Revelation - Part 2 - Getting started

Part 2 – Exploring Revelation

                So if you read the first article (Interpretation Foundation) then you have a foundation on which to build your interpretation (study, deep dive, meditation, or whatever term you choose).  You should also be aware then that we (should I say me – and you are invited) are going to be going down the path of studying and exploring the book of Revelation.

So let’s get started with some more basic items to prepare ourselves.  The first place I like to start is with who, why, where, what, when, and how questions.  Answering these questions can really open you up to some new insights that you may have overlooked before, especially if you always approach the text with a 21^st century mindset.

Who: John the apostle wrote the book of Revelation.  This is the same apostle that wrote the Gospel of John and three epistles 1, 2, and 3 John.  He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of apostles (along with Peter and James).  He stood by the cross and was charged by Jesus to look after Mary. He was one who raced to the empty tomb the day it was found to be empty. He was referred to as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”.  John outlived all the other apostles – and outlived the Caesar who had him imprisoned for following Christ.  You will find much debate amongst the “scholars” on whether this John is the same who wrote the gospel and the epistles.  You’ll find some that state the writing style is too different to be the same man.  I say the writings are three different genres for three different purposes and maybe he just wrote them differently based on that need.  Either way, I see no need to challenge the authorship.  I am inclined to agree with those that were with the disciples at the time, the early church fathers that declared and ultimately agreed that this John, was the same as the apostle John and the author of the other books.

Why: Sometimes it is important to understand “why” an author wrote what he wrote.  While all of the scripture is God inspired, some had some really personal reasons for being written.  Take for example the epistles to the various churches.  Those letters were to help those early churches to grow, stay strong, and correct some of their erroneous ways.  Revelation is slightly different.  John wrote Revelation because he was commanded to by Jesus.  Revelation 1:11 and 1:19, “Write on a scroll what you see…” This was not John’s idea to share this information with the seven churches.  It was not his idea to capture a vision of the future.  He was told to write what he was told and what he was going to see in the vision.  Basically, he was told “Write this down.  It is important.”

Where:  John wrote Revelation while imprisoned on the island of Patmos (Rev 1:9).  He was imprisoned there by Caesar for preaching about Jesus.  Caesar sentenced him to remain in prison till death, but John outlived the Caesar and was released shortly after completing Revelation. Some feel that Revelation was secretly passed out of the prison piece by piece until it was completed.

What: What this book is about – well that is the whole point of this exercise isn’t it? Here is a brief look into what is to come - Persecution, the rise of evil, encouragement, perseverance, the defeat of evil, the reign of Jesus.  Victory.

When: There is much debate (as always…) but the general consensus is that John wrote this around 95 AD.  John outlived all the other apostles, and it may be that this was the last inspired work.

How:  I use the “how” for a number of various definitions, mostly, the genre.  Revelation is apocalyptic literature.  That means it is going to be highly symbolic and prophetic.  It was very popular at the time.  The word “apocalyptic” in Greek, means “revelation” (an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling).

Now that we have established a baseline (and while I understand that we may not all agree on all the items listed above, it is important that you understand the stance from where I will be writing this articles as well as others), let us now look at some of the most debated aspects of the book in whole, before we dive into some of the specifics within the book.

First, let us revisit Rev 1:8, where Jesus states he is “who is, and who was, and who is to come.”  Also, in Rev 1:19, John is instructed to “write what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later.”  Both of these statements (especially 1:19) set the book of Revelation into an organization pattern of three elements John is to describe.  “What you have seen” – things of the past; “what is now” – things occurring at the time of writing (letters to the churches); and “what will take place later” – prophesies of future events.  Some of the writings clearly fall into those categories, but the book of Revelation itself is widely debated as to where it falls within those confines, and the arguments for each are all strong and remarkable.  Here is a brief overview of each of the four main views on the placement of the book’s events.

1.       Preterist – the described events took place in the 1st century

2.       Historical – the events that take place from the writing up until Christ’s return

3.       Futurist – the end times leading to Christ’s victory

4.       Idealist – a symbolic writing of God’s triumphs over evil with no direct ties to actual events.

So it is with this knowledge that I submit the following.  God is the most awesome author to ever write a book, and he has written Revelation to satisfy all of the differing views of the interpretation of the text.  If notable scholars can clearly define how the four horsemen fit the early Roman empire, then why argue that point.  It fit the people of that day and allowed them to draw closer to the word of God based on the relevancy of the prophecies.  Could those same conclusions be applied to other periods of history?  Absolutely.  Do the events foretell some future occurrence when the antichrist will rise and reign? Most definitely.  So although I am a futurist by choice (design, nature, whatever), I do not discount the application of the visions to the other methodologies – in fact I think they only strengthen God’s power that it can occur that way.  So when John wrote about one of the visions he saw, he was describing something that was seen (the past), was (the now), and is to come (the future) – each vision fits and continues to fit multiple applications. The only thing I caution you on (or do not agree with) is if someone claims the victory has already occurred, and that tribulation is occurring right now, or the antichrist is already in power.  I think the culmination of those events is going to be quite dramatic and unmistakable – and those events are truly for the end times.

