Sep ’10 | Blossom 8
(1) The Book of Revelation is very special. As not only it’s the last book of the New Testament, but also its only prophetic one. It has twenty-two chapters. And if we attempt to research each one of them continuously in this magazine, it would take months or even years to do so. Therefore, in consecutive issues beginning with this Blossom, let us try to study just the first three chapters of this book. It was Apostle John who recorded the prophecies of this book. The recording period was around 95 – 97 A.D. Revelation is a heavily symbolic book of apocalyptic nature. So it’s truly difficult to understand. Many do not even attempt to read it because of that. But if we devote time and study it with prayer and an open mind, we are able to understand it. How to do that? Before we answer that question, let us first look into the various approaches that have come about to understand this book during the 2000-year history of the Church.
(2) Idealist Interpretation: People who adopt this approach say that the prophecies of Revelation do not refer to actual people or events, but is just an allegory of a spiritual path and the ongoing struggle between good and evil. Therefore they argue that it’s pointless to compare the signs in this book to actual historical events and insist that they should just be interpreted as good overcoming evil in the end. But what they forget is they are talking about a book, which in its opening verse, unambiguously states that it is about “what must soon take place”. So have no doubt! This book is indeed about historical events. As a matter of fact, prophecy itself is a prediction of future history. That in itself simply negates the arguments of the idealist interpreters.
(3) Preterist Interpretation: Those who understand Revelation through this approach, deem all the prophecies in the book as already fulfilled. Their belief is that the book’s prophecies deal about the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple (70 A.D) and about the Roman Empire of those times. In essence, their primary beliefs are that Revelation is about the end of the Jewish Age and that the Kingdom of God has already begun spiritually. Those beliefs are wrong. Why? Because the book says clearly that its target audience is not the Jews, but the “servants of God” (Revelation 1:1). Since John recorded this book after the sacrifice of Jesus, the term ‘servants of God” would refer to all Christians. So this book cannot be just about the Jewish Age. Moreover this book was written around 95 – 97 A.D. How could its prophecies be about the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple that had happened way back in 70 A.D? Surely not. The Preterists who realize this fact, try to make up for it and argue that the book was written during A.D. 50’s or 60’s. But there is solid historical proof that it was written only in the A.D. 90’s. The writings of preachers who were popular in the early churches like Irenaeus, Clement, Victorinus and Eusebius undoubtedly mark the period of recording of this book as the A.D. 90’s. The counter-arguments put forth by the Preterists have all been proved false due to lack of evidence and now it’s an almost universal opinion among biblical scholars that A.D. 90’s is the time period in which this book was recorded. So prophecies written in this book during the A.D. 90’s cannot be about the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple that had happened 20-25 years earlier. Thus it becomes pretty clear that Preterist interpretations are wrong. Also, the Kingdom of God is not an illusionary spiritual kingdom as interpreted by the Preterists. On the contrary, we have already found Biblical proof (See Grace – Blossom 20:September 09) that it’s a kingdom as and more real than other earthly kingdoms, both historic and current. This further proves that Preterist doctrines lack any Biblical foundation.
(4) Futurist Interpretation: This approach serves as an exact opposite alternative to the Preterist interpretation. As per this method, a majority of the Revelation prophecies are to be fulfilled only in the distant future. This is also called the Catholic interpretation as it was first taught by a Jesuit Catholic priest named Ribera during 1585 A.D. This too is a wrong approach. Because, prophecies of this book have been getting fulfilled step by step. There are some yet to be fulfilled, but most have already been fulfilled. There was a reason why Ribera, followed by another Catholic priest named Bellarmine made this futurist interpretation famous. During 1517 A.D., a doctrinal Reformation movement had sprung under the leadership of Martin Luther against the rituals and superstitions practised by the Catholic Church. This is how the Protestants separated and formed their own churches. During those times, a loud trumpet amongst those separatists had been that the Catholic Church itself was the Anti-Christ foretold in the Book of Revelation. Catholic priests like Ribera and Bellarmine could not tolerate this. That is why they started arguing that the prophecies of the Book of Revelation regarding Anti-Christ and other things are to be fulfilled only in the distant future and thereby the Catholic Church could not be the Anti-Christ then. They said that the Anti-Christ would be one man who would rise in the future. And speculated he could be a Jew who would rebuild the Jerusalem Temple and rule the world from there for three and a half years. For a long time, only the Catholics followed this futurist interpretation. Other Christians continued to believe and trumpet the fact that the Catholic Church was indeed the Anti-Christ mentioned in the Book of Revelation. But during the last two-hundred years, gradually other Christian denominations too have started following the futurist interpretation. And it is a sad reality that a majority of the Christians of today believe in the concepts of futuristic approach. This is because many Christian denominations and their members have forgotten the history of the Church and do not remember any more why they had originally separated from the Catholic Church. Therefore if we encounter Christians who believe in this futurist interpretation, it would be wise on our part to narrate them a little of its history.
