Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. [2 Peter 1:20-21 (NLT)]
The Apostle Peter tells us that true prophecy isn’t a product of the prophet—prophets only speak God’s revelation. Directed by the Spirit, their words communicate the message the Lord wants sent. Sometimes, however, prophecy is difficult to understand and interpretations of Revelation go from one extreme to the other. Some, like that priest in Monday’s devotion, dismiss it as completely symbolic. To them, Revelation is an allegory about the conflict between good and evil with good winning in the end. On the other extreme, we find obscure theories, convoluted correlations, and implausible explanations of every symbol and metaphor along with sensationalism and unchecked speculation connecting Revelation to current events.
A simple rule of thumb in hermeneutics (the interpretation of Scripture) is, when it obviously is literal, we should accept it as such. The key to understanding Revelation is to interpret it as literally (and simply) as possible. Extra meaning shouldn’t be given to words or phrases if they can be understood as written. For instance, we shouldn’t assume 1,000 years means anything else. Moreover, when a description is of something we’ve never seen, such as cherubim or heaven, we shouldn’t immediately dismiss it as totally figurative. Nevertheless, we can’t read Revelation as we might a newspaper. When a passage clearly uses figurative language or obviously is symbolic, we should interpret it as such.
At the same time, we should be careful about finding extra meaning in John’s figurative descriptions. For example, Revelation 4:3 describes the One sitting on the throne “like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.” Although the word “like” clearly indicates a simile, many commentators ascribe extra meaning to the descriptions, e.g. the stones allude to the high priest’s breast plate, the red sardius signifies God’s righteous anger or Jesus’ blood, the green denotes God’s mercy and grace, or the rainbow means God’s won’t depart from His covenant with Israel. To understand John’s words, we don’t need to get bogged down in possible symbolic meanings when what we’re being told clearly is that there was a spectacular radiance to the One (God) sitting on the throne.
Revelation, like other apocalyptic prophecy, often has bizarre imagery. John describes such things as locusts wearing armor with wings that roared like an army of chariots and horses with heads like lions with fire, smoke, and burning sulfur coming from their mouths. While these horrifying things may have been living demonic creatures, they also could be weaponry like helicopters, drones, missiles, or tanks. Prophecy describes the future and, not knowing what he saw, John may have used metaphors to describe their size, power, and noise. Whatever he saw was unfamiliar, frightening, and capable of mass destruction and his imagery conveys that perfectly.
While meant for all believers, John specifically wrote to the seven churches in Asia and many of his allusions make sense in historical context. When he describes a woman sitting on seven hills, his 1st century readers easily would have known he was referring to Rome (a city built on seven hills). Moreover, because concepts and symbols from the entire Bible echo throughout Revelation, John’s allusions must be put in scriptural context. Without ever making a direct quote, 278 of Revelation’s 404 verses make at least one allusion to the Old Testament. For example, after one of the elders points out “the lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,” John sees a “Lamb, standing as if slaughtered.” John’s original readers easily would have recognized Messianic descriptions found in Isaiah and Genesis.
With events taking place simultaneously in heaven and on earth, Revelation doesn’t follow a strict chronology and can be challenging to follow. With its wars, famine, and disasters, it can be distressing and, with its allusions and figurative language, it can be confusing. But, as God’s word, Revelation can’t be ignored or treated as fictional fantasy.
Because Revelation was written for the servants of Christ (that’s us), it seems unlikely that God expected us to have theology degrees to understand its message. Nevertheless, understanding Revelation is easier with a good study Bible, a commentary or two, and a study guide or group, along with prayers for the Spirit’s guidance.
Revelation shows us God’s amazing patience as He gives mankind opportunity after opportunity to repent and plenty of reasons to do so! For those who choose not to believe, Revelation is a book of dire warning but, for those who believe, it is a beautiful book of hope. Spoiler alert—Jesus wins!
The big picture of Revelation is clear: Jesus returns, people must be ready, evil is defeated…. With the rest of the details, there is room for disagreement. [Scott McConnell]
When researching another devotion, I learned that a Jeopardy contestant missed this $1,000 clue: “It’s the ascension heavenward by true Christians both living & dead at Christ’s second coming.” Although the answer was the Rapture, the contestant, an Episcopal priest, remained silent. He later explained that he didn’t believe in the Rapture or hold to a literal reading of Revelation, adding that the literal reading of Revelation is a “a product of the modern era.” His words gave me pause.
Our fast-paced world is ever-changing and once ordinary items like slide rules, cassette tapes, boom boxes, floppy discs, dial phones, film, and VCRs are relics. My kids don’t use maps, write checks, or have a land line and my grands have never used a library card catalogue, set of encyclopedias, dictionary, carbon paper, or typewriter. We no longer need to get up to change channels, turn the lights on or off, or see who’s at the door. Our camera, maps, calculator, credit cards, compass, note pad, address book, plane tickets, and Bible all fit into our cell phones and everything on our phones (along with a fitness tracker and heart monitor) fits into a watch!
I’ve heard it said that no one is truly educated without a passing knowledge of Greek mythology, the works of William Shakespeare, and the Bible. The people who compete on the game show Jeopardy, however, are supposed to have more than a passing knowledge of those subjects and many more. Last month, however, all three Jeopardy contestants were baffled when the $200 clue wanted to know what came between “Our Father which art in Heaven” and “be thy name” in Matthew 6:9. None of the contestants even ventured a guess and, after an embarrassing silence, host Mayim Bialik supplied the answer: “What is ‘hallowed’?”
As we settled into our pews in the sanctuary, people talked loudly, called out to one another, laughed raucously, visited other pews, and checked their phones even after the organist started his beautiful prelude. It wasn’t until the pastor stood at the pulpit and started speaking that they eventually quieted down and put away their phones. As I wondered what became of the awe and reverence that should accompany us into God’s house, I again thought of the time Israel brought the sacred Ark of the Covenant into battle with them. Putting aside their idolatry, consider the lack of respect given to this religious chest designed by God and representing His presence among His people.
During the time of the judges, the Israelites were at war with the Philistines. Following their loss of 4,000 men, they questioned why God had allowed their defeat but never bothered asking Him. Instead, they decided that carrying the Ark of the Covenant into battle would guarantee a future victory. Perhaps they remembered the story of Israel entering the Promised Land—how the Jordan River stopped flowing when the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched the water and the entire nation crossed the dry riverbed into Canaan. They may have recalled Jericho’s defeat when Israel’s priests carried the Ark around the walled city for seven days and the city’s seemingly invincible walls collapsed. Maybe they thought it was the Arks’ presence that caused those miracles; in any case, they brought the Ark to their camp in Ebenezer.
