Revelation, an apocalypse, is one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible. In this book, John describes heavenly wisdom he received from an angel. Readers often have a difficult time understanding this book because John depicts the supernatural world through many strange events and symbols, and scholars debate the legitimacy and context of John’s vision. Upon further reading of the text, it appears that stories in Revelation should be taken literally and that the events are predicting the future but also occasionally referencing John’s present age.
Readers should understand Revelation as literal events, but these events are not necessarily described literally. For starters, John describes his vision so vividly, that it seems almost impossible that he would be able to concoct such events. He uses figurative speech, such as metaphors, to describe the events he witnesses, but this, however, does not imply these events are not valid and will not happen. …show more content…
John often uses this symbolism because he is describing occasions unfathomable to any human being. After all, he was “carried… away in the spirit” and witnessed the supernatural world (Revelation 17:3). For example, John attempts to describe the “beast rising out of the sea” through animal characteristics. He declares it “was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth” (13:2). John’s symbolism may seem obscure because he was originally writing to an audience in the first century. For example, he uses the analogy of “the harvest of the earth” to symbolize the judgement because the people of the ancient world would have been familiar with harvesting (14:15). Additionally, John says the “number of the beast” is “six hundred sixty-six” (13:18). Scholars have attempted and failed to understand the code behind this number, but the early people seem to recognize the meaning since John simply states “it is the number of a person” (13:18). Another concept that makes Revelation confusing for modern readers is the dual meanings of some symbols. For example, the angel states that the “seven heads” of the beast represent “seven mountains on which the woman is seated,” and they also “are seven kings” (17:9). This idea of a more literal understanding of the narrative structure in Revolution points towards a premillennialism position. This position reads this book in four basic movements: “the church age, the tribulation period, and millennial kingdom, and the final judgement culminating in the new heavens and earth” (New Testament in Antiquity, p. 434). Believers are currently in the church age and the trials described in Revelation points towards future events. The premillennial position often correlates to a more futurist position when decoding the symbols and images used by John. Readers should first understand the setting of the events described in these passages. John has been given a vision, so he is depicting what he has seen. This helps explain the past tense verbs amongst Revelation; it is not that these events have necessarily already happened but simply that John has already witnessed them. “The Futurist believes that most prophecies in Revelation will be fulfilled within a brief time directly before Christ’s return” (New Testament in Antiquity, p. 435). The progressive dispensationalist, an interpretation of the futuristic position, agrees that specific events are yet to be fulfilled but also accepts that John’s Revelation has partial fulfillment in the first century. This seems to be the best understanding of Revelation because it bridges the predictive and historical reading strategies. God’s anger begins to escalate as the seven angels “pour[ed] out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God” (16:1). Unlike the seven trumpets, these plagues were far greater in intensity and affected humans from the beginning. In particular, they impacted “those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image” (16:2). Therefore, people who worshiped God and not the beast would be saved from the rage, which implies that the bowls of God’s wrath will occur in the future. In the first century, there would not have been a way to necessarily keep safe God’s people from these earthy destructions. Additionally, John declares the time and the place of
Readers should understand Revelation as literal events, but these events are not necessarily described literally. For starters, John describes his vision so vividly, that it seems almost impossible that he would be able to concoct such events. He uses figurative speech, such as metaphors, to describe the events he witnesses, but this, however, does not imply these events are not valid and will not happen. …show more content…
John often uses this symbolism because he is describing occasions unfathomable to any human being. After all, he was “carried… away in the spirit” and witnessed the supernatural world (Revelation 17:3). For example, John attempts to describe the “beast rising out of the sea” through animal characteristics. He declares it “was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth” (13:2). John’s symbolism may seem obscure because he was originally writing to an audience in the first century. For example, he uses the analogy of “the harvest of the earth” to symbolize the judgement because the people of the ancient world would have been familiar with harvesting (14:15). Additionally, John says the “number of the beast” is “six hundred sixty-six” (13:18). Scholars have attempted and failed to understand the code behind this number, but the early people seem to recognize the meaning since John simply states “it is the number of a person” (13:18). Another concept that makes Revelation confusing for modern readers is the dual meanings of some symbols. For example, the angel states that the “seven heads” of the beast represent “seven mountains on which the woman is seated,” and they also “are seven kings” (17:9). This idea of a more literal understanding of the narrative structure in Revolution points towards a premillennialism position. This position reads this book in four basic movements: “the church age, the tribulation period, and millennial kingdom, and the final judgement culminating in the new heavens and earth” (New Testament in Antiquity, p. 434). Believers are currently in the church age and the trials described in Revelation points towards future events. The premillennial position often correlates to a more futurist position when decoding the symbols and images used by John. Readers should first understand the setting of the events described in these passages. John has been given a vision, so he is depicting what he has seen. This helps explain the past tense verbs amongst Revelation; it is not that these events have necessarily already happened but simply that John has already witnessed them. “The Futurist believes that most prophecies in Revelation will be fulfilled within a brief time directly before Christ’s return” (New Testament in Antiquity, p. 435). The progressive dispensationalist, an interpretation of the futuristic position, agrees that specific events are yet to be fulfilled but also accepts that John’s Revelation has partial fulfillment in the first century. This seems to be the best understanding of Revelation because it bridges the predictive and historical reading strategies. God’s anger begins to escalate as the seven angels “pour[ed] out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God” (16:1). Unlike the seven trumpets, these plagues were far greater in intensity and affected humans from the beginning. In particular, they impacted “those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image” (16:2). Therefore, people who worshiped God and not the beast would be saved from the rage, which implies that the bowls of God’s wrath will occur in the future. In the first century, there would not have been a way to necessarily keep safe God’s people from these earthy destructions. Additionally, John declares the time and the place of