(5) Historical Interpretation: The best way to understand the Book of Revelation is to follow the methodology of Historical Interpretation. When you take this approach, you compare the prophecies of the book with historical events and then categorize them into those that have already been fulfilled and ones that are yet to be. Historical knowledge is very vital for this kind of study. In many issues of Grace and Scripture Study, we often stress the importance of studying not just the Bible, but also human history. Some may question and wonder why so. Listen to how Jesus scolded the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees of His time: “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:2,3). Doesn’t “times” denote history? The Jewish priests of Jesus’ times had not been able to interpret history. That is why they could not recognize Christ’s First Coming. Thereby they lost their blessings. If only they had carefully studied the seventy ‘seven’s prophecy of Daniel and compared it with historical events, they would have noted the issue of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in 458 B.C. and realized that the Messiah would have to come 483 years (69 ‘sevens’) after that decree – i.e. during the seven years from 26 – 33 A.D. – and be cut-off within that same seven year period (Daniel 9:24-27, See Grace – Blossom 32:August 10). But since they did not give much attention to history, they missed the paramount importance of the decree of 458 B.C. From this, don’t we realize how much critical it is to compare history with the Bible and interpret it accordingly? We should not be repeating the same mistakes made by the Jewish priests of those days. Instead, we should devote time and make an effort to diligently study history and comparing historical events with the Bible. Historical knowledge is also important to understand the Book of Revelation. Especially we need an intricate knowledge of the history of the nations of Europe and the Middle-East.
(6) Next to be considered is the fact that the Book of Revelation narrates its message through signs (KJV – Revelation 1:1). So it falls upon our heads to interpret the actual meaning behind those signs. To do this properly, it would be prudent to adopt certain guidelines.
- We need to identify the properties or characteristics of a sign and then figure out which of those properties fit into the context where the sign is mentioned. For instance, if the moon is used as a sign, we would need to list down its properties first. Some of them are – shines light during the darkness of the night, glorious, bright, does not have its own light, waxes and wanes during its phases. After having tabulated its characteristics like above, we should find out which one of those fits in with the context and meaning of the verse where it has been quoted as a sign.
- We should be careful about the fact that a sign may be used to represent something in one place and something else in a different place. For instance, water denotes masses of people in some places. But in some other places, it represents the gospel of the truth. Further in some places, it denotes wealth and prosperity. Therefore, we are able to determine the meaning of a sign only based on its context.
- Furthermore to help us, many signs and their meanings have been explained in other parts of the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. So we should dig deeper in the Bible for such explanations.
- Finally, we should not make any direct interpretations of the sections that are heavily symbolic. If we do that, we would surely end up confusing ourselves. By making that mistake, many Christiana denominations have come up with not only weird, but also dangerous interpretations of the prophecies. We need to be careful not to make that slip.
If we follow these guidelines, we could find the meaning of the signs with relative ease. Finally, when we study prophecies, we should never be dogmatic that only our interpretations are right. We should just put forth our explanations with a humble heart and an open mind. (See Grace – Blossom 32:August 10, Para 01). Likewise, we humbly place before you the interpretations that feel apt to us for the prophecies of this book. You should research them thoroughly by yourselves. Now let us look into the book of Revelation in detail.
(7) Chapter 1: Verses 1, 2 – From these verses, we learn many important things about the Book of Revelation. Those being:
- This book was given by God to show “His servants – the Church that follows Christ – what must soon take place”. Here we should not interpret “soon” as per our human time scale – “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8). Yes, divine time is on a much much longer scale than ours. That is why even though the prophecies of the book of revelation have been foretold to take place “soon” in here; some prophecies of this book are yet to be fulfilled, even though nearly 2000 years have passed by from the time they were given.
- Moreover, we can also learn that God revealed the prophecies of this book to Jesus Christ first. Since the book reveals divine secrets, Jesus must have been blessed with it only after His resurrection. Because only then all authority in heaven and earth were given to Him and everything was brought under Him (Matthew 28:18). When Jesus had been in the flesh on earth, there had been some things not yet known to Him (Mark 13:32). All those things must have surely been brought under him after his resurrection.
