REVELATION: Book of Revelation

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Book of Revelation
The Apocalypse



The book of Revelation is called an apocalypse from the title in the opening verse ('revelation' in Greek is 'apokalypsis'). It belongs to a group of apocalyptic writings that are discussed below, which had a distinct literary form and view of the world and its future.

The author of the book gives his name as John (1.1,4,9; 22.8). He says he writes from the island of Patmos (just off the coast of Asia Minor). He calls himself God's 'servant' (1.1) and 'brother' (1.9). He was obviously well-known and did not need any other title. In the 2nd century the church identified this John as John the Apostle and attributed to him John's Gospel, the Letters of John and Revelation. Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria in the middle of the 3rd century denied that the same person could have written all five books and ever since there have been voices echoing this uncertainly. Luther declared the book "neither apostolic nor prophetic". Since the 18th century there has been much discussion of the issue and now almost all scholars agree that the same author could not have written all five books, because of the great differences in style, language and thought between the Gospel and Letters and Revelation (see notes on the Letters of John). This leaves open the possibility of John the Apostle writing either the Gospel and Letters or Revelation, but most scholars consider this unlikely and conclude that the Revelation was written by some unknown person called John, who was intimately connected with the churches of Asia. John speaks of the apostles as men other than himself (18.20; 21.14) which implies that the author was not John the Apostle.

The Letter was written to the seven churches of Asia. From the contents it is evident that the writer has an intimate knowledge of these churches and so must have been closely associated with them at some stage. Whether the Letter was written to these churches only is uncertain. The number 'seven' is a symbolic number indicating wholeness or completeness, and, apart from the first three chapters, the book could have been written to the whole church and perhaps this was intended. There are many indications in the book that the churches were undergoing persecution (2.10; 2.13; 3.10; 6.9; 17.6; 20.4). Some passages suggest that the Christians were persecuted because they had refused divine honours to the emperor (13.4; 13.11-18; 14.9; 14.11; 16.2; 19.20) - in other words, they had clashed with the imperial cult and were therefore disloyal and a danger to the State. Nero had persecuted the Christians over the fire of Rome in the mid-60s, but this was local affair and not the State as such persecuting the Christians. The next occasion was under the Emperor Domitian (Emperor 81-96 A.D.) when Christians were persecuted and this is the persecution that corresponds to the situation revealed in Revelation. This gives a date for the book of about 95 A.D. There is some doubt whether this persecution was State driven or purely local, but there are a number of other features which point to end of the 1st century as the time of composition and this has been generally accepted. A major purpose of the book is to encourage the persecuted Christians to stand firm in the faith.

After an introduction (Ch.1) the book is divided into two parts: the first consists of letters to the seven churches of Asia (Ch.2 & 3); the second a series of visions (Ch.4-22). In the introduction, it states (1.1-3) that the revelation of Jesus Christ was given by an angel to John about "what must soon take place" (1.1). There follows a greeting to the seven churches (1.4-8) and then (1.9-20) how John received a vision of Christ on the island of Patmos. The letters to the seven churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Perganum, Thyratira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea - all churches in the cities of western Asia Minor) take up Chapters 2 & 3. The remainder of the book consists of a series of visions, many grouped around the number seven. It starts with the visions of the seven seals (4.1-8.1). This section is preceded by the heavenly worship of the 24 elders sitting around the throne of God, accompanied by four animals (these animals were used later as the symbols of the four gospels), with the elders singing the praise of God (4.1-11), followed by a vision of the Lamb of God (5.1-14). The opening the seals of the scrolls then begins with the first four being a revelation of the four horses (representing warfare, death in battle, famine, death) (6.1-8), followed by the fifth seal showing the souls of the martyrs (6.9-11) and the sixth seal revealing cosmic disturbances (6.12-17). Between the opening of the sixth and seventh seal (8.1) there is an interlude with the sealing of 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel (7.1-8) and of a great crowd from every nation before the throne of God (7.9-17). After the seventh seal was opened, a new series of visions of the seven trumpets commences (8.2-11.19). With each of these trumpets there is a whole series of disasters, because of the sins of the people, followed by passages stating that on the blowing of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God will be revealed (10.1-11) and after all these disasters and slaughter God is praised (11.1-19). Struggles between the dragon (Satan) and the Lamb, with warfare and victory, take up Chapters 12-14. Next there is a new series of seven bowls (Ch.15-16) with horrible plagues produced by the wrath of God. The climax of the destruction is the fall of Babylon (= Rome) (17.1-19.10) - the divine judgement on Rome (Ch.17), a lament of the fall of Rome (Ch.18) and the joy in heaven with these events (19.1-10). The victory of Christ completes the visions (19.11-22.5): the victory over the Anti-Christ and the thousand year binding of Satan (19.11-20.3), the final defeat of Satan (20.4-10), the last judgement (20.11-15), the new heaven and the new earth (21.1-8) and the vision of the New Jerusalem (21.9-22.5). Revelation concludes with an exhortation to follow the words of these prophesies and a benediction (22.6-21).

