Revelation is arguably the most difficult book in the Bible to interpret. Some Christians read it once then leave it alone; others immerse themselves in every detail, finding ever more fantastic interpretations of a work which might well be described as the first century equivalent of science fiction. How then should we approach it? One scholar says that we should view Revelation not as a series of sequential events, but as a collection of stationary photos of the same object taken from slightly different angles. That to me seems like a helpful place to start.

What kind of book is Revelation?

The book of Revelation is part of a literary genre known as 'apocalyptic'. Apocalyptic literature was a popular Jewish genre in the first century, probably reaching its peak when the Apostle John was writing. While Jesus' disciples often struggled to understand his parables (Mark 4:10-13), which were a new genre for them, it seems they were more comfortable with the conventions of apocalyptic language, which tend to appear foreign to us (Matt 24:3). John's (mainly) Jewish readers would probably have known how to interpret Revelation, but as soon as the Church became increasingly dominated by Gentiles in culture and composition, they had as much trouble in understanding the genre as we do today.

We should view Revelation not as a series of sequential events, but as a collection of stationary photos of the same object taken from slightly different angles.

As apocalyptic writing, the book relies heavily on symbolism and metaphor, yet the metaphors can shift and change all the time. Beasts can change into prophets, then be ridden by prostitutes. Jesus can variously become a lamb on a throne, a male child, one like the son of man, or a rider on a white horse. All of this means it is unwise to take any one verse or metaphor in isolation.

Old Testament symbolism

There are two main sources of imagery in Revelation. Apart from concepts taken from Greco-Roman culture and mythology, the bulk of John's imagery derives from the Hebrew Scriptures. One study has found over 670 allusions to the Hebrew Scriptures. Since there are 405 verses in the book, that means an average of between one and two Old Testament allusions per verse! The main sources are Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Exodus and Psalms, but there are many others. Clearly any interpretation of a particular metaphor should pay close attention to the relevant Old Testament sources.

Historical background

The book of Revelation is generally reckoned to have been written during the reign of Domitian, from AD 80 to 96, although this is not certain, so it could have been earlier. There was ongoing persecution of both Jews and Christians (not always at the same time) throughout the second half of the first century. Despite Imperial decrees, Roman government was highly decentralised, so sporadic outbreaks of persecution could be quite local. Sometimes it was low key, like social ostracisation; sometimes it was more overt, leading to imprisonment and even death.

John himself was imprisoned on Patmos, a small island run as a Roman penal centre. He consciously writes in a way that will not cause an adverse reaction from the Roman authorities. There must be no sniff of a subversive political agenda. His use of apocalyptic genre, which was accessible to those who knew the Hebrew Scriptures, but mystical and mystifying to the Romans, was ideal. A spiritual 'code' to fool the authorities, but readily understood by Jewish readers and the (then) predominately Jewish-culture churches.

The bridge

Recently I was asked to produce a short paper analysing Revelation 20:4. My paper subsequently appeared as an article in Prophecy Today, which drew a fair bit of comment. Two days after writing my paper, I received a picture (or poetic parable) from the Lord, which I wrote down. I called it 'The Bridge', and many folk said that it spoke powerfully to them. It was an extension of an idea which I've had for many years, that the Bible is meant to be like an Impressionist painting, but we are always trying to turn it into an engineering drawing. Although the parable is about reading the Bible in general, I realised that the timing was not accidental. It is very applicable to Revelation in particular.

The Bible is meant to be like an Impressionist painting, but we are always trying to turn it into an engineering drawing.

Interpreting Revelation is a bit like looking at an Impressionist painting. Stand too close and all you can see is a series of dots. Stand well back to view it as a whole, and you get a powerful impression of the beautiful scene you are meant to see. In this respect, the engineering drawing represents a desire to be over-literal. Modern minds expect apocalyptic writing to be strictly allegorical, we look for each image to have a particular interpretation. The apocalyptic genre does not work like that. It is less about individual detail, more about overall impressions.

The jigsaw

The Lord confirmed this to me in an unusual way. My daughter had given me a jigsaw for Christmas, taken from a photo of our family. However, her small photo was taken on a low quality lens, which when blown up many times was nothing but a jumble of rather meaningless pixelated dots. As you can imagine, it took me a long time to complete the jigsaw, which I pieced together mainly just from colour matching. Even when completed it still looks extremely fuzzy and out of focus. However, stand back eight or ten feet and suddenly you see a lovely picture of three generations of our family having a celebratory meal together.

We are not meant to take individual verses in isolation and make them mean strange things.

Having completed the jigsaw just a couple of days after writing my piece about Impressionist paintings, it seemed further confirmation that this is the right approach to Revelation. We are meant to look at the big picture, not every small detail. We are not meant to take individual verses in isolation and make them mean strange things.

The people of God

Revelation is written primarily to encourage (and disciple) believers, yet John also had in mind Jews who were not believers, but who would understand the imagery taken from the Hebrew Scriptures. The focus is on the people of God. In some places martyrs receive special attention; elsewhere John makes specific mention of the Jewish people.

While the predominant emphasis is on believers, as a minor theme he notes there are others, those who are “in the world”. It is as though John is busy explaining the “glorious inheritance of the saints”, yet also feels compelled to mention 'there is another lot, but you really don't want to be like them'!