Methods of Interpretation

Associated outline: Interpretation
Discussion audio (11 minutes)

We also covered today, at a 30,000 feet level, some of the major schools of interpretation of the book of Revelation.

The point of doing this is to demonstrate the wildly divergent interpretations that can be made by educated, serious, Christian scholars. It can also demonstrate how a different interpretations of Revelation can result in different ways of interpreting and responding to current events, global as well as personal. If we assume that Revelation is about current events, we inevitably fall into the trap that there can only be one “right” interpretation (corollary: all other interpretations are wrong).

The lesson here is to again, set aside preconceived ideas about what Revelation is supposed to mean and let the text speak for itself, and primarily use those cultural resources that were known to the original audience to interpret the text.