The contents of the book are as follows:

1. Introduction (1,1-20)
(a) Salutation (1.1-8)
(b) John's visionary experience (1.9-20)
2. Letters to the seven churches (2.1-3.22)
(a) To Ephesus (2.1-7)
(b) To Smyrna (2.8-11)
(c) To Perganum (2.12-17)
(d) To Thyratira (2.18-29)
(e) To Sardis (3.1-6)
(f) To Philadelphia (3.7-13)
(g) To Laodicea (3.14-22)
3. Opening of the seven seals (4.1-8.1)
(a) Setting. Heavenly worship (4.1-11)
(b) Setting. The scroll and the Lamb (5.1-14)
(c) Opening of the first four seals (6.1-8)
(d) Opening of fifth and sixth seals (6.9-17)
(e) Vision of the sealing of the Israelites (7.1-8)
(f) Vision of the multitude from every nation (7.9-17)
(g) Opening of the seventh seal (8.1)
4. Seven trumpets (8.2-11.19)
(a) The first six trumpets and the disasters (8.2-9.21)
(b) Vision of the angel and the little scroll (10.1-11)
(c) Vision of the two witnesses (11.1-14)
(d) Seventh trumpet (11.15-19)
5. Series of visions (12.1-15.4)
(a) The woman and the dragon (12.1-17)
(b) The beast from the sea (13.1-10)
(c) The beast from the land (13.11-18)
(d) The Lamb and the 144,000 (14.1-5)
(e) The doom of Babylon (14.6-13)
(f) Reaping the earth's harvest (14.14-20)
(g) The seven last plagues (15.1-4)
6. Seven bowls of the wrath of God (15.5-19.10)
(a) The seven angels and the plagues (15.5-8)
(b) The pouring of the seven bowls and the disasters (16.1-21)
(c) The woman on the scarlet beast (17.1-18)
(d) The fall of Babylon (18.1-24)
(e) Rejoicing in heaven (19.1-10)
7. Visions of the last things (19.11-22.5)
(a) The defeat of God's adversaries (19.11-20.3)
(b) The thousand year reign and the final defeat of Satan(20.4-10)
(c) The last judgement (20.11-15)
(d) New heaven and new earth (21.1-8)
(e) Vision of the New Jerusalem (21.9-22.5)
8. Conclusion (22.6-21)
(a) Origin of the book and final advice (22.6-20)
(b) Benediction (22.21)



How can we interpret this strange book? The church has never been comfortable with it. It is not commonly read in public worship. For example, in the Prayer Book of Australia (which the author uses) over a period of three years, Revelation is only read seven times in the regular Sunday worship services - this can be compared with Paul's Letter to the Romans ( a shorter book) which is read 31 times over the same period. The imagery of Revelation is weird and its symbolism obscure. Presumably, its early readers understood the symbolism, but we cannot now recover this. Its pictures of war and violence between Satan and God for supremacy simply do not resonate with modern readers and are considered bizarre, especially as most people do not believe in Satan. Worse still, its ethical values are sub-Christian. Its cries for vengeance on unbelievers (6.10), its pleas to inflict suffering on those who inflicted suffering (18.4-8; 19.2) and, throughout the book, its pitiless attitude to those not 'saved', are far removed from the teaching and compassion of Jesus. On these grounds many Christians have held that the church should never have included it in the list of NT books and that it should have remained outside the NT amongst the other Christian apocalypses. Yet despite these objections, the imagery of the book has been very influential. The traditional picture of heaven with God enthroned, surrounded by the saints, has been captured in countless works of art. There are also innumerable paintings of the last judgement and many of the final struggles between God and Satan ('Armageddon'). The images of Revelation have been used by many poets, most notably by Milton in 'Paradise Lost'.

Revelation has been woven into our culture. In interpreting the book two approaches need to be rejected. (1) To read the text literally. The book is largely made up of visions - attempts to reveal reality in language which is always in visions inadequate for the purpose. We would never try to interpret literally, for example, the visions of the mediaeval mystics; we should not do so with the biblical visions. This trivialises the message of the book; it is the grand themes the visions are attempting to portray that are important. (2) To treat the visions as historical facts. Revelation has been a happy hunting ground for people trying to link the visions to actual historical events in their own time. Wars, plagues, etc. have been hailed as the beginning of the end and predictions made about the time of the end of the world. These predictions based on Revelation have been proclaimed many times over the centuries, the last bunch being when the world passed the 2000 mark. The fact that all have proved to be wrong does not seem to have discouraged the claimants. This is a misuse of Revelation and brings its message into ridicule.

