Bible Overview is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in Bible study. Each month we feature a book of the Bible (in order) by Bible scholar and lecturer, Mary Jane Chaignot.

This month we will be doing something a little different. We have come to the last book of the Bible -- Revelation. However, instead of trying to cover the whole book in one month, we will be dividing it up into four sections. This month we will focus on the introduction and the first chapter. Revelation can best be described as a pastoral letter written to Christians in Asia during the latter part of the first century. It was written by a Christian prophet using an apocalyptic style. If you want to read some of the history previous to this selection, you can find the earlier books in our archives.

The Bible Time-Line is another quick reference for locating individuals or specific books. We encourage readers to share their Bible study success stories on this site. Email us at overview@biblewise.com to be included on next month's site.

Revelation (Part 1)

It probably goes without saying that this book has been profoundly influential throughout the ages.  Unfortunately, scholars have yet to come to a consensus about what it really means.  There are several overall issues:  the use of symbolism, the basic structure of the book, and the dispute among scholars as to its interpretation. We’ll discuss the interpretation problem first.  There are basically four options.  Some people fall into the “non-historical, idealist” category.  Their position is that Revelation is not attached to history but is comprised of timeless truths.  It uses symbols to address issues that are universally human and ignores the fact that it was written as a real letter.  Another category is the “historical” approach.  This one assumes that the prophecies are real and predictors of the end of time.  Obviously, each interpreter is convinced that he is, in fact, living in those last days.  The problem with this is that it again overlooks the fact that John’s first century audience would have had to wait for centuries to figure things out. 

The third is known as the “futurist” interpretation.  It assumes that all these events are still waiting to happen in the future.  This is very popular among evangelical churches.  Primarily, it suggests that this is the time just before everything ends.  Again, it denies any real connection to the first century readers.  The last category is known as “preterist” (meaning past tense).  It tries to determine what the text might have meant in its original context, what it meant to those first readers.  After figuring that out, then scholars look to a contemporary meaning.  This method presumes that John was addressing real issues in that first century church and that he thought this letter would be helpful to them.  We need to keep that in mind.

As it is, this was a real letter, written to real churches. John obviously felt some pastoral responsibility for these communities and this letter was supposed to comfort and encourage them. It probably would have been read in its entirety during a worship service. And we can only assume that they would have been familiar with its symbolism. For them, these weren’t timeless truths; the letter addressed their specific situation. What might that have been?

Most scholars think the book was written about 95-96 C.E. to people living in Asia (though dates from 41-177 C.E. have also been suggested). These churches were probably founded by Paul during the 50s and, by this time, were mostly comprised of Gentiles. In the beginning, all Christians were Jews and were afforded the same protections by Rome. But for decades, relations between Jews and Christians had become increasingly hostile, exacerbated by the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 C.E. By the 90s, the Jews were doing their best to separate themselves from the troubles surrounding the Christians. (Nero, for example, had blamed Christians for the fire in Rome in 64 CE.) In general, people were living through difficult times. Globally, there had been famines and earthquakes; 79 marked the eruption of Vesuvius. After Nero’s death, there were three Roman Emperors in the space of three years. The current Emperor was Domitian (81-96CE), who was wrapped up in the Emperor cult. He believed he was one of the gods of Rome and insisted people greet him with “Our Lord and God,” or “All hail to our Lord and to his Lady.” People who did not comply were executed or banished. He had the clout to enforce this, claiming that those who refused were, in fact, dishonoring the goddess Roma. He felt that it was the least people could do to show their gratitude to Rome and their solidarity with the state. Obviously this posed a problem for Christians.

But this was only one among many problems facing Christians. As a stand alone religion, Christianity had no long history of traditions. Members met in homes and had no public holidays. Rumors about them were rampant (they drink “blood”; their leader was crucified as a criminal). They preferred to keep separate from society, and were generally of the lower classes. They were thought to be unpatriotic and were frequently targeted as scapegoats for whatever bad things were happening. Persecuting them was easy because no one stood up on their behalf; there was no public outcry. For their part, Christians desperately needed a word from the Lord to help them in these new circumstances. John provided that by giving meaning to these historical events. Yet his message was stern. Rather than avoid persecution by recanting, they should use the persecutions as opportunities to bear witness to the reality of faith in the one God and in Jesus as Lord. Their only responsibility was to remain faithful, even if it meant their own death.

The Book of Revelation, then, is the account of the triumphant finale of the last battle at the end of days. This is the moment at which time God will intervene and bring history to its worthy conclusion. John provides images of the end of time through the use of symbols and pictorial language. The pictures he presents attempt to portray the ultimate reality as well as tell us something about God. God is simply sovereign. This book is filled with confessional language, filled with prayer and praise. The symbols were used to communicate, not to conceal. He follows a rather typical pattern. First, he describes how bad things are, they will get worse before the “end”, but ultimately God’s victory will be complete. Evil will be destroyed forever. This is what was revealed to him.

