The Book of Revelation Challenge

Good morning church

Well, the time has finally arrived! Today we embark on our “peaceful stroll” through the Book of Revelation. The Good News is….surprise! It’s all about Jesus! The bad news is….it takes a bit to unpack the rich metaphors and symbolism that fire up our imagination and can also take us down the wrong path of interpretation. Can I suggest that you start to read Revelation now, even if you don’t understand it. Write down your questions and as we meander through the text hopefully your questions will be answered. Here’s some tips to help you through the challenge of interpretation:

·         Don’t be tempted to read the Book of Revelation literally. It is rich in symbolism and metaphors. John, the author, is trying to put into words the rich scenes God has shown him in a series of visions. For instance, if we can accept that “the Lamb opening the seals” (Rev 6) is Jesus and not a baby sheep, then the “white, red, black and pale horses” in the same text must also be metaphors for something else right?

·         The genre (type of literature) of Revelation is “apocalyptic” which means it “discloses” or “uncovers” things that have not been known. It is a prophetic book. But prophecy is not just about the future. John’s vision shares a lot about present church-age time.

·         If all the scholars out there have various interpretations on Revelation then so will the rest of us. So let’s be respectful of each other. The major interpretive approaches are: The Preterist view; The Historicist view; The Futurist view (Dispensational Futurism and Modified Futurism); the Idealist view; and lastly, a combination of Historical and Idealist. Are your eyes rolling yet? Don’t worry, I’m not going to bog you down with all that stuff. You can research that yourself if you wish. Whatever your view, as long as you are following Jesus and not compromising your faith then you have got the message of the Book of Revelation.

Tackling the Book of Revelation is a big challenge for us but it is what many of you have asked for….so here we go….let’s jump straight in