Introduction to the Book of Revelation

Himitsu Ministries Podcast

At Himitsu Ministries, our mission is to help you cultivate a deeper understanding of God’s Word primarily through bible prophecy and apologetics.

Introduction to the Book of Revelation

byAyo Shosanya

An introduction to the book of Revelation. In this first episode to the series, I tackle some key questions to lay the groundwork for the rest of the study. ”Who wrote Revelation?” ”What's the genre of Revelation?” ”When was Revelation Written?” ”How is Revelation interpreted?” And ”Who was Revelation Written to?”

Timestamps:

03:14 The meaning of ”Revelation” in Greek

07:59 Who wrote the book of Revelation?

10:25 Who is the Primary Audience of Revelation?

10:44 What's the genre of the book of Revelation?

13:25 When was Revelation written?

19:44 How is the book of Revelation divided?

20:10 Discussing the 4 different ways Revelation is interpreted

Show Notes:https://himitsustudy.com/introduction-to-the-book-of-revelation/

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Episode Summary: An introduction to the book of Revelation. In this first episode to the series, I tackle some key questions to lay the groundwork for the rest of the study. “Who wrote Revelation?” “What’s the genre of Revelation?” “When was Revelation Written?” “How is Revelation interpreted?” And “Who was Revelation Written to?”

Scriptural References

1. John as the author (Revelation 1:1, 4, 9; 22:8)
2. Primary audience (Revelation 1:3-4)
3. Revelation is divided into 3 parts:
   • Things which you have seen (Revelation 1)
   • Things which are (Revelation 2-3)
   • Things which will take place after these things (Revelation 4-22)

Genres

1. Narrative – Narratives tell the story of what happened. ¹
2. Law – Books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy. “The purpose of law is to express God’s sovereign will concerning government, priestly duties, social responsibilities, etc. Knowledge of Hebrew manners and customs of the time, as well as a knowledge of the covenants, will complement a reading of this material.” ²
3. Poetry – These are books with “…rhythmic prose, parallelism, and metaphor.” Psalms, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations. (Got Questions, How should the different genres of the Bible impact how we interpret the Bible?) ³
4. Wisdom – Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes fall into Wisdom literature. These books teach the meaning of life and how to live. ^{4 5}
5. Prophecy – “The Prophetic writings are the Old Testament books of Isaiah through Malachi, and the New Testament book of Revelation. They include predictions of future events, warnings of coming judgment, and an overview of God’s plan for Israel.” ⁶
6. Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John fit into this. Biographies of Jesus’ life that narrate His ministry. ⁷
7. Epistles – Letters communicated to specific individuals or groups of people for a purpose.⁸ “The content of the Epistles involves clarification of prior teaching, rebuke, explanation, correction of false teaching and a deeper dive into the teachings of Jesus.” ⁹
8. Apocalypse – “Apocalyptic literature is a specific form of prophecy, largely involving symbols and imagery and predicting disaster and destruction. We find this type of language in Daniel (the beasts of chapter 7), Ezekiel (the scroll of chapter 3), Zechariah (the golden lampstand of chapter 4), and Revelation (the four horsemen of chapter 6).” ¹⁰

Interpretational Approaches

1. Symbolic or Idealist – “The symbolic or idealist view maintains that Revelation is not a predictive prophecy but a symbolic portrait of the cosmic conflict of spiritual principles. In this way the book is divorced from the realm of history and placed exclusively in the realm of ideas.” ¹¹
2. Preterist – “The preterist view (the Latin word praeter means “past”) also denies the prophetic aspect of the Apocalypse, limiting it solely to the events of the first century. It is a symbolic description of the Roman persecution of the church, emperor worship, and the divine judgment of Rome.” ¹²
3. Historicist – “The historicist view approaches Revelation as an allegorical panorama of the history of the (Western) church from the first century to the Second Advent. The lack of objective criteria combined with the changing historical climate from one generation to another has led to a wide range of conflicting interpretations within this school.” ¹³
4. Futurist – “The futurist view acknowledges the obvious influence that the first-century conflict between Roman power and the church had upon the themes of this book. But it also accepts the bulk of Revelation (chs. 4-22) as an inspired look into the time immediately preceding the Second Advent (the “Tribulation,” usually seen as seven years; 4-18), and extending from the return of Christ to the creation of the new cosmos (19-22). According to this view, the Apocalypse centers around the second advent of Christ who will return in power and glory as the Judge of all who rejected His offer of salvation. Futurists attempt to discern the literal meanings behind the symbolism of Revelation whenever this is permitted by the context or by comparison with other Scripture.” ¹⁴