In his attempt to share his visions, John used all the sources at his disposal. This included the Old Testament. In fact, though he never actually quotes from the Old Testament, there are more than 500 allusions to it – more than any other book. He reworks these familiar words for their new situation. In this he shares much with other apocalyptic writers. The word “apocalypse” literally means “removing the veil.” But a fuller definition of apocalyptic was proposed by “J.J. Collins, who chaired the Apocalypse Group of the SBL Genres Project in 1979:

‘Apocalypse’ is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world. ¹

Most scholars accept that Revelation is written in the apocalyptic genre. But M. Eugene Boring offers a helpful “oversimplification”: “Apocalyptic is a particular kind of eschatology, which in turn is a particular understanding of the doctrine of providence.”² The “doctrine of providence” means that we believe our lives and everyone else’s are under God’s control. God is literally in the driver’s seat. “Eschatology” is one type of “providence.” “Eschatology” maintains that God is driving history to a particular goal, an end. While “providence,” then, means that God is involved in history, “eschatology” claims that that history is coming to an end. “Apocalyptic” means that God is bringing history to the end “which God himself will bring about in the near future, in a particular way that is already revealed.”³ While some might think the end will be all doom and gloom, Revelation anticipates the end joyfully because it will be the fulfillment of God’s grand plan, the culmination of everything. The world that we now live in is not that world.

With those definitions in mind, let us remember that the author stands at the beginning of the journey. The book is divided into three main divisions. Chapters 1-3 describe the world of John and his readers. Into this world comes a vision of the exalted Christ who brings a message from God. Chapters 4-18 describe the time of eschatological distress through a series of visions – the throne room, the seven seals, and trumpets and bowls. All this leads to the end of Babylon. Chapters 19-22 describe the final victory at which point John is given a vision of the “Holy City”, heavenly New Jerusalem.

The main premise of the book is essentially about making choices. Do the people described in the first three chapters belong to the world described in chapters 4-18 or 19-22? It’s a choice they get to make. John lays it all out for them, notwithstanding the fact that scholars are mixed as to whether or not they were being actively persecuted at this point, or if John was simply anticipating future events. Nonetheless, their theology was at risk. God had promised to bless his people – they would be blessed to be a blessing to others. Everyone knew that the Israelites had been unfaithful early on, which led to the exile. That made sense. But here, people are being faithful, and they are being persecuted for that. That did not make sense. Traditional theology would claim that either God broke His promise to be faithful to them, or He is powerless to do anything about the evil that rages against them. Neither option is acceptable for people of faith. Apocalyptists claim that God is both faithful and able. The evil in this world stands over against God’s faithfulness and His plan. It is so great that God must intervene – because no one else can. It is a battle that must take place, but the outcome is not in any doubt. Until that moment, however, evil will wreak as much havoc as possible. Indeed, the fact that evil is increasing in their lives is a sign that the end is near. Throughout all, God remains in control and will bring all evil to account. Their persecutions are part of this struggle, part of the larger picture. It’s just a matter of time.

Obviously, this is a challenging book for modern readers. We don’t share the first century world view; we don’t understand some of the symbolism; we aren’t a powerless people. So why should we even bother with this book? Why don’t we use Luther’s approach (who basically ignored it saying it was too hard to understand)? The best reason is that it’s in the Bible; it’s canonical. If we don’t try to understand it responsibly, others will interpret it irresponsibly. It’s a whole lot better to be part of that conversation. The people who received this letter were not Bible scholars. They did not spend their days trying to figure out what the book meant. Their job was to figure out how to respond in life or death situations.

This is also a very political book that deals with the realities of society. It is concerned with the fate of the earth and puts those concerns in a faith context. It has something to say about the meaning of life and its values. That does give it a timeless appeal. So while Revelation does not speak about our world, it certainly has something to offer for our world.

One final word on the author of the book – He writes in his own name. He is John. He claims to be a prophet, but he is not an apostle. That means he is not one of the Johns mentioned in the gospels. He makes no eyewitness claims to Jesus. Only once does he ever come close to even quoting him. Because the language is so different, most scholars do not think he was the John who wrote the Gospel of that name, nor did he write the letters of John. He was probably a Palestinian Christian, but was well-versed in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is possible that he knew Hebrew or he might have spoken Aramaic. He does claim that the book is a witness to the truth of the Christian faith.

Next month we will explore the letters to the seven churches.  Obviously, we have noticed that many things involve the number seven, which seems to be John’s favorite number.  This number presupposes the idea of order and structure.  It was also used as the symbol for God’s design of patterns evident both in the cosmos and in history.

Bibliography

¹Aune, David, E. “Revelation.” Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas, TX: Word Books,      1997. p. lxxviii.

Barclay, William. “Revelation.” Daily Study Bible. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster      Press. 1975.

²Boring, M. Eugene. “Revelation.” Interpretation. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press. 1989. p35.

³Ibid. p37.

Gaebelein, Frank. “Revelation.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI:      Zondervan Publishing. 1985.

Keck, Leander. “Revelation.” New Interpreter’s Bible. Nashville, TN: Abingdon      Press. 1995.

Osborne, Grant.  “Revelation.”  Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New      Testament.  Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.  2002.