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The Revelation

“...of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants - things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things written in it; for the time is near.” - Revelation 1:1

Prologue

The Book of Revelation, the 66th and final book of the Bible, is an apocalyptic text written by Jesus' beloved Apostle "John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus" (Rev. 1:9). He wrote the book while in exile on the small, rocky island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Asia-Minor (modern Turkey), "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus" possibly around 95 BC.1. Note that it is The Revelation not Revelations!
2. It is the last and no other comes after it. Not from John Smith, Pope X the Y, Ellen White, Degeneres, etc., nor from Muhammad, et al. The book clearly states, in c22:18, "If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book..." and even worse, if anyone is to take away anything from the book so, be-warned!
3. It is also the only book in the Bible that states in c1:3, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it..."Not only was John the beloved Apostle of Jesus, he was also the only remaining one of the original Twelve and the only one who died a natural death at a ripe old age. He is credited with (alongside other church fathers) canonizing the New Testament (c. 96-99 AD) and once that was completed, the Old and New Testament were combined into the Bible we have today.John (the Apostle, ...the one whom He loved) and his brother James (the Elder; both first cousins of Jesus through their mother, probably Mary's sister)1: See References, the sons of Zebedee and Salome, were disciples of John the Baptist (Jesus' cousin through John's mother, Elizabeth, Mary's cousin) and became Jesus' first disciples after John the Baptist declared, upon seeing Jesus coming towards him, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"...And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him."...Again the next day, the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." (John 1:29-37)John the Apostle is attributed with having written five New Testament books; the Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John; (1-3 John), and Revelation. The differences in vocabulary, style, and theology between the Gospel and Revelation are stark enough that most scholars today do not believe they share a single author. However, according to this author, there is an easy answer to this; by the time John the Apostle wrote the Revelation, he would have been approximately 85-90 years old, frail and possibly almost blind, so he would have probably used a ghost-writer or scribe, as was common back then.So, why was John exiled to Patmos? Very little is explained in the text except what John himself mentioned above, "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." (Rev 1:9) However, what we can deduce is from what is known about the Roman empire.The Roman Empire actively promoted worship of the emperor as a divine or semi-divine figure, particularly in the province of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) where the seven churches were located. This region had some of the most enthusiastic imperial cult activity in the empire. Temples to Augustus, Domitian, and others were prominent features of civic life in cities like Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum (as will become evident). For 1st century Christians who refused to offer sacrifices or declare "Caesar is Lord," this created direct, unavoidable conflict with Roman authorities.Exile to a remote land or island (relegatio in insulam) was a standard Roman punishment for troublesome individuals who were prominent enough or, whose execution might cause more problems than it solved. It was considered a mercy compared to execution, but was intended to remove the dissenter from their community and sphere of influence, punish without creating a martyr and silence prophetic or political voices that were in opposition to the state.Other notable figures exiled to islands by Rome include the historian and Roman poet, Ovid, who, in 8 AD, the Emperor Augustus banished to Tomis (or Tomi; near modern Constanṭa, Romania) on the Black Sea. Emperor Augustus also exiled his own daughter Julia to Pandataria (modern Ventotene Island), an island off the coast of Campania, in 2 BC due to 'scandalous behaviour', her adulteries, including an affair with Mark Antony’s son Iullus Antonius2, being common knowledge in Rome. In 4 AD she was moved to Rhegium and after her allowance was withheld, she later died of malnutrition in 14 AD. 3
Exile, or banishment, was a well-established tool of Roman political control.

<TLDR;>
For the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) and, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:10-11).
You can elect to do this willingly, while you still have a chance, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom 10:9).
Or not, and take your chances, because, in the end, you will see the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books opened (Rev 20:11) and anyone not found written in the Book of Life cast into the lake of fire. (Rev20:15)I urge you, don't chance it!
Your choices are eternal!Next... Interpreting The Revelation.

Interpreting The Revelation

There are 4 main schools of thought when interpreting the Book of Revelation4 and it behoves us to explain them, point out this document's author's stance and their reasoning behind it.

  1. Preterism(Latin praeteritum, "the thing that is past"): Preterists hold that most, if not all, of the events of Revelation were fulfilled in the first century AD. Therefore, under the preterist view, Revelation is not about a future fulfilment, but about historical, past events. Most preterists hold that Revelation 21-22 is still to come, in the future, but the rest of the book was fulfilled by the end of the 1st century AD.
    Hyper-preterists hold that the entire book has been fulfilled, including the New Heavens and the New Earth.
    With all that's going on in the world, it doesn't feel like it to me...

  2. Historicism(philosophical theory): Historicists hold that the book of Revelation predicts the future, but it has been progressively fulfilled throughout church history. Historicism states that the literary order of the visions, especially in Revelation 4:1 - Revelation 20:6, symbolizes the chronological order of successive historical events that span the entire era from the apostolic church to the return of Christ and the New Heaven and New Earth. More importantly, in philosophy, historicism is defined as the view that phenomena can be fully understood only in terms of its historical development, that its values can be explained by tracing their origins, and that its nature is comprehensively revealed through its evolutionary course.
    Feels like finding answers in events that have already happened to explain events in Revelation.

