How do you recognize a masterpiece? Sometimes it’s not even easy for artists themselves to tell.
There is an old legend of the famous abstract painter Picasso showing off his latest painting to the sculptor Rodin (The Thinker.) Rodin looked hard at the unsigned painting, then turned it one way, then turned it another, finally turning it upside down, then back right-side up again. He offered this advice to Picasso Whatever else you do…sign it…[so at least] we will know which way to hang it!
Have you ever looked at some work of art recognized as a “masterpiece” and scratched your head and said, “I don’t get it.” Not just modern works, but some of the older paintings and sculptures. I look at them and I think, “Well, those are nice bright colors. That’s a good portrait of somebody. I can’t make hide or hair of who or what that is!”
But there are people others whose eyes are trained to recognize great art, who see beyond the nice bright colors or abstract images and see the beauty and skill and something special that makes it a masterpiece.
Reading the book of Revelation can be a lot like looking at one of these masterpieces. It is a masterpiece of Scripture, full of vivid, colorful images and ideas that stretch our imagination and call us to rethink our view of the world, our view of ourselves, and our view of God. But it takes skill and effort to see beyond the images to what God is saying to us in this NT masterpiece. In a sense, you have to know “which way to hang the picture” if you want to make sense of what you read.
For the next several weeks, I want us to make an effort to unveil this masterpiece, to study and think first about what God was saying to the people who first read this mysterious book, and then to discover what God is saying to you and I today through this masterpiece known as the Revelation. We’ll begin by looking at some background information to help us understand who wrote the book and why, and then work on developing principles for interpreting the book for us . Let’s begin by reading Rev. 1:1-3.
First of all, look the title the author gives the book in vs. 1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ…Notice the word is singular: revelation not revelations= ἀποκάλυψις= an unveiling, a revealing. A revealing of Who? …of Jesus Christ. Now comes the first mystery: is this verse saying the book is a Revelation of Christ, or a Revelation from Jesus Christ? The answer: probably both. Vs. 1 seems to say that the message is given through Christ to His angel to the human author. The point is that the focus of this book is revealing Jesus Christ.
But there is also a secondary purpose mentioned in vs. 1: …to show His servants---things which must shortly [quickly, swiftly] take place. This book is prophetic, meant to give God’s servants a heads-up on what was about to happen soon.
Which brings up another question: when was the Revelation written? Since the book itself doesn’t give us that information, you have to pick up clues both from the book itself and church history.
From the book itself, vs. 1 tells us it was written by …His servant John… which is almost certainly the apostle John. This would limit the time period to John’s lifetime. In addition, the book of the Revelation portrays an era when the church is under intense persecution from the Roman Empire. Church history records only two Emperors under which Christians were aggressively persecuted:
1) 54-68 AD, during the reign of Nero.
2) 81-96 AD, during the reign of Domitian.
Both of these dates have evidence to support them, but most modern scholars favor the later date. If this guess is correct, John is at least in his 90s when he writes the Revelation. Who says God can’t use senior saints? John is proof that you’re never too old to serve the Lord.
So far we’ve looked at the purpose of the Revelation, the author of the Revelation, and the date of the Revelation. Now let’s move on to the most challenging part of studying this masterpiece: how do you interpret the Revelation? John gives us our first clue in the last part of vs. 1 when he writes And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. The Greek word for this term signified= to communicate by signs or symbols. Everything may not be what it seems.
How do you know when John is speaking symbolically or literally? How do you understand what he means by the symbols and images he uses? How can you be sure you are holding the masterpiece right side up?
Those are not easy questions to answer, because good Bible believing Christians interpret the book in different ways. I want to mention 4 of the main approaches to interpret Revelation, all of which have their pros and cons.
1) The Historical Interpretation. This approach believes that the Revelation is a record of all
of church history, from the 1st century all the way to the return of Christ. Within the pages of the Revelation historicists see the rise of the Pope as the Antichrist, as well as other historical events in relation to wherever the church happens to be at the time. This view is not widely held today(except for many in the Seventh Day Adventist churches) because there is so much disagreement about which events line up with which symbols in the Revelation.
2) The Preterist Interpretation. This approach to reading Revelation believes that all of the
events recorded in Revelation occurred shortly after John wrote it, i. e., in the 1st-2nd centuries AD. This view assumes the earlier date for writing the Revelation (54-68AD) and sees the fulfillment of the judgment passages in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This way of reading Revelation lines up well with the words of vs. 1, which declare that the things John writes are …things that must shortly take place…Many modern preterists say the 1t half of the Revelation describes the fall of Jerusalem, the 2nd half describes the fall of the Roman Empire, with the final chapters describing the return of Christ. The main problem with this approach is that it relies on the earlier date of writing, which is not very likely.
3) The Futurist Interpretation. This is the most popular approach in our time for interpreting
the Revelation. In fact, it is so popular, many Christians aren’t even aware of any other interpretation! According to this view the book is divided up by
Revelation 1:19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
Futurists divide the book into the things John has seen (Rev. 1) the things which are (Rev. 2-3 which address the 7 churches) and the things which will be (Rev. 4-19). The majority of material (Rev. 6-19) is said to describe the 7 year period of the Tribulation, after which Rev. 20 describes a 1000 year reign of Christ (The Millennium) followed by the re-creation of Heaven and Earth (Rev. 21-22).