- Jesus, who thus got such a prophetic knowledge from God, wanted to share it with His Body, the Church. That is why He sends an angel to John and reveals it. How much caring is Jesus about His Church! Furthermore it is clear that John did not see Jesus in person during the giving of these Revelations. Of course, in some of the visions shown by the angel to John, there are appearances by Jesus and even the Father. But they were just visions. John did not see either of them in person. The Bible says no man can see the Father (1 Timothy 6:16). Likewise the human eye cannot see Jesus Christ either who became Father-like in nature after His resurrection (Hebrews 1:3).
- Moreover in many English translations, the Greek word ‘semaino’ (Strong’s Number: 4591) found in the first verse has not been properly rendered. It means “signify”. The King James Version has it right – “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John”. This by itself directly confirms Revelation as a book of signs.
- The second verse talks about what John “testifies to” or bares record about in this book. First “the word of God”. Accordingly, in the visions of this book there are direct statements made by God Himself (Revelation 1:8). Next “the testimony of Jesus Christ”, essentially that Jesus Christ told him in these visions. Indeed Jesus speaks in many of this book’s visions. And lastly, John also recorded “everything he saw” in the visions. Essentially he wrote about all the things he saw – like the many strange creatures.
(8) Verse 3: From this verse, we come to know how special this book is. It says “blessed” are those who “read” the prophecies in this book and blessed are those who “hear” and “take them to heart”. Here it does not refer to people who just skim through the pages. In this verse, the Greek word used for “read” is “anaginosko” (Strong’s Number: 314). And its correct translation is “to know accurately”. Thus the verse states that blessed are those who know and understand accurately and those who listen to such accurate understanding. Why are they deemed blessed? “Because the time is near” for the prophecies of the book to be fulfilled. And those who read and hear them are bound to be nourished with prophetical knowledge that enables them to interpret the times and grow in faith. As a result, their devotion to God would solidify too. It is also mentioned in this verse that those who “take them to heart” are also blessed. Yes, blessed are those who interpret the times, figure out the trials of those times and then overcome them. For instance, the believers during the times of Martin Luther, studying the prophecies of this book, found out that the Catholic Church was the Anti-Christ. Using that finding, they were able to lead a purer Christian life built upon that knowledge. This was indeed a blessing to them. Likewise using the book’s prophecies, we too need to interpret the times we live in and experience the blessing of living a better Christian life as per the nature of the times. To take it further, the Greek word used in this verse for “blessed” is “makarios” (Strong’s Number: 3107). “Happy” is its another meaning. Thereby, those who read and take the prophecies of this book to heart would attain the blessing of happiness. Because, they know God continues to direct the history of the world. They also know what is to happen in the future and because of that future certainty their hearts are peaceful and happy in any situation. As they have interpreted their times, they are also able to lead a good Christian life according to that period. That is another happiness they will attain. These blessings are wonderfully tremendous indeed!
(9) Verses 4, 5: John says he is writing to the seven churches of Asia. Asia herein is not the Asia of today. It refers to Asia Minor, a part of the then Roman Empire. It was where present day Turkey is. When these visions were given to John, Asia Minor had many churches. But John mentioning only seven of them reveals an inner meaning to them. In the Bible, the numeral seven generally represents fullness/completeness/wholeness – ‘words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.’ (Psalms 12:6). Especially in Revelation, number seven is frequently used to denote fullness. After the opening of seven seals, seal-opening is complete (See Rev. Chapters 5 – 8). Kingdom of God arrives after seven trumpets (See Rev. Chapters 8 – 11). With seven plagues, divine judgment is fulfilled (See Rev. Chapters 15, 16). Along those lines, since John talks about seven churches, it is the opinion of many Biblical scholars that they refer to the churches that were to come during seven consecutive time periods. Like the seals/trumpets/plagues, at the end of these seven periods, the Church would have achieved completion. Therefore when we study John’s messages to the seven churches, we should also use those messages to interpret the time periods of those churches. Even though John’s messages are befitting the churches of seven periods, he would have sent the messages also to the seven literal churches of the Asia Minor in his period. The 11th verse of the same chapter lists down the names of those churches. The messages would have been apt for those churches at that time too. Therefore from these writings of John, we are also able to learn about the early churches. We get to know their customs and also the issues they had. Addressing the seven churches, John says “grace and peace” be to them from God, the seven spirits and Jesus Christ. Let us study this a bit deeper –
- him who is, and who was, and who is to come – This refers to God. Some think it pertains to Jesus as it says who is to come. But John mentions Jesus separately later in the verse. So this cannot be Jesus. Moreover this description indeed suits God. It points to God being in the past, the present and the future. him who is – He is present now. him who was – He was in the past too. him who is to come – He will be in the future and He is to come too. Yes, at the end of His 1000-Year reign, Jesus will submit all authority to the Father. Then God will come and “be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).
