Part Two
13 Reasons to Interpret Revelation Literally
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
The book of Revelation presents a sweeping narrative that unveils the culmination of God’s divine plan for creation, depicting a cosmic struggle between good and evil during the end times. The book is deeply rooted in Old Testament imagery, drawing from prophetic traditions and weaving together a tapestry of symbols and visions that convey profound literal and spiritual truths.
The word “Revelation” translates from the Greek word apokalypsis, which means “disclosure” or “unveiling.” Revelation unveils our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It reveals the unseen spiritual war in which the Church is engaged: the cosmic conflict between God and his Christ on the one hand, and Satan and his evil allies, both demonic and human unbelievers, on the other. Jesus the Lamb has already won the decisive victory through his sacrificial death in this conflict. The true authentic Church (all believers) has been taken out or snatched out of the world into heaven.
The battle now is with unbelievers (earth dwellers) and an apostate Israel. They will be assaulted by Satan (dragon), in its death-throes of the unholy trinity, through persecution (the beast), deceptive heresy (the false prophet), and the allure of material affluence and cultural approval (the prostitute). By revealing the spiritual realities, it affirms the certainty of Christ’s triumph in the new heaven and earth, fortifying Tribulation Saints to endure suffering. To look forward to and be comforted by Christ’s imminent return to snatch away His Church from the impending doom of God’s wrath. The reader of Revelation is encouraged to stay pure from the defiling enticements of the present world order and look up for their redemption is near.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14).
At the heart of Revelation lies a central theme: the triumph of God and the ultimate establishment of His kingdom. The book paints a vivid picture of the future, unveiling the events leading to the rapture of the Church, God’s wrath on unbelievers and apostate Israel, the 2nd coming of Christ, the final judgment, and the consummation of all things. It explores the profound spiritual realities that underpin our earthly existence, unveiling the spiritual battles fought in unseen realms and revealing the ultimate victory of God over evil.
Yet, the Book of Revelation is not merely a roadmap of future events. It is a call to action, an exhortation to live faithfully in light of the imminent return of Christ. It challenges the “Church” (believers before the rapture) and Tribulation Saints (believers after the rapture) to embrace their identity as a redeemed people, to persevere through tribulation, and to stand firm in their witness to the truth. This book stirs the imagination, confronts the reader with profound mysteries, and invites them to participate in the ongoing drama of God’s redemptive plan.
Prophecy and Apocalyptic Literature
Prophecy is what makes the Bible different and better than any other book ever written. Only God knows the ending and then tells you what it is—Prophecy. He is the creator of all things even time.
“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My plan will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a distant country. Truly I have spoken; truly, I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will certainly do it” (Isaiah 46:9-11).
The Prophetic writings are the Old Testament books of Isaiah through Malachi and the New Testament book of Revelation. They include predictions of future events, warnings of coming judgment, and an overview of God’s plan for Israel.
Apocalyptic literature is a specific form of prophecy that primarily involves symbols and imagery and predicts disaster and destruction. We find this type of language in Daniel (the beasts of chapter 7), Ezekiel (the scroll of chapter 3), Zechariah (the golden lampstand of chapter 4), and Revelation (the four horsemen of the Apocalypse).
The Prophetic and Apocalyptic books are often subjected to faulty eisegesis (the interpretation of a text by reading into it one's own ideas) and personal interpretation based on emotion or preconceived bias.
“Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
Therefore, we know that the truth has been told, which can be understood via careful exegesis:
the critical interpretation of the biblical text to discover its intended meaning through the lens of its original context,
familiarity with the rest of the Bible,
and prayerful consideration.
Some things will not be made clear to us except in the fullness of time, so it is best not to assume to know everything about prophetic literature.
The Book of Revelation
Therefore, we interpret the book of Revelation literally as well.
"If the plain, literal sense makes sense – seek no other sense."
