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Introduction to the Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is a unique book in the New Testament (NT). There are passages describing future events in other NT writings (e.g., Jesus’ discourse on the end times, Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21), but it is the only book that focuses on them.

None of the books of the Bible is more disputed than the Book of Revelation. Some consider it an incomprehensible series of visions and would like to forget the entire book. For others, the Book of Revelation is the most beloved of the Bible books. It is read more than any other and is used to explain world events and their meaning.

Throughout church history, the Book of Revelation has been both hated and loved. Even in the early church, there were those who would not have considered the Book of Revelation to be part of the Bible. Likewise, there were those who valued the Book of Revelation above anything else in the Bible.

Martin Luther’s attitude towards the Book of Revelation is worth noting. In 1522, the Reformer wrote prefaces to all the books of the New Testament. He had a very negative attitude towards the Book of Revelation. He wrote: “I do not consider it apostolic or prophetic… My spirit does not conform to this book.” Often, those who dislike or belittle the Book of Revelation refer to Luther’s preface and say: “The Reformer did not care about the Book of Revelation either – why should we take it as true?” At the same time, they forget – perhaps intentionally – what Luther wrote later. In 1530, Luther wrote a new preface to the Book of Revelation, and in it he takes a completely different approach to it. He admits that the Book of Revelation is a difficult book. Yet it is clear to him that it is part of God’s revelation and is as valuable as the Bible in other respects. What the Reformer wrote later must be given priority.

When and where?

The Book of Revelation was probably written in the 90s AD. At that time, the Roman Empire was ruled by Emperor Domitian. In order to unify the fragmented empire, Domitian decreed that every inhabitant of the Roman Empire—except for Jews—must worship Caesar as God. Of course, Christians could not agree to this—they knew what the first commandment said. The result was severe persecution of Christians: under threat of death, they were forced to bow down before the statue of Caesar. Apparently, during this persecution, John was exiled to an island called Patmos. There, Jesus appeared to him and showed him what is written in the Book of Revelation.

Who is John?

So the author of the Book of Revelation is John (Rev 1:1). But who is he? Many Bible scholars have compared the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation and have concluded that they cannot have the same author – their language is so different. Many have concluded that the John of the Book of Revelation is not the apostle John. This possibility is not entirely excluded. The difference between the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation can be explained by the fact that John wrote the Book of Revelation alone, with his poor knowledge of Greek. When writing the Gospel of John, he may have had a group of students who helped the apostle write a smooth and error-free text. The author of the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation can therefore be the same, and it is not impossible to think that the author is the apostle John.

The value of the Book of Revelation is not determined by who wrote it. Whether he was the apostle John or someone else, the Book of Revelation is still in the Bible. God has allowed it to be included in the books of the Bible and has thus accepted it as His own word. We hear the voice of God in the Book of Revelation. God has something to say to us, and He speaks some of it in this book. Therefore, the Book of Revelation has – regardless of the author – the value that the word of God has.

No Chronology

At the beginning of the Book of Revelation, Jesus promises to show John “things that are, and things that will take place after this” (Rev. 1:19). The Book of Revelation is thus actually divided into two sections: The first three chapters describe the situation that existed when John encountered Jesus. Chapters 4-22 describe the time after that. However, the structure of the Book of Revelation is not quite that simple. Even the first chapters contain references to future events, and chapters 4-22 also speak of the time that existed when John was on Patmos.

The Book of Revelation begins with a description of the situation in which John once lived: on Sunday, the Lord's Day (Rev. 1:10), he encounters the resurrected Jesus and hears from him what to write to the seven churches that lived at the end of the first century (Rev. 2-3). The Book of Revelation ends with a description of the end of this world: the present world is destroyed, God creates a new heaven and earth, and John gets to marvel at the wonder of the new creation (Rev. 21-22).

The reader of Revelation may think that the book of Revelation proceeds chronologically from the first century to the last day of this world. Anyone who reads Revelation this way is certainly misunderstanding it. John saw a series of visions that are connected to each other, but they do not proceed chronologically. In the pages of Revelation, John is taken from one stage to another. On one stage, he sees events on earth. Then he quickly moves forward in time and sees a vision of heaven. Until he goes back in time again and is taken to a new stage, where events in this world are described.

The visions in Revelation jump from time and place to another. Sometimes time moves forward, sometimes time moves backward. The order of the visions in the Book of Revelation is therefore not a chronological order of events. Even in retrospect, it would probably be impossible to put the visions into chronological order.

The Same Thing from Different Perspectives

To understand the Book of Revelation correctly, it is essential for the reader to notice that many of the visions in the book depict the same thing. A camera can also take different pictures of the same object: it can take a comprehensive overview and then a more detailed picture of a particular detail of the object. This is what the Book of Revelation does. One vision depicts an event from a certain perspective or gives an overview of the event. Later, there is another vision that does not speak of a completely new thing, but describes what was already told in the previous vision but looks at it from a different perspective or describes what was seen in more detail.

A good example of this is the description of the destruction of Babylon. This is already mentioned in Revelation chapter 14 (verse 8). A more detailed description of the same subject is found in chapter 18.
Another example is the many descriptions of eternal life with God in Revelation (e.g., Revelation 7:9-17, 19:6-10, 21 and 22). They speak of the same subject—eternal life with God—but they do so with slightly different emphases.

Read the Old Testament

The Book of Revelation has many connections to the Old Testament. There are hardly any direct quotations from the Old Testament, but the book contains many sayings, images, and phrases that come from there. If you are not familiar with the Old Testament, it is difficult to understand the Book of Revelation and its language. Therefore, it is worth reading the books of the Old Testament – ​​especially the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah – when studying the Book of Revelation.