To understand the book it is important to see its literary form as one example of a group of writings, composed between about B.C. 200 to 200 A.D., which we call apocalypses. The Jewish apocalypses were successors to the prophetic writings. The prophetic writings ceased about B.C.400 and the hopes of a new age which they had espoused seemed to be doomed. The nation had split into two after the death of Solomon, the northern half had been under enemy occupation since B.C.722 and the southern half since the fall of Jerusalem in B.C.586. Israel was a small, poverty-stricken nation, and there seemed to be no hope of change. Out of this depressing situation arose the apocalyptic movement. Human endeavour was useless; only God by some cataclysmic action could bring in the new era, in which Israel again would be free, when the nation would be saved and fostered by God and its enemies be destroyed. The main apocalyptic work in the OT is the book of Daniel but there are a number of others in the Apocrypha. In addition, there are other writings known of the same type and amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls are some apocalyptic works. There are also Christian apocalyptic writings, not included in the NT, produced in the early church.

Revelation is an example of this literary form of writing though it is not the only example in the NT. In the Gospels are apocalyptic passages (Mk.13.1-37; Mt.23.1-25.46; Lk.21.5-38) and also in Paul (I Cor.Ch.15; 1 Thess.4.13-5.11). The apocalyptic writings are characterised by: visionary experiences; belief in two ages, the present age being evil and doomed, the new age having freedom and prosperity under God; portrayal of the end-time, which is preceded by natural disasters of a cosmic dimension, before God in an epic battle overcomes the evil one (Satan) and reigns supreme; encouragement of the readers because of the ultimate triumph of God. Satan is mentioned three times in the OT (Job Ch.1-2; Zechariah 3; I Chron.21.1) and in these he is represented as part of God's court and acting as an adversary to question mankind (hence the phrase in English, 'Devil's advocate'). For several centuries Israel was under Persian rule and the official religion of Persia was Zoroastrianism. This was a dualistic religion portraying an eternal conflict between light and darkness, between good and evil. This dualism may have influenced Judaism. By the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. Satan (and his angels) became the embodiment of evil, fighting against God, subverting the human race and ultimately being defeated by God in an epic battle (the biblical 'Armageddon'). This is the picture of Satan in the Gospels and the NT generally and is represented in dramatic form in Revelation. At the same time as the apocalyptic movement came also the belief in resurrection of the dead - the OT writers, except the book of Daniel (which was a late book written about B.C.164), did not believe in resurrection; departed spirits went into the underworld (Sheol - translated 'Hades' in Greek).

From this background we can see the main features of book's literary style and its main themes:

(1) It takes sin and evil seriously. The idea of progress through education and enlightenment has been pervasive in modern history, especially in the 19th century and up to World War 1. This naïve view of human nature has been shattered by modern psychology and the events in the 20th century. The killing fields of WW 1 and WW2, the Nazi and Soviet terrors, the Holocaust, Campodia, Ruanda, the Balkans, Northern Ireland, East Timor, the Middle East, and many other areas of conflict, the greed and plundering of the world's resources and other events, have shown clearly that human beings cannot be relied upon to act rationally and that deep forces of disharmony and destruction are present in the human race. This has always been the Christian view (often unpopular) and is emphasised in Revelation. The book faces the reality of individual and communal human behaviour.

(2) Judgement for wrong-doing is real and men and women cannot assume that there will be no day of reckoning. We can put aside the gruesome pictures of judgement in art and literature (Dante's 'Divine Comedy' is an example of the latter) and in Revelation, but if there is any moral basis for the universe, the corollary is that sin will reap its own reward.

(3) Revelation has a cosmic vision. This is present in some of our Lord's teaching and in some passages in the Letters of Paul, but it is emphasised in all the apocalypses and in Revelation. It is the essence of the modern environmental movement that we are part of nature, that we and our environment mutually interact and that an intimate relationship exists between the two. Revelation sees the problems of evil and redemption inter-penetrating man and the whole universe.

(4) There is a struggle between evil and good. All around us in the modern world we see evil: the evils of war, suffering, disease, poverty, famine, exploitation, selfishness, greed, gross inequalities of wealth, hatred, violation of human rights, abuse of power and many others, and men and women of goodwill are valiantly striving to eliminate these blots on humanity. This is an undertaking of massive proportions and there is no nobler task. Revelation highlights this struggle.

(5) Humans have a fervent hope that one day there will be a 'new heaven and a new earth' - the favourite passage in Revelation, often read at funerals. They look forward to the day when God " will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away" (21.1-4). This hope links with the OT; the phrase ' a new heaven and new earth' comes from Isaiah 65.17-25 and this passage of Isaiah echoes the hope of all suffering and oppressed people. This hope for a new era is shown in many passages of the OT and on to this OT hope the NT disciples grafted hope in Christ. This hope is made achievable by the sacrifice that Christ has made for us - a frequent theme in Revelation.

(6) The final message is the triumph of God. Both the OT and NT writers were convinced that, despite all their difficulties, suffering and disappointments, that the will of God would ultimately prevail. This gave them and their readers encouragement to persevere in faith, to endure suffering and persecution and to lift them out of despair and self-centeredness. They had a wider agenda than merely personal salvation; they were on a great adventure to cooperate with God as God brings in the new era, the new creation, the Kingdom of God.