Talk Thru the Bible Quotations

1. “The title of this book in the Greek text is Apokalypsis loannou, ‘Revelation of John.’ is also known as the Apocalypse, a transliteration of the word apokalypsis, meaning ‘unveiling,’ ‘disclosure,’ or ‘revelation’.” ¹⁵
2. “Revelation means an ‘unveiling’ or ‘disclosure,’ but many regard its content as veiled or closed because of the heavy symbolism. This leads to the view that the book should not be studied because its undecipherable nature will only lead the student into error. The opposite extreme is the overconfident approach which asserts that every symbolic nuance can be captured. This can lead to unhealthy speculation and ‘newspaper exegesis.’…Hundreds of symbolic objects and acts are used in Revelation, but most of these are either explained in the context (e.g., 1:20) or in the rest of the Bible (e.g, the Book of Daniel).” ¹⁶
3. “The style, symmetry, and plan of Revelation show that it was written by one author, four times named “John” (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8; see “Author” in John)…From the beginning, Revelation was considered an authentic work of the apostle John, the same John who wrote the gospel and three epistles. This was held to be true by Justin Martyr, the Shepherd of Hermas, Melito, Irenaeus, the Muratorian Canon, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others.”¹⁷
4. “Revelation is a unique blend of apocalyptic, prophetic, and epistolary literature. The contents of Revelation are apocalyptic, as can be seen by a comparison with Isaiah 24—27, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, and Zechariah…The theme and message of Revelation are prophetic, according to the book’s own claim (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18-19). The form of Revelation is epistolary, with its salutation (1:4-6), its seven individual letters (chs. 2—3), and its closing benediction (22:21).” ¹⁸
5. Revelation was written at a time when Roman hostility to Christianity was erupting into overt persecution (1:9; 2:10, 13). Some scholars believe that it should be given an early date during the persecution of Christians under Nero after the A.D. 64 burning of Rome. The Hebrew letters for Nero Caesar (Neron Kesar) add up to 666, the number of the beast (13:18), and there was a legend that Nero would reappear in the East after his apparent death (cf. 13:3, 12, 14). This kind of evidence is weak, and a later date near the end of the reign of the emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-96) is preferable for several reasons ¹⁹:
   • This was the testimony of Irenaeus (disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of John) and other early Christian writers.
   • John probably did not move from Jerusalem to Ephesus until C. A.D. 67, shortly before the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The early dating would not give him enough time to have established an ongoing ministry in Asia by the time he wrote this book. 
   • The churches of Asia appear to have been in existence for a number of years, long enough for some to reach a point of complacency and decline (cf. 2:4; 3:1, 15-18). 
   • The deeds of Domitian are more relevant than those of Nero to the themes of the Apocalypse. Worship of deceased emperors had been practiced for years, but Domitian was the first emperor to demand worship while he was alive. This led to a greater clash between the state and the church, especially in Asia where the worship of Caesar was widely practiced. The persecution under Domitian presaged the more severe persecution to follow. This it is likely that John wrote this book in A.D. 95 or 96 

Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary Quotations

1. “The book heavily alludes to OT scripture. Robert L. Thomas notes that ‘Of the 404 verses in the Apocalypse, 278 allude to the OT Scriptures. No other NT writer uses the OT more than this. 141 Yet the book is marked by an entire absence of formal quotations from the OT.'” ²⁰
2. “A date during the last decade of the first century, about A.D. 95, is the traditional time assigned to the publishing of the Apocalypse. This tradition is substantiated by contemporary majority opinion as well as those who suggest alternatives. A few have opted for an earlier date, before or just after the death of Nero in the late sixties.” ²¹
3. Several details of internal evidence emerge for preferring a Domitianic date in the 90s over a Neronic date in the 60s (21-22) ²²:
   • One is the difference in the condition of the Asian churches in the 90s compared to the condition portrayed in Paul’s epistles of Ephesians, Colossians, and 1 and 2 Timothy, which were addressed to that area during the 60s. By the time of John’s book serious spiritual deterioration and doctrinal apostasy, not present earlier, had set in.
   • A second reason for preferring the later date is the timing of John’s arrival in Asia. According to the best information, he did not come to Asia from Palestine before the late 60s, at the time of the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66-70. This was after Paul’s final visit to Asia in A.D. 65. John was part of a migration of Palestinian Christians from Palestine to the province of Asia before the outbreak of the rebellion. A Neronic dating would hardly allow time for him to have settled in Asia, to have replaced Paul as the respected leader of the Asian churches, and then to have been exiled to Patmos before Nero’s death in A.D. 68.
   • Another serious difficulty to the earlier dating is the earthquake that destroyed Laodicea, one of the seven cities addressed in Revelation, in A.D. 60 or 61.45 Evidence indicates that the earthquake had long-term effects on the area. Laodice was deeply involved in reconstruction for the rest of Nero’s reign and shortly thereafter. The possibility of the existence of a city, much less a relatively degenerate church in that city, during the 60s is highly questionable.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Authorship, Occasion, and Date Quotations

