Robert Lowery

No doubt the book had meaning for the original recipients. After part four our concern as we conclude this series is this: What is the significance of the book for us in the twenty-first century?

V. CONSIDER THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BOOK

Only by paying attention to the setting, style, symbolism and structure of the book are we then ready to ask: What is the significance of the book? How does it speak to us today? I have chosen to spend less time on this today because if we get the above right then the significance will certainly become clearer. There can be no shortcuts taken in the previous four categories without risking missing God’s intended meaning of this great book. If we are not willing to follow the first four categories, then we must not preach Revelation.

The Book of Revelation was not written to satisfy our curiosity about the future. We must not use it to work out in detail a schedule leading up to the end of the world. It was not given to us to scare the hell out of people. All who have done this, contemporary authors included, have been wrong, without exception.

By placing this book in the contexts of Christ’s first and final comings, John impressed upon his audience an awareness of the Christian life and mission. It was a context in which Christians were called upon to choose between holy living and unholy living. Revelation asks the Church today: Are you going to be seduced by the whore or are you going to be a faithful and pure bride. No compromise is allowed. There were no shades of gray in the book. Throughout, John sets up stark contrasts between good and evil and invites believers to make a choice. Christians are exhorted to choose between two clearly opposed sides.

Accordingly, there are three areas where we need to strive to keep the balance.

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Having discussed the use of symbolism in part three, we come now to the what many consider to be most difficult feature of the book to understand, the way the book is organized. Symbolism is relatively easy when compared to analyzing the book’s structure, at least to some.

IV. CONSIDER THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK

Revelation is a notoriously difficult book to analyze structurally. There really is no parallel to it in the Bible. (It is acknowledged, by the way, that two other writings by John, the Gospel and the First Letter are difficult to outline).

There are three areas where we need to strive to keep the balance.

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In the second part we focused on the style of genres of the book. The form shaped the substance in a significant way. Closely related to the genre is the use of symbolism in the book.

III. CONSIDER THE SYMBOLISM OF THE BOOK

I know of no interpreter, denials notwithstanding, who interprets everything in Revelation literally, plain and unadorned. No one believes that Jesus is literally a door or a Lamb or that the Devil is literally a Dragon. There are those who say that anyone who does not interpret Revelation literally is denying its inspired message. This is a bogus perspective. Such accusers themselves do not practice such an approach to language. Once again, we must interpret a book of the Bible naturally in light of its genre. It was the nature of such apocalyptic works in the ancient world to use symbolism.

Rev. 1:1 as translated in the KJV highlights the use of symbolism: “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” He sent and signified it . . . Unpack one verb, signify. God signified it, that is, God made the message known in signs. As John revealed Christ through the signs in the Gospel, so Christ is revealed through signs in the Revelation!

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In part one we considered the historical setting of the book. The book must have meant something to the original recipients, and we must seek to know what it meant before we can know what it means. Part 2 focuses on the fact that the book must have been written in a style that would have been understood by those recipients.

II. CONSIDER THE STYLE OF THE BOOK

I am talking about genre. What kind of book is this? We have gospels, history, and letters, but what about this book? Where would Barnes and Noble shelve this book? It would have to create a new category. A genre mistake is made by many preachers. They read Revelation like a “Book of Acts” with a twist, a kind of “Book of Future Acts.” Revelation tells us in great detail what is going to happen, so we are told. And we can draw up our charts and we distribute our videos. But remember this: Every single person or school of thought or church group who has done this have been consistent…consistently wrong, from the Millerites in the 1840s to the LaHaye-ites in the twenty-first century.

A genre mistake is made because we ask the wrong questions and therefore we don’t get the right answers because we impose our agenda on this book. We don’t allow God to set the agenda with the literary form that he has chosen to reveal himself. The bottom line is this: A book must be interpreted naturally in light of its genre.

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“Critics are madder than poets…And even though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creatures so wild as one of his own commentators.”
G.K. Chesterton

How in the world does one preach the Revelation responsibly?

When we read this book we may, at various points, think we have picked up a demented copy of the National Geographic Magazine filled with grotesque creatures—a slaughtered Lamb standing, a dragon with its tail sweeping stars out of the sky, or a beast with seven heads and ten horns. Or we may think that we have been surfing with our remote controls and we have come upon the weather channel revealing a world gone amuck with lightning and thunderstorms and hundred pound hailstones and raging seas and fierce tsunami-like conditions. Or perhaps we may think we have picked up a jigsaw puzzle with 5000 pieces and we have no picture of what it is we are trying to piece together or a puzzle book with crossword puzzles and page after page of scrambled letters where we are supposed to circle hidden words or phrases. Or perhaps we may think that we have picked up a college level higher mathematics book with incomprehensible numbers and equations, with threes, fours, twelves and multiples of twelve, and tens and multiples of tens and times, time and half a time. Or perhaps upon reading through the book in one sitting we conclude that it reads like a poorly directed film whose director and editor did not know when and how to end the movie. Or perhaps we think someone has typed in the words “The End” on some apocalyptic search engine and we have come up with web sites never dreamed of.

Indeed, when we open this last book of the Bible we experience a collision of sounds, smells, and sights. The book assaults our senses. We see a funeral procession, a wedding celebration, a brothel, a homecoming, a banquet, a dance; we smell incense and we see falling stars; we taste bitter waters; we see storms on the horizon and a childbirth; and we feel the winds of judgment; and we hear beautiful praise choruses or dire warnings too horrible to contemplate.

