Thoughts about studying the book of Revelation are often accompanied by feelings of fear and trepidation. Many immediately think of how they have seen the text abused by sensationalistic preachers who purport to be able to identify every symbol and image with a current event, place, or person.
I was converted to faith in Christ in 1989 and spent the early 90’s as a baby Christian. My first sermonic introduction to the book of Revelation involved being told that the locusts were symbols of U.S.S.R. helicopters, Mikhail Gorbachev was the antichrist, and super market scanners were going to secretly give us the mark of the beast.
I remember reading Revelation and failing to see any of those things in the book but I figured the problem must have been with my limited understanding. But I also noticed that there were others Christians who totally rejected the notion Revelation was about helicopters, Gorbachev, and supermarket scanners, but they offered no constructive explanations of what the symbols meant. Their approach to the sensationalism was to denounce it and then proceed to ignore the book of Revelation altogether.
Neither of those pathways is the least bit helpful. The point of the book is to reveal, not hide or obscure.
I have had people tell me that they do not study the book of Revelation because they focus on more practical parts of the Bible. They leave the book of Revelation to the scholars. We would do well to remember that the book of Revelation is addressed to seven actual churches in Asia Minor (1:11), and written to be read aloud in those churches. The believers in the seven churches of Asia Minor were facing great difficulty and persecution. John received his vision that he recorded while banished to the Isle of Patmos as a political prisoner for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. It appeared that the small churches in Asia minor would soon be swept away by Roman power under the tyrannical and cruel reign of Domitian. John makes it clear that any believer may hear and profit from it (Rev. 1:3).
The book of Revelation presents itself as the culmination of the biblical story and the climax of prophetic revelation. There are Old Testament references and allusions in almost every single verse of the book of Revelation. We are not meant to read Revelation apart from understanding its Old Testament connectedness. To understand the amazing imagery in the book of Revelation we are not left to our own mental ingenuity, we must be familiar with the rich imagery throughout biblical prophetic literature. The unity of the book of Revelation with the biblical narrative is also seen in the fact that the conclusion of Revelation echoes the imagery and language of the very beginning of the Bible, but now in light of Christ’s consummation of the kingdom (Gen 1-2, Rev 21-22). Put simply,
Revelation Helps Clarify Jesus and his Kingdom—Not Confuse
Revelation’s Purpose is Practical—Not Speculative
Revelation is the Bible’s Story—Not Alarmist Entertainment
Revelation is Christ-Intoxicated—Not Headline-Intoxicated