1. “Though the tendency among conservative scholars has been to regard the date as a.d. 95 or 96, some have contended for an earlier date, such as 68 or 69, a conclusion supported by such worthies as Westcott, Light-foot, Hort, Salmon, and others…The majority opinion seems to be that the traditional date of 95 or 96 has better support…As previously noted, Irenaeus placed the writing of the book in the reign of Domitian, which ended a.d. 96…Based on the historical evidence, the date, therefore, must be before the death of Domitian, who was assassinated in a.d. 96, as the apostle was apparently released from his exile shortly after this.” ²³

Notes on Revelation Quotations

1. “John also alluded often to Exodus, Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. One scholar claimed that 278 of the 404 verses in Revelation contain references to the Old Testament. William Barclay claimed that John quoted or alluded to the Old Testament 245 times, citing about 20 Old Testament books—his favorites being Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Psalms, Exodus, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. The United Bible Society’s Greek New Testament lists over 500 Old Testament passages that John alluded to.[15] Despite all these allusions, however, there are no formal quotations from the Old Testament.[16] The revelation that Jesus gave in the Olivet Discourse and later to John on Patmos supplements the earlier Old Testament revelation.” ²⁴
2. “The Book of Revelation is one of the most encouraging books in the Bible because in it we see Jesus Christ vindicated before the world. Revelation is really a very simple book. It boils down to this: Jesus wins! ‘In recording the revelation of Jesus Christ, John wanted to reassure his readers that Jesus Christ controls the course and climax of history.’ The subject of the Book of Revelation is Jesus Christ (1:1). It is an unveiling (a revelation) of Him. What does this book reveal about Christ? It reveals the person of Jesus Christ, the power of Jesus Christ, and the program of Jesus Christ.” ²⁵
3. “Some of the early church fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, Irenaeus, and Victorinus) wrote that the Apostle John experienced exile on the island of Patmos during the Roman Emperor Domitian’s reign (1:9).[3] They wrote that the government allowed John to return to Ephesus after Domitian’s death in A.D. 96.[4] Consequently many conservative interpreters date the writing of this book near A.D. 95 or 96.[5] There is good evidence that this was the last of John’s inspired writings.” ²⁶

The Old Testament in Revelation Quotations

1. “Scholars will regularly note that, despite hundreds of links back into the Old Testament on the part of Revelation’s author, John, none of these are direct, word-for-word, complete citations. One specialist in the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament describes what is going on in the book: The book of Revelation, however, never uses introductory formulae to introduce its Old Testament references but weaves its words and phrases into its own composition. The index of allusions and quotations in the back of the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament reveals that Revelation contains more Old Testament allusions than any other New Testament book, but it does not record a single quotation…Previous studies on John’s use of the Old Testament have been aware that we are dealing with allusions rather than quotations, but they try to get around this by distinguishing between allusions and echoes.” ²⁷

Referenced Materials

1. The Many Genres of Scripture – Bible Gateway ↩︎
2. How should the different genres of the Bible impact how we interpret the Bible? – Got Questions ↩︎
3. Ibid ↩︎
4. The Many Genres of Scripture – Bible Gateway ↩︎
5. How should the different genres of the Bible impact how we interpret the Bible? – Got Questions ↩︎
6. Ibid ↩︎
7. Bible Genres: What Are They and Why Do They Matter? – Renew.org ↩︎
8. The Many Genres of Scripture – Bible Gateway ↩︎
9. How should the different genres of the Bible impact how we interpret the Bible? – Got Questions ↩︎
10. Ibid ↩︎
11. Talk Thru the Bible, Bruce Wilkinson & Kenneth Boa, pg 512 ↩︎
12. Ibid ↩︎
13. Ibid ↩︎
14. Ibid ↩︎
15. Ibid, 510 ↩︎
16. Ibid ↩︎
17. Ibid ↩︎
18. Ibid, 514 ↩︎
19. Ibid, 511 ↩︎
20. Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary, Robert L. Thomas, pg 40 ↩︎
21. Ibid, 20 ↩︎
22. Ibid, 21-22 ↩︎
23. The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Authorship, Occasion, and Date by John F. Walvoord ↩︎
24. Notes on Revelation by Dr. Thomas L. Constable ↩︎
25. Ibid ↩︎
26. Ibid ↩︎
27. The Old Testament in Revelation, Dr. Michael S. Heiser, pgs 1-2 ↩︎

The Gospel

We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23). Because God is Holy he must judge sin. The penalty of this sin is death and ultimately the Lake of fire (Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:11-15). There’s nothing we can do to save ourselves (Isaiah 64:6).

But God, in his love has provided a way to escape his wrath through Christ (John 3:16-18, John 14:6). Jesus paid for our sin penalty by taking God’s wrath in our stead on the cross (Romans 5:8). He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again 3 days later (1 Corinthians 15:1-5).

You can accept this free gift of salvation by believing in Christ (Acts 16:30-31, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9). Make sure you’ve made the right decision about Jesus today (2 Corinthians 6:2)! It will be the most important decision of your life, for eternal life.