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I just returned from a delightful trip to Mechanicsville, Virginia. Ronnie Jones, a dear friend and preacher and teacher of Scripture, asked me to teach an overview of the Book of Revelation over four nights. It was my third visit to Gethsemane Church of Christ, and like the other two occasions, I was blessed to have the opportunity to share Scripture.

On the day I returned, Ronnie and I went out for breakfast and we discussed strategies for teaching Revelation. He will be retiring as the preaching minister of Gethsemane next spring, but he hopes to continue preaching and teaching in area churches. He will do well, I know.

As we talked, I told Ronnie that in doing itinerant preaching and teaching over the years, I have learned some lessons.

First, focus on the macro not the micro. Help people see the forest rather than individual trees. Far too many preachers want to discuss the identity of the twenty-four elders or the meaning of 666 and people become confused. When you do focus on micro topics of passages, always place them in the context of the bigger picture.

Second, move from the simple to the complex. Don’t start out offering an interpretation of the two witnesses in Revelation 11, for example. Instead focus on clearer passages that speak about the responsibility of the church to be witnessing and then bring in Revelation 11.

Third, use the familiar to explain the unfamiliar. For example, before discussing the symbols in Revelation, show how symbols permeate church culture (the cross, the bread and the juice, the pulpit, etc.).

Fourth, always stress context. Context, the weaving together of passages within a book and how those passages and the book itself fits in with the overall STORY of the Bible. More misunderstanding takes places because of missed context than for any other reason, I believe.

Fifth, start off with what the book meant before you discuss what it means. The book must have meant something to the original recipients. That is the starting point for all responsible application.

Sixth, related to the point above, move repeatedly back and forth between the “then” and the “now,” between background (the first century setting) and the foreground (the twenty-first century setting). Don’t make a lesson merely a “history” lesson but show the timeliness and the timelessness of the book.

Seventh, model the principle of letting Scripture interpret Scripture. The answers to our questions are, more often than not, embedded in the text itself.

Eighth, engage and encourage your audience. Engage by welcoming comments before, during and after the teaching sessions. Encourage questions to be asked. I always find something “good” in a question not matter how simple or how it may seem to be off the subject.

Ninth, review, review, and then review some more. Repetition helps ideas lodge in our hearts and minds.

Tenth, teach with bold humility. You do not want to appear wishy-washy, and yet you don’t want to appear to have all the answers. Be willing to acknowledge when you don’t know the answer or haven’t decided what position to take or bounce between one, two, or even three possible interpretations.

Thanks, Ronnie, for the breakfast and the conversation.

No, I have not been re-converted to dispensational premillennialism! But the more I teach in a variety of settings, the move convinced I am that many people in America and elsewhere are dispensational by default. They do not know of any other position to take. They assume it is the orthodox position for one reason or a combination of reasons: (a) Their preacher or professor taught the scheme; (b) Their study Bible was so oriented; (c) Their readings—novels, systematic theologies, commentaries—reflected such an approach; (d) Or their favorite television or radio expositors taught the approach. Of course, there may be other reasons.

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My colleague, friend, and manager of rlowery.com recently suggested that I offer some reflections on my experiences in teaching Revelation in churches. I thought the idea was a good one, and I invite you to consider the following reflections (arranged in no particular order):

1. I am blessed to have numerous opportunities to teach people Scripture—be it the Book of Revelation, another New Testament writing, or a particular topic. I always try not only to provide interpretation and answers to their questions about particular passages but I also offer strategies for how Christians can study the Bible on their own. This leads me to . . .
2. I am constantly being reminded that most congregations I visit do not provide regular opportunities for equipping people how to read and how to study Scripture. Indeed, I find that there is a hunger out there for wanting to know how and that people’s appetites are not be satisfied. This concerns me greatly.
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Let me admit it up front: This post is going to be rather caustic. Perhaps I will regret it in the days ahead, but right now I want to reflect on the birthday of one of the most damaging study Bibles produced in America, The Scofield Reference Bible (KJV), first published in 1909. I am embarrassed to admit this, but Scofield’s study Bible was the one given to me as a child, and its teachings deeply influenced me for many years, to the point that I avoided studying Revelation.

There are many good study Bibles out there (NIV Quest Study Bible, The NIV Study Bible, and my current favorite, The English Standard Version Study Bible). Such Bibles can be incredibly helpful so long as readers know that the notes at the bottom of the pages are not inspired! What I have discovered is that many equate Scofield’s notes with Scripture! So sad!

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For the first time, I am teaching a seminar on Revelation 2-3, a section of Revelation I have often taught in churches but never in seminary. Nine fine students are enrolled and this morning (January 20, 2009) I sent them a memo providing some tips as they begin their journey of study. As I re-read them, I thought it would be appropriate for me to share them with you. In 2009 heed the following:

1. Beware of getting on a hobby horse and focusing on only one aspect (or a handful of issues) of the passage you are studying (e.g., spending most of your time on identifying the Nicolaitans or the hidden manna). Once you are finished with your presentation (or once we are finished reading your paper), we should have a better understanding of the passage or topic as a whole. Some may be tempted to miss the forest for the trees.

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