The author of Revelation is John the Apostle, who also wrote the gospel of John and the three epistles (letters) of John. So far as we know, John was the last living apostle at this time. He wrote Revelation in about 95 AD when he was imprisoned on the island of Patmos. Of the 66 books in the Bible (Holy Scriptures) Revelation is the last book written. From diversity comes an incredible unity, with common themes woven throughout. It ends with a commentary on the End Times through the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is the only book in the Bible where the reader is blessed for reading and understanding it.
"Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near" (Revelation 1:3).
The Bible’s unity is because it has one Author—God Himself. The Bible is “God-breathed.”
“All Scripture is inspired by God (God-breathed) and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
The human authors, in this case, the Apostle John, wrote exactly what God wanted them to write, and the result was the perfect and Holy Word of God.
“For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21).
10 Additional Reasons to Interpret Revelation Literally!
We will look to Jesus, the Apostles, and even Jewish interpretation to develop our Literal interpretation of Revelation. When the over 100 prophecies of Christ’s first coming were given in the Old Testament, they were given and fulfilled literally. Though Christ repeatedly spoke against the teachings of the Pharisees, He never rebuked them or argued over their literal interpretation of prophecy. The Orthodox Jews, even today, believe in the Old Testament literally. They believe at the end time called Jacob's Trouble:
There will come upon the earth a terrible time of Tribulation,
The Tribulation will last 7 Jewish years (of 360 days each,
The antichrist (called Armilus) will come to deceive and destroy,
At the end of the 7-year Tribulation,
the Messiah will come,
defeat His enemies, and
rule the earth from Jerusalem for a long time.
How did and how does the Orthodox Jew arrive at an interpretation of the OT Scriptures that align closely with the outline of future events taught in the Bible? Like most Jews of the time of Christ – and Orthodox Jews today, they interpret prophecy literally, as did Christ. We should do the same here but entirely regard the NT Scriptures and gain insights from the New Testament that the Orthodox Jews do not. Additional reasons for a Literal Interpretation of Revelation.
When John uses the word like or as – as he does over 100 times – we take that to be a comparison with the thing he uses as a comparison:
“His face was like the sun shining in its strength” (Rev 1:16), “a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch” (Rev 8:10).
2. When the text explains a symbol right in the text, we simply take John’s explanation:
“As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Rev 1:20).
3. Examine carefully the word usage, grammar, and verb tenses that John uses.
4. Examine everything in context,
5. Interpret according to the history and the culture in which John wrote.
a. If you were to look at me with exhaustion and tell me, “I’m out of gas,” I would
understand exactly what you mean in the context of our culture.
b. John says things that similarly have to be understood in terms of his culture – as a Jewish fisherman turned apostle living for over 30 years in a culture influenced by the Greeks and Romans.
6. The symbolism in the book of Revelation is Jewish rather than Greek. The Greek
cultural perspective examines John’s symbolism and asks, “What does that look
like?” The Jewish cultural perspective looks at the symbolism in Revelation and
asks, “What does it mean?” So, a red dragon of Revelation has a meaning and in
the context of the Old Testament, it is the serpent of old or Satan the chief of all
demonic angels. What helps determine the meaning of Revelation is that
approximately 70% is straight out of the Old Testament.
a. An example that humorously contrasts Jewish symbolism with Greek symbolism.
b. An example of Jewish interpretation:
“His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.” (Revelation 1:15-16).
In these verses John describes five features of Christ, conveying His character:
Feet like the bronze of the furnace, the molten metal signifying purity (Exodus 38:2-39), as well as being immovable and solid.
A voice like many or rushing waters, roaring (Psalm 93:4; Jeremiah 10:13; 51:16; Revelation 14:2, 19:6).
The right hand, from the earliest books of the Old Testament, is the hand of power, authority, security, and blessing (Genesis 48:13; Exodus 15:6; Psalm 17:7; 18:5; 20:63). The seven stars that He holds are the messengers of the seven churches which are identified in verse 20 and will be discussed in greater detail as we begin chapters 2 & 3.
