The Apocalypse was written for a different audience and a different reason from any other book of Scripture. As the first verse reveals, it was for servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and it was to show them “things which must shortly come to pass”. It contains warnings, exhortation, encouragement and visions of future glory for those who “overcome”. It informs his servants of future events that will affect their walk in Christ.
The task of writing such a book would be difficult enough if it was for a specific group of servants, but this letter from the heavenly bridegroom was for a multitudinous bride living over a period of 2,000 years in many different circumstances. Human ingenuity could never rise to such a task in a letter containing just twenty-two short chapters, but God’s ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than human thoughts, and this is evident when considering the Apocalypse.
The use of symbols is common throughout Scripture, but it is particularly dominant in Revelation. Using just a few words it is possible to describe an event that would need a few sentences if described using non-symbolic language. For example, the symbol is used in the third trumpet judgement of a star falling from heaven. It is describing the time when Attila the Hun attacked the Roman Empire. He had been a brilliant leader (a star), but when he attacked the Western Roman Empire his military career was coming to an end. The Cambridge Mediaeval History makes the following comment: “The empire of Attila was of too ephemeral a nature to be crucially dangerous; his attack on the west was like the passing of a transitory meteor”.1
To continue reading this Bible article, click here.
Author: Tony Benson
Keywords: Interpreting Revelation, Revelation, Book of Revelation, The Apocalypse, John's Apocalypse
Bible reference(s): Rev 1:1, Rev 2:1, Rev 3:1, Rev 4, Rev 5, Rev 6, Rev 7, Rev 8, Rev 9, Rev 10, Rev 11, Rev 12, Rev 13, Rev 14, Rev 15, Rev 16, Rev 17, Rev 18, Rev 19
Source: “The Structure of Revelation,” The Testimony, Vol. 74, No. 881, May 2004, pp. 152-4.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.