549 Read the Bible for Yourself 16: How to Read Revelation

This is part 16 of the Read the Bible For Yourself.

Revelation is a complicated book of the Bible. It contains some of the most incredible and awe-inspiring descriptions of God's throne room and the final paradise on earth. It also describes sinister mayhem, wanton destruction, and toe-curling persecution. How can we make sense of it? In today's episode we'll go over the basics of authorship, audience, occasion, and purpose. Then we'll explore how Revelation uses visionary symbols to convey truth. Lastly, we'll go over five interpretive lenses through which you can understand the timing of the events in Revelation. We may not settle every issue, but my hope is that this overview will at least prepare you to read Revelation for yourself.

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—— Notes ——

How to Read Revelation

Authorship

• John is the author. (Rev 1:1-2)
• It is hard to say if this was the same John who wrote the Gospel of John and the Epistles.
• Later Christians generally believed Revelation was by the same John.
• The style, vocabulary, and themes are completely different.
• John was exiled to the island of Patmos because of his faith. (Rev 1:9)
• “The Roman government, beginning with the emperor Nero, no longer considered Christianity as a sect of Judaism, which was a legal religion in the empire. Instead, Rome began to view it as an undesirable foreign cult that was a menace to society. John’s testimony about Jesus Christ was viewed as a political crime and hence punishable under Roman law. His suffering was the price paid for obeying a different King and testifying to a different Lord.”[1]

Audience

• Rev 1:10 says John wrote to seven churches in the province of Asia Minor (western Turkey).
• These churches were in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

Occasion

• Ephesus: enduring well, not growing weary, having discerned false apostles well, not loving
• Smy