  3. Idealism(metaphysical perspective in psychology): Holds that the book of Revelation should be taken as pure symbolism that explains the battle between good and evil in every generation. Basically, a "good story", like "The Avengers", for instance? Under this view, “the symbols do not relate to historical events but rather to timeless spiritual truths… it concerns the battle between God and evil and between the church and the world at all times in church history.” A very idealogical view of Revelation.

  4. Futurism: Holds that everything after Revelation 4:1 has yet to happen at this point in human history while also treating the order of the visions as reflecting the order of particular historical events (with some exceptions). Under this view, the book of Revelation is mostly a book of future prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled. While John no doubt uses first century imagery to explain his future predictions, many of the events he described would be taking place in a distant future from the standpoint of John and the churches of Asia Minor. For many futurists, these coming events include a discrete seven-year period of intense tribulation (Rev. 6-19), followed by a millennium (Rev. 20:1-6) in which Christ will rule on earth before the general resurrection and the inauguration of the New Heaven and New Earth (Rev. 20:7 - Rev. 22:5).

Not one view fits the interpretation of the entire book's narrative, but for the most part, I see and interpret Revelation from a futurist point of view. However, I believe that the preterist view should be adopted for Revelation 1-3, the futurist view for Revelation 4-22 and I can see how the idealist view can offer insights into symbolic elements of these future events.

The Revelation

As a work of apocalyptic prophecy it starts with a symbolic, visionary letter written to seven churches in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) to encourage persecuted Christians under Roman imperial rule, likely during the reign of Emperor Domitian. John then receives a Divine vision from the risen Christ. He is shown Heavenly worship, then a series of escalating divine judgments unleashed upon the earth, symbolized by the opening of Seven Seals, the blowing of Seven Trumpets, and the Pouring of Seven Bowls of Wrath. These judgments culminate in the destruction of "Babylon", the defeat of Satan and his agents, and then a final cosmic reckoning in front of The Great White Throne.The Book of Revelation can be split into 7 major thematic events and narratives;

  1. Christ's church on Earth (Rev 1-3) and Prelude to the Rapture
    (John 14, Luke 24, Acts 1, 1 Cor 15, 1 Th 4, Rev 3)

  2. Christ's church in Heaven (Rev 4-5 & 19:1-10) and the Bema Seat
    (1 Cor 3, 2 Cor 5)

  3. Tribulation events in Heaven & Earth
    (Rev 6-18)

  4. Christ's Second Coming
    (Rev 19:11-21)

  5. Christ's Earthly Millennial Rule
    (Rev 20:1-6)

  6. Final rebellion & Great White Throne
    (Rev 20:7-15)

  7. Dwelling with God eternally in Heaven
    (Rev 21-22)

There are also 7 key figures & symbols (among others);

  1. The Lamb, The Christ, the slain but Triumphant Redeemer who is singularly worthy to open the Seals of History

  2. The Church - Christ's Bride, whom He will present to His Father

  3. The Beast & The Number of the Beast, '666'

  4. The Whore of Babylon

  5. The Dragon, Satan

  6. The 144,000, the Sealed Faithful

  7. The Two Witnesses, prophetic figures who testify before being killed and resurrected

Next... Part I - Christ's Church on Earth. Let's get into it.

Christ's Church on Earth

Revelation 1-3

Next... Part II - Christ's Church in Heaven.

Christ's Church in Heaven

Revelation 4-5, 19:1-10

Tribulation Events in Heaven and Earth

Revelation 6-18

Christ's Second Coming

Revelation 19:11-21

Christ's Earthly Millennial Rule

Revelation 20:1-6

The Final Rebellion & The Great White Throne

Revelation 20:7-15

Dwelling with God eternally in Heaven

Revelation 21-22

References

1 "Christ and John the Apostle were first-cousins" - 'A dictionary of Christ and the Gospels', Hastings, James, Selbie, John Alexander, Lambert, John Chisholm, vol. 1. p. 846, Retrieved, Apr26; 'Restoring the Original Bible', p. 313, Retrieved, Apr26
2 Antonius, Iullius, Retrieved, Apr26
3 Biography of Julia, Daughter of Augustus, Retrieved, Apr26
4 The 4 Mainstream Interpretive Schools of Revelation (a), (b), Retrieved, Apr26
5 The Seven Churches of Revelation, Google Maps
Life of Apostle John Timeline, BibleStudy.org, Retrieved, 24Apr26
More than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation, William Hendriksen, 1982, Retrieved, 25Apr26
Insights into the book of Revelation: The Gospel Coalition, Retrieved, 26Apr26
Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 20, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987), Leon Morris, Retrieved, 26Apr26
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, John F. Walvoord, Retrieved, 26 Apr26
A Commentary on the Revelation of John, George Eldon Ladd, Eerdmans, 1972, (Logos Bible App)

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