each of these congregations. Obviously, each of these sections holds a special significance for that specific congregation. Each is told what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong, and what they need to do better. By the way, Jesus does not change, and thus, what He expects of His congregations does not change. If we want to have Jesus-approved congregations, we need to pay close attention to these two chapters. Perhaps more importantly, we need to realize that when we turn the page to chapter 4, the audience does not change! Yes, chapters 2–3 were written specifically to the seven churches, but so were chapters 4–22!
Does this mean there is nothing in the book of Revelation that speaks to us? Not at all! In fact, each of the seven letters features the same phrase: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Do you have ears? Then you need to hear what the Spirit says in the book of Revelation!
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Revelation 1:3
If you want to experience the full blessings of God, it is essential that you read and obey this book!
But obeying what the Bible says has always required reading it in context. That includes asking and answering very basic questions like who is speaking and to whom are they speaking. In Revelation, Jesus is speaking, but He is speaking first of all to these seven churches. As we read this book we need to consider what were they facing and what did they need to hear? Any interpretation of the book which wouldn’t have been beneficial to them cannot be the correct interpretation! Consequently, those who see this book as primarily focusing on the end of time have missed this key and thus missed the proper interpretation of the book. And this becomes even clearer when we consider…
Key #4: Revelation Has Been Unfolding For a Very Long Time
Many treat Revelation as a book about the end of time. In fact, the reason many refer to the end of the world as the Apocalypse is because (as we noted) that is the Greek title of this book. If you’ve ever heard a lesson or study on Revelation, you almost certainly heard it applied to the very last days of planet earth and a climactic battle between Good and Evil. If that’s the case, you will likely be shocked to realize such an interpretation directly contradicts what Revelation says about itself.
Let’s go back to Revelation 1:1 one last time: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must soon take place.” There it is, plain and simple. John, 1,900 years ago, said the Revelation is about events which must soon take place. And this isn’t the only place where John made this claim. John effectively bookends the entire apocalypse with this statement. Revelation 1:3 and 22:10—the beginning and end of the book—both explain that “the time is near.”
Now, a good question to ask at this point is, “How soon is soon?” If you’ve ever tried to convince a young child that you would take them for ice cream “soon,” you know that your soon and their soon aren’t the same thing. Such can also be true with God’s timeframe. Peter reminds us that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). This statement wasn’t given as a mathematical formula to allow us to unlock some coded divine calendar. Rather, it was made to remind us that we don’t view time the same as God does. What seems “soon” from the perspective of eternity might seem quite distant from the perspective of a human life span.
So why do I think that “soon” means “soon” in Revelation, especially when we’ve already noted it is a highly symbolic book? Because of a similarity it shares with another biblical apocalypse. Daniel was writing in the 6th century before Christ. Many of his visions referred to events several hundred years in the future. Consider the vision of Daniel chapter 8. This vision is divinely interpreted for us as describing the periods of Persian and Greek dominance (v. 20). Since the kingdom of Christ would come after the Greek empire (according to Daniel 2), these visions must have been completed within the six centuries between Daniel and Christ.
Why is this significant? Because of what Daniel was specifically told in Daniel 8:26, “But seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.” Now, contrast that with the instruction John was given about the Revelation visions: “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near” (Revelation 22:10). Friends, we’re almost 2,000 years removed from the giving of these visions. If Daniel was told visions relating to events a few hundred years in the future could be safely sealed, then surely John would have been told the same. As it was, Revelation could be left unsealed because it was already unfolding.
As one last indication of this truth, many go to Revelation for evidence of a yet future tribulation and kingdom. Yet, in Revelation 1:9 John describes himself as “your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom.” The tribulation and kingdom were already present in the first century. They were already being experienced by John and his readers because the events of Revelation were already unfolding in the first century.
Will grasping these four keys allow you to answer every question about the book of Revelation? No. But they will allow you to sift through many of the false interpretations currently presented and they will allow you to grasp the big picture which was the purpose of the book in the first place. So, equipped with these four keys, get busy reading and unlocking, for “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it.”
- Except where noted, Scripture quotations in this article are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ↩︎