From Christ’s mouth comes a five-foot-long Barbarian battle sword (rhomphaia), fully able to carry out awesome judgment, all the way to the day in which Christ will come again and be said to have that Barbarian battle sword for the last time (Isaiah 49:2; John 12:48, Revelation 1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21).
Christ’s face is compared to the sun in its strength, conveying incomparable glory (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13).
Even though we interpret first the meaning of the words. The pictorial image does stir the imagination and senses.
This is what we mean by taking advantage of the fact that 70% of the book of
Revelation is straight out of the Old Testament. All of those Old Testament contexts are
available to provide insight into the meaning of passages in Revelation.
7. We will read Israel as Israel and the church as the church and differentiate between the saints of the church age and the saints of the Tribulation.
8. We will take full advantage of John’s amazing consistency, such as:
a. Christ is called “the Lamb” 30 times (similar to John 1:29, 36 – no other New
Testament author calls Christ “the Lamb”).
b. Christ is said to have a “sword in His mouth” five times, and in each case, John uses
the Greek word for a barbarian’s long sword (ramphaia).
c. The phrase “loud voice” occurs 19 times and never comes from someone on the earth.
9. We will recognize that some things are clearly spelled out but will not be understood
clearly as to their application until the time in which they are fulfilled. Daniel did not
know the fulfillment of all the prophecies that he wrote, but those of later centuries did:
10. We don’t know when the Lord will come to take us home, but those who become
believers during the coming seven years of Tribulation will indeed understand when that
occurred.
Some in our time may struggle to guess the identity of the antichrist, but those believers living during the Tribulation will come to a place of certainty when the right time has come to pass.
Sometimes the right time must come for a truth to be fully understood.
About these things, we must exhibit humility – and not feel forced to understand what it is not yet time to understand.
Things Not to Do When Interpreting the Book of Revelation
Do not try to force everything you read to fit into current events. This is done to hype up the passages and the people.
Do not abuse John’s clear communication in Revelation by allegorizing his language: every significant conflicting interpretation of Revelation and prophecy, in general, is based on allegorizing, man's supposed spiritual interpretation.
Do not set dates for the Lord’s return.
So, when they came together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority" (Acts 1:6-7).
The original date setters were the ones Paul had to correct – when He wrote the books. of I and II Thessalonians – somebody was telling the church that Christ had already. come – just as some do today (they are called Preterists).
By approaching the Scriptures as God intended, we will find that the book of Revelation will be very straightforward and understandable. Several folks have been stunned to hear us tell them: that by interpreting it literally, understanding the book of Revelation is a “piece of cake.”
It Is Vital
An understanding of the genres of Scripture is vital to UNDERSTANDING (please see part one of Why we Interpret the Bible Literally?).
If the wrong genre is assumed for a passage, it can easily be misunderstood or misconstrued, leading to an incomplete and fallacious understanding of what God desires to communicate. God is not the author of confusion.
"For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints" (1 Cor 14:33),
He wants us to correctly [handle] the word of truth.
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who [a]does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
You are not alone when reading and interpreting the Scriptures. Your confidence is in God the Holy Spirit, not your own good intentions, education, or intellect. The same Holy Spirit that lives in every born-again believer wrote the Bible, then we can rest assured that He can and will help us interpret the Scriptures.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you” (John 14:26). “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:13-14).
God wants us to know His plan for the world and for us as individuals. How fulfilling it is to come to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep” the love of God for you in His Word!
"For this reason I bend my knees before the Father, from whom [m]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:14-19).
Also, we recognize that there are difficult passages in the Bible, as well as sincere disagreements over interpretation. Our goal is to approach Scripture reverently and pray fervently that our eyes see, our ears hear, and our hearts believe what the Word and Spirit are saying. Again, the same Holy Spirit that wrote the Bible through men, will interpret the Bible for His children.
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One, why do I need to be saved?
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I believe Only Jesus plus nothing not only saves you but answers these three questions.