The next thing I’d like to discuss is symbolism in general.  Most people have a pretty good grasp of symbolism and what it means.  The symbolism arguments usually center on whether the symbolism is a Literal Interpretation (the events will occur just as described) or Metaphoric Interpretation (these descriptions use familiar things to describe unfamiliar events).  For most writing styles the interpretation is pretty straight forward - metaphoric.  However, when dealing with the Bible, and especially prophetic visions, this is a pretty daunting task – since God can create anything, any symbolic description is possible as a reality (not saying they all are, but that option exists for each one).

We can surely find examples of both throughout the Bible.  Literal: Moses parting the Red Sea, Jesus feeding the 5,000. Both of those acts are so magnificent of an accomplishment, on human standards they would have to be metaphoric – but since these were actions by God, they are literal events.  Metaphoric: the serpent in the garden, the four horsemen.  Again, these could be literal – Eve could have been tempted by a large snake, but most likely the attributes of a snake were simply given to Satan in this instance. Then we can find some that could be either – many people debate if the entire book of Jonah is metaphoric (I don’t think so, I think it is literal), almost the entire book of Revelation can be debated along those lines (the woman on the beast, the great Abyss). 

Particularly with prophetic literature, that is the purpose for the symbolism; it is meant to be vague enough to only be realized after the prophecy has come true.  That way people don’t have enough information to either purposefully ‘help’ the prophecy or purposefully try to stop it. 

While this brief explanation of symbolism will leave you with as many questions as you had before, it was never intended to answer them for you.  It is merely to help you break down the barriers and fear of digging into the Bible’s unknown and confusing areas.  So many people avoid Revelation because they fear they will not be able to decipher all the clues and information contained there.  You don’t have to worry about that.  What you need to do is approach it with an open heart and allow the Spirit to guide your study.  The Spirit will lead you where you need to go, and you’ll find insight into those areas needed for understanding.  The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter if actual “locusts” are going to devour or if “fallen angels” are going to devour like locust.  What does matter is that you get the message God is sending you.

One last thing in regards to symbolism I would like to discuss, and this is an area you can get caught up in that may distract your study, is the fads such as numerology or other “secret codes” within the Bible.  You will find any number of fantastic discoveries of secrets from within the Bible such as “Shakespeare in Psalms”, etc.  I will be the first to admit, I find some of these things fascinating – but let me assure you, God’s message to you is NOT HIDDEN in some mathematical equation that causes you to piece words together.  So you can enjoy these little “trivia” pieces if you’d like, but please do not take them as being the intended message.  Find that intended message with your own study.

This concludes part 2 of the “interpretation” lesson.  I know there probably wasn’t anything overly groundbreaking for you in these, but remember – this is my journey into Revelation (I’m just letting you tag along for the ride).  See you next week in the next article (I hope you come back.)

Revelation - Part 1 - Interpretation Foundation

To make a long story short (and this ain't no short story...) – I am helping a guy at church go through a study of Revelation for Sunday school.  So to help myself, I’m trying to document my journey of study.  Today’s article is the first in a series.  This one is a very basic look at interpreting scripture, and although basic – it is very important to establish some rules on which you will apply logic to your study. If you don’t have some foundation to fall back to, then you may just find yourself endlessly chasing facts that lead you nowhere.

So at some point you may have been sitting in on a sermon or lesson and heard some reference to a Biblical passage and said to yourself, “What does that mean?”  The preacher or the teacher may have spouted out some references to the meaning, or shared with you some Greek translations and then told you what it meant.  They then pressed on with their lesson.  You may have accepted it as the truth, or you may have had questions about the validity of the interpretation.  Possibly you may have been doing a study on your own or with a small group and came across some passage or reference that prompted the same question.

If you are like me, you probably went to your study Bible and read the comments there, or you may have done a quick Internet search.  The study Bible or a Bible commentary probably gave you a sound interpretation of the passage – or it may have left you just as confused before.  The Internet search more than likely provided you with so many different interpretations that you were then more confused than when you started your quest.  Either way you choose to find this interpretation, you will be lacking the interpretation you need; the interpretation God has for you.

