How Should We Read Revelation?

The sixty-sixth book of the Bible is one of the most mysterious in the canon. It also is the book with the most interpretations.

So what's the proper way to interpret what it says? We need first to understand that the book was written to the seven churches in Asia Minor, now modern day Turkey.

Because of this, we need to know that it isn't written to us but for our instruction and encouragement. As Revelation 1:1 (KJV) explains, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:"

The seven letters to the seven churches are easy to understand. It's the vision John had afterward that is difficult for modern Christians to figure out. That's because we think we're the ones spoken about.

But Revelation 22:6 (KJV) demonstrates that it's the present day recipients of the letters to whom the book is written. "And he said unto me, 'These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.'"

Those folks with Bibles which have the centre column of cross references will realize that John is alluding to the Old Testament prophets to make his meaning clear to the Jewish Christians while making the book mysterious to gentile unbelievers. Only the things which need explanation does John reveal plainly.

We see this in Revelation 1:20 (BBE) where Jesus says, "The secret of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and of the seven gold vessels with burning lights. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven lights are the seven churches."

I'll write more about the confusion people have with Revelation in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Many fans of end times prophecy mistake events from the first century for future events. As far as I can see, only Christ's glorious return and the punishment of the wicked are in the future.

What Does the Bible Mean By "Last Days?"

Many of the folks I wrote about in my previous posts assume that the Bible's mention of "last days" means our epoch. Thanks to a man named John Nelson Darby, they assume that The Revelation of John the Divine was written for modern people and not to the seven churches in Asia as plainly stated in chapter one.

But what does "last days" or similar phrases mean?  Revelation 1:1 (KJV) gives this answer. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must SHORTLY come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:" Some folks believe that "shortly" means two thousand years after. How can that be so when the letter was written TO those seven churches?

And how could those people living back then know who the beast John wrote about would be if he is yet to come? Revelation 13:18 (KJV) states, "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." The Jews and Greeks had a system of corresponding letters and numbers. Emperor Nero's name fit both systems perfectly. Nobody could have guessed the name of a twenty-first century beast but they certainly knew of Nero.

I could cite many other proofs of this being a book for first-century Christians in what is now Turkey but I won't this time. Remember that the various books of the Bible were written to the people to whom they were delivered, not us. Paul wrote that the scriptures were written FOR our learning (Romans 15:4 KJV). Furthermore, the same applies to all twenty-seven New Testament books.

Thanks to humble Bible scholars, I know how to read the Word of God. I wrote about this in a book called How I Was Razed. Read more about this wondrous testimony of God's providence at Amazon.