Introduction

Revelation—What’s it About?
If you were to pick up a Bible and start at page one of Genesis, you would read about the beginning, about how God created the heavens and the earth, and how He created the universe and everything that is in the universe. As you read in the book of Revelation, you find out the ending events of the final age. Zodhiates (1993) tells us that the word Revelation itself comes from the Greek word for apocalypse. It means an uncovering or an unveiling, not at all the sinister word I always thought it was. That word seemed scary to me for some reason. I mean, when I heard of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, it conjured up some pretty creepy images of four really ferocious, mean and nasty creatures released to terrorize the world. So, discovering the rather benign Greek translation of Revelation was a little comforting. However, upon looking up the definition in Webster’s Dictionary, it is interesting to see that my thinking may have been a bit justified. Webster defines the word apocalypse as a writing prophesying a cataclysm in which evil forces are destroyed. As you read on, I think you will see that Mr. Webster used the Bible to help him with his definition. And yes, his definition, to some degree, gives the ending of our story away. But I hope you will continue anyway, for there are many mysteries to be explored.
The book of Revelation contains a lot of information that can be interpreted in many ways. Some people will find it frightening; others will find it exciting, while others still, will find it very sad. One thing this book offers people is hope. Just as God provided deliverance for Noah during the flood and escape for Lot when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, God gives you and me a way to be delivered through His Son Jesus Christ. If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior, make that decision right now (turn to “How to be Saved”). Don’t wait
until you finish reading the book! Today could be the day the final trumpet sounds, and Christ gathers His own in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). If you DO know Jesus as your Savior, let this book motivate you to share the message with friends and family who do not. Today is the day when you can begin building your treasures in heaven. If you know Jesus, then you have been equipped with gifts to further His
kingdom. Don’t let the time slip away. Okay, so I got a little off track, I’m back now. Anyway, Webster
appears to be a pretty smart guy, because according to the Bible, when the dust settles on this world, evil does get destroyed and Satan loses. But let’s not get the cart before the horse. We saw the name Revelation comes from the Greek word for apocalypse which means an uncovering, or an unveiling. In the book of Revelation we have exactly that! It refers to someone or something that was once hidden but now is discovered. At the beginning
of the book, John, the apostle of Jesus Christ, is commissioned to record this revelation of Jesus and to give it to the churches, because the time of Christ’s return was said to be very near. By the way, John wasn’t the only one commissioned to share the thrilling news of Christ’s imminent return. In the writings of Paul, we find messages about the same event. Take, for example, 1 Thessalonians 4. Paul got the church at Thessalonica so excited
about Jesus’ return that when some of the church folk started dying, the others became concerned about whether or not their dead friends or family members would be a part of the meeting in the clouds with Jesus. It’s obvious they had been told of Christ’s return and that it could be at any minute!

Author! Author!
John, the beloved disciple is the writer of the book. We see this in Revelation 1 where John is mentioned as the book’s author. In Revelation 1:9, we see John’s location when he hears the voice of the angel and sees the revelation of Jesus Christ Himself. He is on the island of Patmos. The majority of Bible scholars (Walvoord, MacArthur, Barton, to name a few) believe John wrote the Revelation around the mid-nineties AD. Walvoord (1989) did note there are other scholars who argue that the book was written a little earlier, some time around 68
or 69 AD. Those scholars believe this in part due to a statement made by one of the early church fathers by the name of Papias. He wrote that John died prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. If this is true, then some speculate it was another John who wrote the book. The answer is found in Revelation 1:9 where we see the author, by the name of John, states that he is on an island called Patmos in the Mediterranean when he receives the revelation. So, was John the apostle ever on Patmos? There is a good deal of evidence to support that he was. Eusebius, another early church father, and history buff, recorded the fact that John the apostle left the island of Patmos following the death of Domitian in 96 AD. Another church father named Irenaeus stated that John lived in Ephesus following his exile on Patmos (Walvoord, 1989). Although there are a number of other theories, there just isn’t enough evidence to support a different John being the author of the book or to support the earlier date as the time of its writing. So, based upon the evidence from the church fathers, it is my opinion, and the opinion of many others, that John the apostle is the author of the book. This evidence also supports the later date of the writing. See Appendix 1, More Information on When the Revelation was Written, for more information supporting the mid-nineties writing of the Revelation.