Now don’t go screaming from the room or stop reading.  I’m not saying we’ll all interpret things differently and that is right or okay.  And I’m not saying the information you find in the Bible commentaries are wrong and you shouldn’t use them.  I’m not even saying that all the interpretations you find on the Internet are wrong (although we do have to apply a little more diligence when reading those…).  What I am saying is that the Bible is God’s message to us, and we need to spend the proper study and meditation with the Bible so that through proper prayer and study, we truly get the message He is trying to convey to us (both personally and as the Church in whole).

So your next question may be this, “Why should I listen to this guy on how to interpret the Bible?”  And that is one valid question.  I am not a theologian, a Bible scholar, a preacher, Seminary professor, or even a Seminary student.  To coin a phrase, “I’m just a big, dumb, country boy.”  And that is exactly why I think you should take what I am going to teach you and use it your own study.  If I can use these methods and find rich, rewarding communication from God, so can anyone! (And by the way, I clearly state right here that not all of these are original ideas, but they have been gleaned from years of trying to figure this out, prayerful consideration, and trial and effort.)

So now you have calmed down and declared, “Finally, clarity to all this confusion and the answers I’ve been looking for.”  Not even close.  This is not a one stop answer to Biblical secrets.  As a matter of fact, you are going to find out that there are things you still won’t be able to understand.  But we’ll deal with that in time.  What this is though, is a way for you to personally dive into the Scripture; to spend time in communication with God through his Word and prayer; to allow yourself the freedom to follow God’s Word where it will take you (not someone else); and finally to enjoy the deep satisfaction of drawing the conclusions that God has led you to and experiencing that wonderful feeling of really communicating with God through His Bible.

So let’s get started!  Turn in your Bible to Revelation 6… just kidding.  There are some things we need to cover first.

Prepare yourself to receive God’s message

                Before you begin any quest (mountain climbing, jogging, repairing a toilet), you have to ensure you are prepared.  The same is true for Biblical studies.  This first component is the key to why it is sometimes impossible to debate the Bible or Scripture with someone, or why you yourself may find that you don’t understand any of it.  If you don’t have this first element taken care of, you will not find fruit in this guide, and you won’t find it in the Bible.               

John 3:3-6- ³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  ⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”  ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (NIV)

Matthew 13:11-17 - ¹¹ He (Jesus) replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:  “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.    ¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:  “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. (NIV)

                Now from these two passages we can deduce the following.  Jesus clearly states that to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven you must be born again.  He clearly states that there are some who have eyes and ears but do not see or hear.  Your heart has to be open to what God wants to tell you (even if it is just a little crack).  You cannot approach your study with a closed and calloused heart.   Basically you have to get yourself out of the way and let God do the talking.  You can’t do that if you have Him shut out.

First, let me state the obvious.  God can do anything He desires.  So the Bible can be understood by anyone He wants it to be understood by and it can reach anyone at any level of belief.  However, those who are believers and have Christ as their Savior can have a distinct (major) advantage over someone who does not believe (or worse who “anti-believes”). So if you are not a believer or don’t have Christ as your Savior, you can still get God’s message by being open to Christ so that he can communicate with you.  You just cannot have a closed heart and expect to be enlightened.

                Along those same lines, you have to be open to the truth.  This almost sounds too simple, but it is sometimes the biggest hindrance to our understanding.  Many times we have a pre-conceived notion of what a Bible verse means (or more to the point, what we want it to mean).  We have to let go of those notions and allow God to truly show us the meaning without interjecting our own idea (or Satan’s prompting) of what the verse may mean.

                Finally, you have to be willing to obey God.  If the interpretation starts going towards pointing out where we have been disobedient, you would be surprised how quickly our “self” jumps in and redirects the interpretation to something a little more amiable.  That cannot be allowed to happen for the truth to be unveiled.

                So, basically you have to get yourself out of the way.  Open up your heart to the Lord so he can get in.  Remove your own interpretation. Be willing to accept what you learn.

Holy Spirit

                This is how God is going to deliver his message to you if you are prepared to accept it.  We are incapable of interpreting God’s word perfectly all the time.  We are incapable of doing anything perfectly all the time. We need help.  The Holy Spirit will (and must) guide your Bible study. Imagine if you will, while reading this article there is something you don’t quite understand (I can’t believe that would ever happen).  Who would be the best person to answer your question?  The author, of course.  The same holds true for the Bible.  God is the author – using the Holy Spirit to inspire and direct the authorship. Who better than the Holy Spirit to guide your study?

