Don't pluralize it! The Bible's last book is not a compilation of several revelations. It is one revelation – of Jesus Christ, as the first verse tells us. One unveiling of Jesus Christ in His glory, judging and ruling.
"The would-be interpreter of Revelation must approach the book with extreme caution and in humble recognition of the fact that he is studying a book that has perplexed the finest minds and confused the most godly saints throughout Christian history." — Kenneth Gentry
Greville Lewis complained that "through the centuries this book has been the happy hunting ground of the cranks who believed that its cryptic messages were meant to refer to the events of their own troubled age."
Absolutely no attempt should be made to intrepret the Apocalypse (Revelation) apart from the Old Testament. According to [apologeticspress.org] "Of the 404 verses in the book of Revelation, seemingly 278 of them make some allusion to the Old Testament. That is 68.8% of the verses!" That might be a conservative estimate! Let's consider a few examples.
1 Kings 6:20 – "The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid an altar of cedar."
Revelation 21:16 – "The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal." (The context describes the city as being "of pure gold."
The Bible is to be taken literally when context requires, and it is to be taken figuratively when context requires. When Jesus says "I am the door" (John 10:7,9), we don't take Him literally, as if He is identifying Himself as a rectangular plank of wood with a knob and hinges attached. What is the Holy Spirit indicating by giving us this symbolic representation of the glorious city where the redeemed dwell? Is it a gigantic golden cube (literal) or is He signifying that because of Christ's redemption the entire city is the everlasting and true holy of holies (figurative)?
Daniel 10:4-12, summarized: Daniel has a vision of a man whose face was like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, a golden sash around his waist, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. Daniel is rendered as though dead by the vision, but the man touches him, comforts him, and tells him not to fear.
Revelation 1:12-19, summarized: John has a vision of Christ in His glory. His face was like the sun shining in its strength, His eyes like a flame of fire, His feet like burnished bronze, wearing a golden sash, and His voice like the roar of many waters. John records that he "fell at his feet as though dead." But the exalted Christ touches him, comforts him, and tells him not to fear.The list could go on. Its application is: "Be mighty in the Scriptures of the Old Testament before making bold interpretive assertions about the book of Revelation." What does interpretation mean? Not forming a subjective opinion and imposing it on the text, but discerning the intent and purpose of the text. Be one who rightly divides the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15)!
It would be hard to overemphasize this when it comes to interpreting the book of Revelation: It is crucial to recognize how Revelation's imagery draws very heavily, possibly exclusively, from the Old Testament. Into what other pits of error might we stumble in rightly dividing the Bible's closing book?
1. Failure to recognize its APOCALYPTIC style. Apocalypse is the name of the book in older English Bibles, and cognate names are used in other languages (e.g. El Apocalipsis in Spanish). Apocalypse means unveiling, uncovering, discovery. Apocalyptic literature makes great use of symbolism. The style is frequently used in Daniel, Ezekiel and other Old Testament books. Probably no one would interpret the seven headed, ten horned beast of Revelation 13 as an actual monster coming up out of the ocean waves. Literalizing Revelation's figurative imagery can quickly derail good interpretation.
2. Ignoring the identity and circumstances of the original author (the apostle John in exile) and of his original audience (the seven churches of Asia). When Jesus preached the sermon on the mount, He was speaking to living people of His generation. John wrote to seven real pastors and the seven real churches they served. Like all the other books of the Bible, Revelation was not "written in a vacuum."
3. Missing the original intent as discernible from the text. Revelation 3:10 speaks of the "hour of trial" coming upon the whole OIKOUMENE. Revelation is intended to prepare the churches of that era for the gathering storm of persecution, especially by Nero, Roman emperor 64-68 A.D. Cf. 13:10 and 14:12. Also, there was about to be a major and fundamental re-orientation in the course of redemptive history – a re-orientation necessitating the destruction of Jerusalem, the center not only of Old Covenant Israel, but of Apostolic Christianity.
To the woman at the well, Jesus said: "...believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." (John 4:21-23). Salvation had its origin with the Jews. Now it was coming to the whole world, and there would no longer be a geographic center for God's work on Earth. Cf. Romans 11.
The final part of this study will offer a few commentary highlights. Go to A Survey of Eschatology, Part Twelve