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]
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.
The Israelites had just crossed the Jordan River and were preparing to conquer Canaan when Joshua came upon an armed man. Joshua was a stranger in a foreign land and, as Israel’s general, he may have been scrutinizing Jericho’s defenses to determine his plan of attack. I wonder if Joshua brandished his sword (while shaking in his sandals) as he queried, “Friend or foe?” The man, however, was neither ally nor adversary. Identifying himself as the commander-in-chief of the Lord’s army, his loyalty was to neither side. His allegiance was to God and the only side he was on was God’s! God wasn’t on Israel’s side any more than He was on Canaan’s. Israel, however, was on God’s side because their conquest of Jericho was part of His master plan of redemption. It was because they were on God’s side that the fortified city’s walls collapsed.
I think Satan chuckles every time he sees another division in Christ’s church. He probably shouted with glee when the Southern Baptist Convention recently expelled five congregations (including the mega Saddleback church) and when the no-longer-united United Methodists lost 1,800 congregations and found themselves embroiled in lawsuits with many of those congregations. Although Methodist Bishop Tom Berlin sadly noted that, “The path of anger and hostility is not the Christian way,” it seems to have become the way of Christ’s church in the 21st century! While today’s issues are different, they are no less divisive than an issue that threatened the very existence of the early church.
Following the Parable of the Sower and the Soils, Jesus told another parable about the coming of the Kingdom. In the Parable of the Weeds, after the farmer plants wheat, his enemy sows weeds in the same field. Jesus’ hearers would have known the weed likely was darnel. Called wheat’s “evil twin,” it looks and behaves much like wheat. When wheat is consumed it gives life but, when darnel is consumed, this inedible look-alike causes nausea and even death. Sowing weeds in a field was an act of sabotage and Roman law specifically prohibited doing so with darnel. When nations went to war, agricultural vandalism was a common practice. Olive trees were cut down, grape vines destroyed, and fields were salted so nothing would grow.
I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. [1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)]