- the seven spirits before God’s throne – We have to find out what these seven spirits are. Many believe them to be the Holy Spirit. It cannot be so. Holy Spirit is God’s power. It’s not a person. But here John says let there be “grace and peace” from these seven spirits. So that makes it clear they are persons. In that case, who are they? These seven spirits make an appearance only in the Book of Revelation. That too, only in four places. Using these limited appearances, we have to figure out who they are. The first thing we know about them is that they stand before God’s throne (Revelation 1:4, 4:5). That is, they are under His authority. Since they are compared to “seven lamps”, it is apparent that they shine the light of the Truth of God (Revelation 4:5). Remarkably, from another verse we come to know that they come under the authority of Jesus after His resurrection (Revelation 5:6). Furthermore in that verse (Revelation 5:6), Jesus is depicted as the Lamb and the seven spirits are illustrated as His “seven horns and seven eyes”. In the Bible, “horns” usually represent kings/authorities (Dan 7:24, 8:20). Thus we know that these spirits are powerful. Also, since they are depicted as the eyes of Jesus, it is clear that they would be acting to fulfill His responsibilities. In that case, they would be doing His chief responsibility of feeding His Body, the Church. What we need to understand is that Bible does not promote an omnipresent God, unlike the teachings of many heathen religions. Be it God or Christ, they get their things done only through angels. That is why there are millions of angels (Revelation 5:11). We also know there is a hierarchy among them (‘archangel’ – 1 Thessalonians 4:16). The seven spirits are seven powerful chief angels in that regard. But why they are called ‘spirits’ instead of ‘angels’? Since angels are also spiritual beings, it is fine to call them as ‘spirits’. Also, after they come under Jesus, they are called as “the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Revelation 5:6). It is remarkable that these seven spirits of God, who had been before His throne, are sent out into all the earth after the resurrection of Christ. Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to tend to the Church after He ascends to heaven (John 14:26). We know that the Holy Spirit is not a person, but rather the power of God. But God’s power is manifested through His angels. They are the ones who fulfill His will. It is because of this reason that the Bible in some places talks about the Holy Spirit as if it were a person. Along those lines, since these angels distribute the Holy Spirit to the nourishment of the Church, they are called as ‘spirits’. And they are seven in number as one per church for each of the churches of the seven periods. When we study the 2nd chapter of Revelation, we shall evaluate further evidence that supports this thought. These seven spirits may be are seven powerful angels. But that does not mean we should worship or praise them. They are just ministering spirits serving Christ, God and us, the Church. With how much care and effort do God and Christ plan and lovingly tend to the Church! It has been written about the seven spirits in Revelation to give us a glimpse of that.
- Jesus Christ – John had lived with Jesus. So he puts forth the truths about Jesus with fond love. Jesus had proved Himself to be a ‘faithful witness’ of God. Witnessing is done about something that one has seen or heard. Likewise Jesus had come down from Heaven and witnessed about the things he had seen and heard of the Heavenly Father. Furthermore, Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead”. There are some in the Bible who had been woken up after being dead like Lazarus (John 12:9). But they all died again. Their rising had not been a wholesome resurrection. Jesus was the first one to be wholesomely resurrected. Following Him, we – the Church – too would get that resurrection soon. Finally John calls Jesus “the ruler of the kings of the earth”. By his sacrifice, Jesus conquered Satan and became the Lord of the kings of the earth. Everything became subject to Him. Thanks to that, Christ’s just Kingdom is to be established all through the earth very soon.
(10) In this issue, we studied in detail about the special nature of the Book of Revelation and also arrived at the best approach to interpret it. We also found that it would be a blessing for us to read and understand the prophecies of this book, then take them to heart and walk by them. Let God Himself grant us His Holy Spirit to guide us in interpreting this book further so that the blessing we have started to receive in this Blossom continues in the next issue too. Amen!
–To be continued in the next issue–