Rev. 1:1-3. This is going to be interesting. I have a hunch this study will have more impact than I have imagined. I sure hope so. I believe the time is right and I welcome the Lord to lead us through this book. I'm familiar with Revelation, but I indeed come into this more as a student, eager to learn, and teachable.
Expectations? I'm not exactly sure. I'm pretty well leaving it open for the Lord. I do have a hope that the risen Lord Jesus will be more revealed in my life. I have a hope that we will all be encouraged, inspired to serve, enabled to live clean lives, and be ready when He returns.
How to study? I plan to read the text out loud, verse by verse. The commentaries at my disposal include Weirsbe, J.Vernon McGee, J. MacArthur, and J. Courson. Strangely enough, our church is also beginning the study of Revelation. Trust me, this was not planned! I don't believe in coincidences though, so that breeds even more excitement.
There are four general theories of interpreting Revelation:
1. Preterist (past)- believe events already happened in First Century.
2. Historical- assign historical events to symbols.
3. Spiritual- no prophecy, but symbolic of conflict between good and evil.
4. Futurist- believe Chapters 4/6-22 are after the rapture of the church-explains the future of the world, course of events, victory of the church, judgment of sin, and fulfillment of promises.
One element that humbles me at the starting line is the fact that Revelation doesn't start or originate anything. Prophesies from the Old Testament culminate here. It's imperative to have a good knowledge of the rest of the Bible to understand Revelation because of the 404 verses in Revelation, 278 refer to the Old Testament. There are over 500 references to the Old Testament alone. I feel we are much weaker in our knowledge of the Old Testament compared to John's readers would've been. This is one reason John was led to use symbols in the text- for their protection. The Romans wouldn't be able to understand. That's a big deal, considering the brutal persecution being poured out. These folks needed encouragement, hope, and truth for the direction of their future as they were enduring tough times. The church today is still being persecuted. We have it pretty good here in America, but things aren't so plush around the world.
Revelation is the only prophetic book in the New Testament, though there are 17 prophetic books in the Old Testament. It's not a sealed book like Daniel. It's open to understand. It may be the best organized book in the Bible. It divides itself nicely into three parts, "things which you have seen, things which are, and things which shall be thereafter" (1:19)- Past, Present, Future. Then it divides itself into a series of sevens.
It's a series of vistions expressed in symbols which deal with reality. We will always prefer the literal interpretation unless John makes it clear otherwise. The symbols represent reality. The reality is more real than the symbols. We will be looking for the reality and not focusing on the symbolism.
The church is raptured to heaven after Ch. 3. Ch. 4-22 is in the future. One major mistake is to reach into the future and try to match our current situations to events forecasted in Revelation. It's impossible, and does't make sense, considering we are still here.
I believe our joy is going to grow and soar as we study this book. It's like a school Math book, where you are working through difficult problems in the meantime, but the answers to your problems are in the back of the book. The answers to our really big problems are in the back of our Bible. Jesus is on the throne. He is in control. He is coming back. He is going to take us home. Things are going to be okay. Those are the answers we need to know, even now as we walk through our circumstances.
God used John to write the Gospel of John so we would believe. He wrote the Epistles so we would be sure. He wrote Revelation so we would be ready. It's not about being enlightened by prophesy, but it's about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ being revealed in our lives.
There's a special blessing promised for us in Verse 3. It's for those of us that will read, hear, take to heart, and respond with action to the words of this book. I'm curious to discover what that entails. Aren't you?