2 Peter 1:21 - For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

John 16:13 - But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 2:10-11 - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (NIV)

                Clearly the Bible is God inspired through the Spirit, and the Spirit reveals things to us, so it should be easy to allow the Spirit to guide your study, right?  I wish.  (You have to revisit the first section on preparing yourself.)  You have to pray for guidance.  And just as importantly you have to listen.

                When I am studying a lesson (or preparing an article or lesson) I try desperately to listen what the Spirit is telling me as it guides my study.  While doing this there are two things I make myself very cognizant of in order to keep me on track.  First, I watch closely to make sure it is not me driving the direction.  I have had some really cool ideas in the past (so I thought).  Ones that made me think, “Wow, the class is going to love this parallel I’m drawing and the ‘real world’ example I’m using.  This is going to really hit home with them.”  But I’ve ended up throwing those ideas in the trash either because the Biblical reference was weak, or I finally realized that was not the message I was being “told” to deliver.  The second big distraction is Satan (and it is debatable who is the bigger distraction, me or him.)  If you are on to something good, you can be sure the Deceiver is going to be right there trying to get you to chase rabbits rather than finding the intended meaning God has in store for you.

                You are now ready.  You have opened your heart.  You are ready and willing to hear the truth.  You are keeping yourself and Satan at bay.  So the Holy Spirit is going to whisper in your ear the true meaning of all that has eluded you, right?  Wrong. Don’t get me wrong, there may be some “ah-ha” moments when the light bulb finally goes on, but don’t be expecting any great revelation like John got; one that suddenly makes everything crystal clear (remember, even John didn’t understand everything he was shown).  The Spirit will work through your diligent study.  If you are not open to the Spirit, reading the Bible can be like reading someone else’s mail – but, if you are open to the Spirit, it is like God is talking directly to you. (that is not my original line, but I do not know who said it).

Scripture interprets Scripture

                So let’s get into the tools of interpreting.  The first (and best) tool to use when interpreting the Bible is the Bible.

2 Peter 1:20 - Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. (NIV)

                The prophets didn’t use their own interpretation.  The disciples didn’t use their own interpretation.  Why should you or anyone else get to use your own interpretation? Since the Bible was God inspired, let’s use God’s inspiration to help us understand what He is telling us.  The following five items can be used to help whenever you come across a particular word, phrase, symbol, or passage that you have difficulty understanding.

                First/Common/Other Usages: This technique is designed to help you understand the most relevant definition of the item in question.   You will need a good concordance (there are many online versions now that can really help you.  I have been using www.blueletterbible.org).  Remember, regardless of the message you think you are supposed to get from the Bible, the author was writing it to first century Jews for the most part – so you need to see a couple of references to how they used that word to really understand what the writer (or speaker) means.

                Word Definition: This tool is very closely related to the first tool.  This is the actual definition of the word.  It is important to note the relevant first century definition.   It is also important to use a good lexicon of the original Greek wording.  I know this can be daunting, but if you find a good online version to use, it can really help your study. (again, I use www.blueletterbible.org).  An interesting verse to look at for this is John 21:15-17.  This is where Jesus asks Peter if he “loves” him (they use two different words for love throughout the exchange).  I won’t spoil the search for you by divulging any clues.

                Context: Next and still closely associated with the first two items is context.  This one may be the most abused rule but if you are looking for true meaning – context has to be taken into account.  Many verses or “one liners” if not placed within the whole picture of the message have different meanings.  Paul said, “Wives, submit to your husbands.” (Eph 5:22) – Therefore the Bible says women should do what men say – wrong.  Read the entire chapter (actually read the entire book! Read 1 Corinthians while you’re at it).

                Historical background: This one may be a little harder to gather information on, but the history of the time and place can be so vital to understanding.  A great example of this is the economic posture and geographical status of Laodicea – the lukewarm church in Revelation.  Knowing about the hot springs and cold springs surrounding the city, knowing that Laodicea had a medical school that produced eye salve for various ailments, and knowing that they were famous for certain tunics makes several of the references much more meaningful.

                Genre: This one is almost too simple, but can keep you from getting off on the deep end when the message is much easier.  What I mean by genre is that the books of the Bible can be divided into different categories of writing (Prophetic, Historical, Epistles, Gospels, Poetry).  Knowing what you are reading can streamline your interpretation to some degree.  For example, an Epistle to the Corinthians (a letter to the church members) has a great wealth of information that we can also use to live our lives by, but it is going to pretty straight forward in its direction – much straighter forward than prophetic literature such as Revelation – which uses symbols and imagery.         

                Hopefully this introduction has you pointed in the right direction. The next article in this series is going to start my journey through Revelation.  It will be a summary look at Revelation – followed by several other articles that will be an in-depth look into the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rev 6).  Hope you enjoy and come back for more.