There are a few problems with the futurist interpretation: first, if the majority of the events and symbols described are future to the 21st century, how could John write in the 1st century these …things must shortly take place…? Another difficulty is that not all futurists agree on the details of what will happen. Some see the Rapture of the church in Rev. 4:1 at the beginning of the Tribulation; others see the Rapture halfway through the tribulation in Rev. 7:9-17. Which brings up another challenge: there is no way to verify this interpretation. You cannot know for certain until after it happens, and since nobody got the details of Christ’s first coming correct, it’s hard for me to believe they will get the details of His 2nd coming correct!
4) The Spiritual Interpretation. Commentator Steve Gregg explains
According to this view, the great themes of the triumph of good over evil, of Christ over Satan, of the vindication of the martyrs and the sovereignty of God are played out throughout Revelation without necessary reference to single historical events. The battles in Revelation may be seen as referring to spiritual warfare…or to natural warfare in general throughout history. Each [symbol] depicts some reality (e.g., famine, war, natural disaster) which happens in history on a recurring basis as part of the sovereign outworking of God’s purpose in history.
The great advantage of this view is that it applies the truth of the Revelation to Christians of all ages, from the 1st-21st century. It reads the book as symbolic, and looks for timeless truths that God reveals within the visions and predictions. It’s biggest weakness goes back to vs. 1, where John specifically declares the Revelation is written …to show His servants---things which must shortly take place…Though this book does contain timeless truths, at least to some degree the events and symbols speak of the future.
Now, which interpretation gets your vote? Don’t be too hasty to make up your mind just yet. I’ve just barely skimmed over the pros and cons of each view. As you read the Revelation with an open mind, you may see more evidence to support one or the other. I will confess to you that my own view lies somewhere between the futurist and the spiritual. I am convinced many of the symbols and events described in the Revelation do speak of the future. But I am equally convinced that the purpose of the Revelation is not to satisfy our curiosity about what’s going to happen. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the end times He gave them this answer in
Acts 1:6-86Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
In other words It’s none of your business how the world will end—that’s God business. You focus on the work I give you to do.
But no matter which interpretation you vote for, there are some themes which everybody agrees are essential to the message of the Book of the Revelation:
1) God’s sovereignty.
Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!
Throughout the Revelation there is never a doubt that God is in control of every event in history all the way down to the very end. No matter what disaster or satanic attack, God is on the throne, working out His will in spite of the evil working in the world.
As you read this book, let the Lord remind you that He is in control of your life, too. If He is Lord of your life, nothing happens to you by accident, but by His design. When your world feels out of control, without meaning or purpose, let the Revelation remind you God is always in control!
2) Christ’s return.
Revelation 22:7 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Throughout the landscape of the Revelation, the high point of the book is the promised return of Christ. No matter how you interpret this masterpiece, the return of Christ is front and central.
The high point of history will be the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. If you have nothing else to look forward to, this is worth anticipating! Reading the Revelation ought to make us echo the heart of John who writes in
Revelation 22:20 …Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
3) God’s faithful people.
Revelation 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Throughout the Revelation there are encouragements for God’s people to stay faithful, that
no matter what the future holds, if they will stay faithful to Christ, He will reward them.
The book of Revelation ought to motivate us to be faithful to the Lord, to help us set our sights on pleasing Him, and anticipating the reward we will receive for our faithfulness to the Lord.
4) Judgment.
Revelation 19:1-2 1After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”
Throughout the Revelation God’s justice on His enemies and the enemies of His people. For all of those who lived during the persecution John describes, they are reminded that God sees their suffering, and that He will take vengeance on their enemies.
How do you deal with being mistreated by other people? You commit yourself to the God of justice. Or as Paul says
Romans 12:19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
As you and I read the Revelation, it should remind us to leave all accounts for God to settle, because the Judge of all the Earth shall most certainly do right and repay those who do evil.
5) Hope
Revelation 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
No matter how you read the Revelation, this book holds out the ultimate hope of comfort for our grief, life beyond death, a new world where everything will be made right.
Just as this book brought hope to the persecuted church of the 1st century, so also this book can give you and I hope that when it’s all over, God will take us in His arms and everything will be all right.
Is it any wonder John writes in vs. 3 (read)? Reading the Revelation is meant to bless you! Yes, it takes some thinking and some study, but it will pay off because God promises His blessing on those who read and study the message of this masterpiece. Why? Because in reading the Revelation, Jesus is revealed in all of His glory!
Some time ago I was reading about the 18th century German sculptor Johann Heinrich von Dannecker. His skills were so impressive it was said he could bring stone to life. At the height of his powers he decided to shape a statue of Christ that would stand out as a witness to his world. For two years he chiseled and scraped and polished the marble, till he was certain that it carried the likeness of his Lord. But he wanted to test his work on eyes that wouldn’t lie. So he went out to the street, and brought in a young girl. He took her into his studio, and he set her down in front of the shrouded stone. Uncovering it, he asked her, Do you know who this is? No, sir! she replied. But he must be a very great man. Dannecker knew that he’d failed. The statue was good enough for kings and nobles, but it wasn’t good enough to speak the word about Christ.
He was discouraged. He was disheartened. He was depressed. But he had to try again. So he set his hand to the task. Six years it took him this time! Every day, painstakingly, shaping and carving. This time was different. It was as if, he later said, Christ had joined him daily in his little room. He felt the nearness of his Lord. He sensed the glory of his Presence.
Finally it was done. And again, he brought in a child as his first critic. He took off the shroud, and asked her gently, Who is that? Legend has it that tears came to her eyes as she whispered that’s Jesus! Dannecker had created his masterpiece.
For the next few weeks, you and I will read and study the masterpiece of the Book of the Revelation. But I plead with you—don’t get so caught up in the symbols and prophecies that you fail to see Jesus! This is why this book was written. This is how you will be blessed from reading it—when you see Jesus revealed in all of His glory.
