Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Dec 9 2020 - Introduction to the Book of Revelation

Who wrote this book?

Revelation was written by someone who could be identified among the churches of Asia Minor simply by the name John. It could be argued that this fits none better than John the Apostle. However, Ben Witherington stresses that the author classifies himself as among the 'prophets' rather than the apostles. He concludes, "In short the author is John the seer... He does not identify himself as an apostle, nor does he call himself the Beloved Disciple or, for that matter, the Elder (see 2 and 3 John)... In my view John the seer is a prophet from the Johannine community operating at a time when there is apparently no apostolic presence left in the community." 

Date and Background

The book was probably written in the time of the Emperor Domitian (about 90-95 AD). Domitian regularly used a form of punishment involving deportation to an island where one enjoyed a degree of freedom. Ben Witherington comments, "It is very possible that John was suffering such a lifetime ban from the western coast of Asia Minor, hence the urgency to write to his converts. Note that he nowhere states that he hopes to come to them soon. Indeed he only speaks of Jesus coming quickly." 

Emperor-worship was becoming widespread at this time. This book was written to encourage embattled Christians to see that the last word is not with Satan or with the kingdoms of this world but with God and his Christ. The heavenly vision is to enable them to rise above the perplexity of their present experience and to trust God and remain faithful to Jesus Christ.

The strange language and style of this book

The book of Revelation is generally classed with Apocalyptic literature on account of its symbolism and its theme of the establishment of God's kingdom. However, it is unlike other apocalyptic literature in that it claims to be prophecy – to continue the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament. Ben Witherington calls it 'apocalyptic prophecy' and suggests that it reflects both Jewish prophetic and wisdom traditions arising out of the conviction that God's people were living at the dawn of or actually in the eschatological age. 

How do we interpret this book?

Through the centuries the book of Revelation has been interpreted in a variety of ways. The main views can be summed up as follows:

The 'preterist' view – understands the writer to be wholly preoccupied with the church of his day. The book was full of meaning for the people to whom it was written, but has little direct relevance for us today.

The 'historicist' view – sees the book as an inspired forecast of the whole of human history. Such an approach to interpretation, with its wide variety of predictions, many of which have been proved false by history itself, exposes the danger and folly of such an approach.

The 'futurist' school – Apart from the first few chapters, the book is entirely concerned with what will happen at the end of the age. This view tends to rob the book of significance for all generations except the last.

The 'idealist' view – argues that the book is not concerned with particular events but with ideas and principles. Leon Morris comments, "This secures its relevance for all periods of the church's history. But its refusal to see a firm historical anchorage seems to most students dubious to say the least."

None of these traditional approaches to the interpretation of the book of Revelation is adequate. For all its peculiarity, the interpretation of Revelation requires the same disciplines that must be applied to any other New Testament book. It was written out of and into a particular historical context, a context which shapes the book and its message. Yet, at the same time it forms part of the larger story of the purposes of God in history, purposes set forth in the sweep of Scripture from its first page to its last and which centre in the Lord Jesus Christ: it therefore needs to be read in the context of the entire message of Scripture. Moreover, we who read this book are also embraced in the drama of the Scripture story: in this way, this book, as with every book of Scripture, speaks also to us.

Ben Witherington writes, "The text's meaning must be understood in terms of the plausibility structure that existed between the original author and audience of this work. On the one hand, what the text meant back then is what it still means today, though of course with multivalent images it can have ever new applications and fresh significance. On the other hand, what the original author and audience could not possibly have understood the text to mean (e.g., the Beast is the European Common Market, or the anti-Christ is the Pope, etc.) cannot be the meaning of the text today either, if one believes meaning is not in the eye of the beholder but rather resides in the text, encoded by the original author."

There are over 500 allusions to the Old Testament in the 404 verses in this book. Eugene Peterson therefore writes, "No one has any business reading the last book who has not read the previous sixty-five... Much mischief has been done by reading Revelation in isolation from its canonical context."

The Last Word

We will let Ben Witherington have the last word: "The book of Revelation has much to tell us about 'what was, and is, and is to come.' It is our job to have ears capable of hearing what John says on all of these matters. If we do so, we will learn that God's yes to life is louder than evil's and death's no to it, that justice and redemption will one day prevail on earth, and that this is Good News coming in the form of a 'revelation from Jesus Christ,' which is to say coming from one who has both experienced death and triumphed over it. It is Christ who knows what is above and beyond our present mundane historical concerns and situation. He alone is worthy and is able to reveal such profound truths. Bearing these things in mind, we must now take up the challenge of working through the text of Revelation itself, praying that the scales will fall from our eyes as the seals are opened and that we will understand something more about the vision glorious."

Peter Misselbrook