Now or Never?
One of the visitors to the website recently offered an observation and posed a question. He correctly noted that one of the supposed strengths of certain approaches taken towards interpreting Revelation is that it makes John’s writing relevant NOW. People are drawn in, seeing some special prophetic message that helps them understand the days in which we live. With the book of Revelation being laid alongside today’s newspaper headlines, people’s hearts are stirred, thinking that they are seeing biblical prophecy being fulfilled before their very eyes. They eagerly await God to bring the curtain down. Linked with this observation, he raises a valid question: Could some be guilty of going to the other extreme, myself included, thereby making the book abstract with no apparent relevancy for today’s readers? Does the book NEVER speak to situations in our day?
The general answer is that we must avoid extremism in reading and applying Revelation. Numerous scholars have noted that there are four or five basic approaches taken in interpreting John’s work. These are often labeled “schools of thought.†Let me list them:
- The preterist view suggests that the book was written just for the first century A.D. and has little or no relevance for us today.
- The futurist view argues that the book is about the end of the age, popularly designated “the last days†or “end times.â€
- The historicist view sees Revelation covering the whole of world history between the first and final comings of Christ.
- The idealist or spiritual view presents the idea that the book is not referring to specific individuals or events on the stage of history; instead it offers underlying principles expressed in all sorts of ways since the first coming of Christ.
I believe that each viewpoint has something to contribute to our understanding of Revelation. Clearly the book was written for John and his fellow disciples living at the end of the first century. Its exhortations and words of encouragement were powerful reminders about the need to be faithful to God. As I argue in my book they would have understood images in the book as applying to the various pressures they faced while living in the Roman culture. And yet to say it only was relevant for the original recipients seems to me to place unnecessary restrictions on the value of the book. It would be unlike any other book in Scripture.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that the book is only for those who are living right before Christ returns to earth. Many assume that beyond chapters two and three, there was very little relevancy for the early followers of Jesus. I believe this position goes too far the other way in contrast with the preterist view. Certainly there were things about events leading p to Christ’s final return but to limit it to a specific time right before Christ’s return is incorrect. Again, it would be unlike any other work found in the Bible.
For those who say that the book covers the whole of world history, there is surely some truth. In light of the approach I take, I believe that the book does speak about the history between the first and final comings of Christ. Often, however, the historicist view looks at Revelation through “Western†eyes and sees Revelation speaking about events taking place in Europe and/or America. The rest of the world is virtually ignored. This book is ultimately a global one.
Finally, for those who believe that its teaching is timeless by presenting key principles found throughout the centuries can go to an extreme of failing to see any specific relevancy for Christians throughout the world.
I believe there is a better way than opting for only one of the four approaches. Indeed, I believe that a hybrid approach is most appropriate. The book must be interpreted in light of its original audience; it does speak about the future (although not in the details that many suggest); it does speak to the history of our world, but it is not limited to Western civilization; and it does present in symbols timeless truths and principles.
In other words, its message is, in a sense, timeless. Babylon, for John’s readers, referred to Rome. But Babylon can be an appropriate word to describe many other oppressive governments through the centuries. I think it could be well argued that Soviet Communism in the twentieth century represented the two beasts of Revelation 13, beasts that describe anti-Christian regimes and religions. I offer this sober reflection: Perhaps the West’s economic imperialism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are a manifestation of the beasts as well. In accordance with John’s call to use wisdom in discerning the nature and power of evil (see Rev. 13:18), disciples through out the world today need to discern how evil appears in their respective cultures.
Let me close with an illustration. There have been many film and television versions of Charles Dickens’s short story, “A Christmas Carol.” Consider the following titles:
- A Sesame Street Christmas Carol
- Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol
- A Diva’s Christmas Carol
- A Muppet Christmas Carol
- A Christmas Carol (starring Tori Spelling!?)
- A Blackadder’s Christmas Carol (starring Rowan Atkinson!!??)
…and so forth. We have performances all the way from Alastair Sim’s remarkable portrayal of Ebenezar Scrooge to Bill Murray’s deadpan performance of the same character in the movie “Scrooged.” The cast of characters stays the same but the actors who play the characters change from generation to generation. The same is true with Revelation: The woman is a symbol for the church but the cast that makes up the church changes constantly; the beasts continue to surface from the sea or arise from the earth—and they are evil—but their names may change from generation to generation. An important task of churches is to help people interpret the times by discussing how the forces of evil can be very cunning..Such an approach heightens our anticipation. Christ is coming and we must live as if he were coming tomorrow and that anticipation is not dependent upon identifying with precision the opponents of God and his people.
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