Introduction

Associated outline (MS Word): Introduction
Discussion audio (30 minutes)

The book of Revelation. It inspires all sorts of thoughts, images, and feelings. For many individuals, Revelation is either a mystery that must be solved, or so confusing and foreign that it is best to just ignore it.

Our church group begins our journey (hence the title of this blog: Road Trip) into Revelation today.

Some of the words, phrases, and concepts given by members of the group this morning to describe Revelation as we prepare to venture into the book:

• Fear
• Call back to legalism
• A “roadmap” for last-day events
• A document to be studied and analyzed
• Every church has its own interpretation
• There is one “right” interpretation
• It reveals (a revelation of) Jesus Christ

Here are some of the key points that came up during our discussion that we believe are important as we prepare to read Revelation:

• Biblical “prophecy” is not about future events, but simply, a message from God. Prophecy may or may not include foretelling of the future, but when it does, it will be clear from the context. We must not impose foretelling onto prophetical texts when it is not appropriate.
• The author is simply “John.” He could have been, or may not have been, the Apostle John. In our reading of Revelation, we cannot base interpretations and conclusions solely on assumed authorship.
• One of the key background currents undergirding the message of Revelation is the issue of emperor worship and the Christian response to it.
• Revelation was written for the contemporary churches at the time of writing. The issues it addresses, the imagery and language used, are specific to that time and place. Twenty-first century Christians are not the intended audience, although we can obtain theological principles and applications that remain relevant for us today.
• Revelation is not simply a transcription of what John saw and heard. It is not taking down dictation. Rather, it is a record of John’s interpretation of what he saw.
• Revelation is not an allegory. Not every detail necessarily has a meaning or needs to. Some of the meanings of symbols may be lost to us due to the span of time, space, and culture. That’s okay. It’s the big picture that matters.
• Revelation is meant to be read and heard aloud. It is, first of all, a story. John did not intend his original audience to meticulously study every detail. It was written as a circular letter: to be read in one setting and passed on to another. He didn’t expect every word and detail to be memorized or copied down to be studied. Again, it is the big picture that matters.
• Traditionally, the climax of Revelation is probably thought to be the end, where the the heavens and earth are made new and every saved person lives happily ever after. However, the structure of the book suggests that the main point and climax is found somewhere in the middle.
• Perhaps the most important point is to set aside what we have been taught previously (regardless of rightness or wrongness) and let the actual text and the story it writes fire our imaginations and get a sense of what the original hearers of John’s words pictured.