It is worth looking at what is said in the Old Testament verses that Bible translators have placed in footnotes to verses in Revelation. From these parts of the Old Testament, it is worth reading a longer section than just one verse. It helps to understand the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation is otherwise similar to the Old Testament. The Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah do not tell everything that Jesus did on earth and what happened to him. The Book of Revelation also does not tell everything about the future of this world. Certain things have been told and much has been left untold. This is what the reader of Revelation has to settle for. Not all commentators on Revelation do that. They read a lot into Revelation that it doesn't say anything about.

Description of the battle

In this world there is a battle between God and the Devil. This battle is described in the visions of the Book of Revelation. The war becomes more fierce the further the history of the world progresses. Therefore, the world is shaken more and more, creation is destroyed on an ever greater scale and the tribulation on earth increases. In the war against God, the Devil has his servants. The Book of Revelation speaks of the beast and the harlot and by them means the servants of the Devil, using whom the enemy of God attacks God and his people.

There is much in the Book of Revelation that frightens and distresses the reader. Many of the visions are shocking: people die, nature is destroyed, and blood is spilled. There are interpreters of the Book of Revelation who make people afraid. However, the purpose of the Book of Revelation is not to create fear and distress. The book only describes what life in an evil world is and will be like. We find similar descriptions in newspapers or history books. Unlike a newspaper or a history textbook, the purpose of the Book of Revelation is to encourage its readers: even though the world is evil and shocking things are happening, God’s people are not to worry—this world is in God’s hands and he will take care of his people. The Book of Revelation has been given to us precisely so that we might know this and trust in it.

Visions come true many times

Often in the descriptions of the Book of Revelation we see events of our own time. We think that what was shown to John is coming true right before our eyes. Of course, the Book of Revelation can talk about exactly what is happening now. However, it is worth remembering: when the descriptions of the Book of Revelation are adapted to our own time, the risk of error is great. There are countless examples of errors in the interpretation of the Book of Revelation. That is why patience is needed when reading the Book of Revelation. It is better not to express absolutely certain views.

It seems that the visions of Revelation are fulfilled many times throughout history. The Roman Empire was once what the Book of Revelation speaks of as the beast. So was Hitler’s Germany. We cannot know whether the vision of Revelation will be finally fulfilled in what we see in our own time, or whether time will continue and only in the future will the vision receive its final fulfillment. That is why caution is needed when interpreting the Book of Revelation.

Jesus compared the events of the end times to giving birth to a child (Matthew 24:8). Mothers understand this well. Before the child is born, the same thing happens again and again. New labor pains follow the previous ones. They become more frequent and intense, and then, when the pain is severe, the child is born. This helps us to understand the book of Revelation. Many of the events described in it are repeated many times. They will be fulfilled on an ever-increasing scale as history progresses and just before the last day, worse than ever before. Then Jesus will come and put an end to all evil.

Numbers

Detailed calculations have been made based on the Book of Revelation about the timeline of world history, what will happen in the near future, and when Jesus will return. The Book of Revelation does contain numbers that have been used to make calculations. However, most of the chapters in the Book of Revelation are symbolic, and their purpose is not so much to tell numbers – most often they tell something else.

For example, the time period of three and a half (e.g., Revelation 11:9) hardly indicates the length of time. Rather, it indicates the quality of the period—that during that period the Devil is allowed to do much evil. Then there is another reason why making calculations is difficult: Revelation jumps from time and place to time, and so it is often difficult to say what happens first and what happens after. We also remember what Jesus said:

“It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority."
(Acts 1:7, ESV)

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
(Mark 13:32, ESV)

These words of Jesus are still valid after the Book of Revelation was written.

Like an Abstract Painting

Many Bible teachers try to explain all the details of the Book of Revelation. It is thought that each concept in the Book of Revelation corresponds to a word with a clear meaning that the reader of the Book of Revelation just has to find. For example: The Beast is just one specific historical figure, Babylon is a city on a map, and the Battle of Armageddon is a destructive battle that will take place in the end times. But it is possible that the Book of Revelation does not mean by a certain concept only a specific place, person, or event. Perhaps the beast in the Book of Revelation describes all the reality that fulfills the characteristics of the beast: those ideas, kingdoms, and rulers who knowingly or unknowingly serve the Devil, blaspheme God, fight against his people, and try to destroy God’s church. Babylon is probably a picture of the Devil’s kingdom, which will eventually be destroyed. And the Battle of Armageddon is not necessarily a nuclear war, but a description of the battle that the Devil is waging with all his might against God.

Perhaps certain parts of the Book of Revelation are like an abstract painting. Not all the details of an abstract work of art are revealed, and one should not try to explain them. The painting as such – partly incomprehensible – conveys a message from the artist to the viewer. There are probably also passages in the Book of Revelation that, as such – partly incomprehensible visions – speak to us. They describe the war that God and the Devil are waging in this world.

There are passages in Revelation that we may not understand now. It may be that we will understand them in the future, as the world changes or we see events that we cannot even imagine now. A few hundred years ago, the visions of the dying seas seemed incomprehensible to the reader of Revelation. Today, we understand that an entire sea can actually die. If time continues, we will see what happens, and perhaps then we will understand Revelation better than we do now. Then we will be able to say what is symbolic in Revelation and which visions are fulfilled in a very concrete way. It is also for this reason that it is wise not to announce the final explanation for the difficult passages of the Book of Revelation.

When reading the Book of Revelation, we need the help of the Holy Spirit. He is the best interpreter of the Bible. After all, the Bible is the word of God, which God himself knows best to open. That is why we ask the Holy Spirit to be our teacher when we begin to read the Book of Revelation.