A Few Thoughts On Revelation

I recently preached a sermon on the Bible book of Revelation and have received a few questions regarding my thoughts. My view on the letter of Revelation is rarely talked about and quite frankly is not very popular, however I feel that it is the most accurate--simply because it fits the same formula used to interpret the rest of the New Testament letters. It's a matter of context.

Revelation was a letter written by the apostle John in the late first century. It was written to a specific group of churches in Asia Minor who were facing specific struggles and persecution. For 21st century Americans to take the writings of this letter and directly apply them to our time and culture is not fair and is in fact, intellectual dishonesty because we don't do that with the rest of the Bible. (It also shows how self absorbed we can be as Americans.)

When we, as 21st century dwellers, read the Revelation letter we are reading someone else's mail. So what lies within the letter, though it is truth, does not always apply directly to our time and place. For example, when we read Revelation why do we think Russian tanks, Iranian nuclear bombs and George W. Bush? Is that what the Christians in Ephesus were thinking when they read the letter? No! Yet they found the letter to be extremely helpful and encouraging.

Why do so many Christians today skip over Revelation or disregard it all together? I mean, it's the only book in the Bible that guarantees that the reader will be blessed if they read it. Most Christians I know steer way clear of Revelation...it just freaks them out. The closest they may ever get to Revelation (at least in their mind) is to read a "Left Behind" book. So let me make a suggestion: What if most of the letter of Revelation has already taken place or is taking place right now? What if only a small chunk of the letter is yet to unfold? What if we have been living in "the last days" for two thousand plus years? What if right now we are in the midst of "the Great Tribulation"? It is not so impossible to believe.

I want to you try out the following exercise. Read the following excerpt of Scripture...I'm not even going to tell you where it's from, at least not yet.

"Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals. He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; his lightning flashed, and they were greatly confused. Then at your command, O Lord at the blast of your breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare."


Now, does the writing in this section of Scripture sound similar to the letter of Revelation? You could easily drop these verses right into Revelation and not miss a beat. So where is this section of Scripture from and what is going on?

This text is taken from Psalm 18:7-15. It was written by David describing how God rescued him from Saul, when Saul was trying to hunt him down and kill him. Now, when you read the actual account as recorded in 1 Samuel, it doesn't sound like that at all--at least from our vantage point. Yet this is how David chooses to describe it.

So what is the point? In Revelation, when we read of the moon turning to blood, and the stars falling from the sky, the water turning bitter, and crazy demon scorpions coming out of the ground, we need to understand that it is very probable that these events already happened and some may in fact still be happening today. Revelation was written with apocalyptic wordage and though it may not be common place to us, it was for the Christians living in Asia Minor in the first century.

So what should you do? Well, to get the most out of Revelation put aside the notion of trying to figure out who the Beast is and what micro chip may in fact be the number 666. Look to the over arching theme that runs throughout the letter: No matter what circumstances, struggles or persecutions you may be facing Jesus is still the King of kings and the Lord of lords and in the end he makes everything right!