Something About the Importance of Studying "Revelation"

Jeremy writes and would like to have a piece about the importance of studying the book of Revelation. Here are four points that might provide something for us . . .

First, the book of Revelation is God's REVELATION.

I don't mean to use the word, “revelation,” here, in the sense of “the book of Revelation” but rather in the sense of “It is inspired literature from God.” At the very outset of the book, John insists that the reader is “blessed” in simply reading and hearing the words within (1:3). Of course, this line takes on a special significance to those who are undergoing the contextual conflict with the Roman beast, but if Revelation is “timeless literature” – and it is – then the same truths should be able to be “lifted” from their immediate context, transposed into a new one and refitted appropriately.

See, if the book of Revelation is God's revelation, scripture, then it is worthy of studying. It, too, has its' place in making man “complete, thoroughly furnished unto every good work” (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16,17). By recognizing that Revelation is a different style of literature (apocalyptic), noticing that it is more difficult to read and interpret and admitting that there are places that still make us scratch our heads, we are on safe ground, but neglecting the reading and studying of this book is out of place. If God has taken the time to inspire the book of Revelation and give its' message to men, then it'd be insulting to Him to ditch it.

Second, the book of Revelation shows the first-century SITUATION.

The book of Revelation, along with Luke's “Acts,” shows that the early Christians were in no “bed of roses.” Instead, it was “persecution on every corner.” In Acts, it is primarily the Jews that are targeting the saints, but in Revelation, of which the events are slightly later, it is the Romans who are persecuting the saints (through their eighth emperor, Domitian [A.D. 81-96]). Painted in the drama of the book of Revelation, “Rome” is presented as a seven-headed beast (13:1-4), and everything about this beast is against the saints. In the drama, the beast is said to require a “mark” in order to even buy or sell goods (13:15-18), which certainly resembles or reminds us of the need for people in the first-century to pinch incense, cast it into the fire in front of Caesar's bust and declare “Caesar is Lord,” – you can imagine why the saints didn't participate in such and then suffered as a result? – and the beast is said to have killed the saints (6:3-11; 13:10).

The situation with the saints, at this time, was bleak, but it was also hopeful. The whole book of Revelation is God's message of assurance to a persecuted group that God wasn't dismissing their situation. No, He was watching but being patient with His other children of the human family, the wicked Romans. They, too, God insisted, needed their time and chance to repent (9:20,21). But, in the end, when Rome hadn't awakened and straightened up, then, vengeance would come and the saints would be redeemed from such a vile persecution.

There are a few lessons here . . . First, we need to be thankful for our political situations and freedoms. Even with wicked rulers in Washington, we have nothing like Rome-in-Domitian against us just yet. Second, we need to remember that it pains God to have to punish any of the people in the human family, so even our enemies (like Rome) are to be loved and given the chance of “coming home with God.” Third, we need to remember that God is committed to the ultimate redemption of the human family, so no matter how bleak things may look, God is faithful to His promise to bring us to our ultimate home with Him.

Third, the book of Revelation provides substance for APPLICATION.

A contextual reading of the book of Revelation appropriately places the events in the first-century conflict between the saints and Rome-in-Domitian. The whole drama, which isn't to be spliced here-and-there but rather is to be read as a cohesive unit, insists that it was “at hand” and “near” – why, the structuring of the book, itself, is so arranged by John that he forms an “inclusio” (an envelope, a bracket) that wraps around the entire text from start (1:1,3) to finish (22:6,10) to insist that the whole drama is “near” and “at hand.”

One of the typical ways that many read the book is to chop it into two parts but this cuts the conclusion of the drama right out from under it and loses some of its power. Instead, if we keep the book in its historical setting and interpret it as a cohesive drama, then not only the last few chapters are suited for application but rather the entire drama is to lifted and moved forward about 2,000 years as we re-read the text with new situations and new contexts, while having the same consistent approach in the drama. So, are you conflicted by an oppressor (a boss at work, a family member, etc.)? Do you see light at the end of the tunnel somehow or has God not revealed that yet? These kinds of things are handled in Revelation if we keep the whole drama in-tact and realize that the book of Revelation, like all good literature, is “timeless” and easily applicable in new and similar situations.

Fourth, the book of Revelation implies final SALVATION.

No, the oppressor (Rome-in-Domitian) isn't the victor. As the drama has it, the saints are anticipating the day when the Lamb, who had washed their robes and made them white with His blood (7:13,14), will ride forth on a white war-horse and turn the whole Roman oppression into a corpse (19:11-16), leaving nothing but a feast for the fowls of the air while the saints will dine in victory together (19:7-10,17-21). Of course, Revelation 17-22 provides the final images in the drama for Rome's defeat, giving us the gory details in the Beast's obituary, but Revelation 17-22 also presents the images of the victory of the saints with the Lamb. In style of speech from the Old Testament prophets, the “world” of the oppressor has fallen and the “new world” of the Lamb has come in. “Salvation,” in Revelation, hasn't only been from “sin” but also from the effects of a “sinful” and “sin-filled” world. If there's “victory” in this book – and there is – then there's “victory” in Jesus. And, if Revelation speaks of “salvation” from a temporal oppressor (like Rome-in-Domitian), then what do you think that implies about a coming day when all of the wrongs will be righted and Christ will render his final, world-ending verdict on Satan (cf. Acts 17:30,31)?!

Here's what we've said . . .

Revelation has value because it 1) is God's REVELATION, 2) shows the first-century SITUATION, 3) provides substance for APPLICATION and 4) implies final SALVATION. As in all scripture, God is speaking to “man.” What other things do you hear God saying in the book of Revelation?