Revelation in the Real World?
But really, why study the Revelation? Why go to the trouble of understanding a book that is so complicated and filled with symbolism? The world that we live in is searching for answers, isn’t it? Unfortunately, many people are looking in the wrong places. Satan has done a terrific job of fooling the people of planet Earth. People turn to drugs and alcohol, witchcraft, mysticism, and even fortune-tellers—just to name a few—to find the answers they want
to hear. But that’s the problem! People are looking for easy answers found in the world around them. They want pain-free solutions that don’t make them look quite so bad. These solutions, however, don’t deal with the real problem we all face, the problem of sin. The people who look for answers in the things of this world will never be able to fill the empty spaces in their lives that only the Sovereign Creator of this Universe can fill in His Son Jesus. If you are searching for the truth, Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Since Jesus is the truth, it is a good thing that we study His revelation
to His church, His Bride as He calls us. The Bible is God’s instruction manual for people passing through this life on Earth. The Revelation describes the last days of this world and universe. Tenney (2003) tells us, “However difficult of interpretation the Apocalypse may be for its modern readers, it was not designed to mystify, but rather to explain the truth of God more clearly.” As I said earlier, the world is looking for answers and often in the wrong places, but there are many who are now turning to God’s inerrant word to understand these last days and find direction for their lives. This renewed interest in the word of God and the book of Revelation is a very good thing. But you know, for a long time many people stayed away from this book. It has only been in recent years that preachers have started to teach from the book. Why is that? In Revelation 1:3 we read that a blessing will be given to all those who will keep the words written in the book. Well, why wouldn’t a person want to receive a blessing for reading and keeping the prophecies in the book? I don’t know about you, but I sure would! Perhaps the hesitancy to tackle this complicated book stems from the fact that there are so many interpretations of the messages found in it. Don’t worry. We’ll crack the code!

Muddied Waters?
As I was saying, one reason that people aren’t hearing this book preached in many churches today stems from the different approaches to interpretation. For the sake of our study, I will only mention four of those views along with a brief description of each; they are the historicist, preterit, symbolic, and futurist approaches to interpretation (Barton, 2000).

Historicist –
People who hold to this view believe the book is a description of the Church Age from the first century until Christ’s return. This approach asserts that the Holy Spirit is present in the church, and the world is moving toward Godly peace that will culminate in Christ’s return. I ask you, does the world seem to be heading toward peace? Not! We live in a world that is anything but peaceful. And here is some more bad news; this place is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better! We will see that when we get to chapter six of the Revelation!

Preterits –
The Preterit believes that the book is a description of the church during John’s day and that the prophecies were
fulfilled in the early church. The history books certainly prove that life for a Christian during this time was very
stressful. There are many lessons we can learn looking back at the first century church and seeing how they held fast to their faith in Jesus even during severe persecution. But if this were the correct interpretation, wouldn’t we have heard that Jesus Christ ruled the world for a thousand years and on into eternity? I mean, Revelation 19 speaks of a literal kingdom under sovereign control of Christ!

Symbolic –
People who hold to this view believe the book is a symbolic view of God—good, versus Satan—evil, with God being victorious in the end. I like the ending! That much of it is true! But there are a lot of literal events that are mentioned in the Revelation and it is very difficult just to blow it all off as being symbolic. Christ described as a vine that is symbolic! Christ reigning for a thousand years at Mount Zion, that, my friend is literal! Thank God!

Futurist –
People who hold to this view believe that the majority of the book hasn’t happened yet, and that it will be fulfilled in
the “end times”, that is, the time before Jesus Christ returns. John himself gives us the outline of his book in Revelation 1:19:

Chapter 1 contains “…the things which you have seen….” This is the vision of Jesus.

Chapters 2 & 3 contain “…the things which are...” This describes the various churches present in John’s time and today.

Chapters 4-22 contain “…the things that will take place after these things...” This describes future events yet to happen!

Like I said, there are many views or systems of interpretation. I’m glad to join with Tenney (2003) when he states, “…but whatever system the book be interpreted, it does predict plainly that the people of God shall be preserved until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to become sovereign on earth and to establish His kingdom.”. Likewise, I agree with Mounce (1977) when he declares that each approach to interpretation aids in the understanding of the Revelation with the central theme of the book focusing on future events and moving toward the eternal reign of Christ! 

Top Billing
The person, about whom this book is written, is the One and Only, Jesus Christ. Jesus is also the Lamb, the Son of God, and my personal favorite, the King of kings and Lord of lords to name just a few. After all, He is the Star of our story, the bright and morning Star. Moving right along, we know the book is about Jesus, by the
title, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, and His presence should always be on your mind as you read and study this book. No matter what happens to the people of the earth, and no matter how horrible things appear and seem out of control, we can always be assured that the God who created everything in our universe is in control. The God who not only knows how many hairs are on your head, but also has each hair numbered, is taking the events of the lives of those who love Him and making them work out for good. So without any further adieu, I pray this book helps you understand the love God has for you and me, and I hope that you might share that love with others! God bless.