Eighteen plus years of preaching on Sunday morning and few enough sermons out of the book of Revelation that you could count them on one hand. Most of those out of chapters two and three--the letters to the churches. Someone recently asked why I don't preach out of Revelation more often. My answer: it's better comprehensively studied than surreptitiously preached.
Having said that, why not study it together, here?
APPROACH
I believe that one of the key ingredients to a good study of the book of Revelation is your approach. If we're honest, we often approach the book with preconceived ideas or even predetermined theologies we want to prop up. Let me encourage you to lay them down. For now. Let's make a deal--we'll cross those bridges when they actually appear in the text we study. Okay? So Premillennial, Amillennial, Postmillennial, Pre/Mid/Post, Tribulation, 3 1/2, 7, 1000, 144,000, rapture, judgment, armageddon, antiChrist(s), Dan Brown, DaVinci Code, LaHaye & Jenkins, Left Behind... let's leave it all behind... for now. Let's read and study this book.
In beginning our approach, consider three things: the book's PURPOSE, THEME and initial AUDIENCE. You are wise to consider these things when approaching a study of any book in the Bible. Consider Matthew's gospel, for a moment. Realizing that Matthew sought to introduce Jesus to a primarily Jewish audience, convincing them that he was their Messiah, makes that read and study so much more meaningful. You get the point of his use of genealogy. You understand all the Old Testament references and quotations. You recognize the use of Rabbinical terms and language familiar in a Jewish context. Of course, here you are, a Gentile thousands of years removed. Yes the book speaks to you--but it speaks to you more clearly because you've understood it in it's original context--purpose, theme and audience.
Why rush into Revelation paying little or no attention to purpose, theme and audience?
The PURPOSE of the book of Revelation is to comfort the militant church. All scholars agree that this book was written during a time of intense persecution of Christ followers. The opening chapters of Revelation paint that picture, John himself in exile on the island of Patmos. This would have been a time when Christians had to be asking, 'Are our prayers falling on deaf ears?' It seemed the enemy was winning and there were mounting pressures to give in. Revelation assured the believers that God was aware of their suffering, heard their pleas, and that He was calling them to stand firm. It goes further, as we will see shortly, in assuring them that He is with them--walking in the midst of the lampstands.
The THEME is simply this: Jesus wins! Though at many times in the book it appears the bad guys have an upper hand--no doubt that's the way it looks often times to Christ followers--in the end we see Jesus and His church victorious. Think about the comfort (back to PURPOSE for a moment) that brings to the militant church. Though you're suffering today, in the end, YOU WIN! There is a certain duration that the suffering will last, but it's not final. In the end, Jesus is revealed as the Victor. See how well PUPOSE and THEME work together?
And finally, consider the initial AUDIENCE. Many view the book of Revelation as if it's some form of history written in advance, giving details that will unfold in the future to reveal a sequence of events ending in the return of Christ. You know the misadventures this has fueled over generations. Hitler, Mussolini, Ayatollahs, Sadaam Hussein, George W. Bush--they've all been identified as 'fulfillments'. We've approached Revelation with a "Whoop! There it is!" mentality. But human history teaches us--or at least it should--that every generation has had their candidates. How about this piece of human evidence: human beings totally botched recognizing Jesus at His first coming! Are we really willing to be so confident in our ability to predict His second? This is where AUDIENCE comes in. God dictated this Revelation to John for the church militant of his day. Those seven churches of Asia Minor mentioned in chapters two and three--you know, the ones to which John was directed, "To the angel of the church at... write..."
Now this is not to say that Revelation doesn't speak to generations beyond John's. Of course it does--just like Matthew, the example I used earlier. The book will speak to us best when we take into account PURPOSE, THEME and AUDIENCE before we delve any further.
Are you ready to wade in? Not so fast. We've still a little more foundation to lay next time.
