The Bible gives us a unique vision of the future—a picture that is not only true, but also desirable. It not only conforms to reality, but it offers us hope. Yet, most Christians have never studied (or even read!) the book of Revelation. Why not? If the book of Revelation is simply an encoded enigma that cannot be understood, then why would God offer a special “blessing” to those who read it (Rev. 1:3)? Moreover, if the book of Revelation is a complete and total mystery, then why call it a “revelation” at all?
That’s why we wrote this commentary. We hope it will aid readers in understanding the book of Revelation.
Introduction to Revelation
The Authorship of Revelation Critics since the 3rd century AD have challenged that John the apostle wrote this book. We hold that John of Zebedee—one of the Twelve—was the author.
The Date of Revelation We date the book of Revelation sometime during the reign of Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96). This historical question has important implications for the interpretation of the book. If the Domitianic dates are true, then the view known as preterism is false.
The Genre of Revelation Many interpreters hold that the book of Revelation was written in the apocalyptic literary genre. We evaluate the merits of this view.
Different Schools of Interpreting Revelation There are four major schools of interpretation for the book of Revelation: (1) Preterism, (2) Historicism, (3) Idealism, and (4) Futurism. We evaluate all four views and offer our perspective.
Why did God make eschatology so confusing? Many people complain, “If God wanted to communicate about the end of human history, why didn’t he just give a clear and detailed account? Why do we have to appeal to hundreds of passages—scattered throughout the Bible?” We give our thoughts on this perplexing question.
Doesn’t a futurist interpretation deny first-century readers any understanding or application? If John was writing a book about the end of human history, wouldn’t this neglect the needs of his original audience? Moreover, why would John write a book that could only be understood by a future generation—perhaps 2,000 years in the future?
Millennial Views One of the key interpretive issues at the heart of eschatology is our view of the millennium. Will Jesus literally reign on Earth for a thousand years, or is Jesus spiritually reigning from heaven or in the hearts of believers? Should we expect human history to get better with time, or worse? Does the millennium refer to a literal 1,000-year reign, or is this symbolic of the church age? Many questions confront the interpreter.
The Pretribulational Rapture In the end, it is relatively unimportant when the rapture will happen; it is more important that it happens. However, after evaluating the various biblical data, it seems that the Bible teaches a pre-tribulation rapture.
A Critique of Preterism The “preterite” in English is the past tense. Preterism is a view of Bible prophecy that argues that these events have already occurred in the past—not the future. We give an evaluation and critique of this system.
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
