The Book of Revelation

The book of Revelation, like the book of Daniel , is of a literary type called apocalyptic. The term means to “unveil, uncover”, thus to reveal something that has been hidden.

- usually written during periods of trouble, crisis

- use of signs, dreams, visions to reveal truth

- promise of eventual triumph of good over evil

Revelation was written by the Apostle John around 90 AD, at a time when persecution against Christianity was rising.

Since Revelation is full of symbolism and imagery, it is difficult to interpret. There have been many different approaches:

1. Preterist - sees the events described in Revelation as belonging to the first century. Sees no prophetic or future aspect to the book.

2. Historicist - sees Revelation as a description of the conflict between the church and Satan throughout church history. Historicists disagree on how the details of Revelation correspond to the details of church history.

3. Idealist - sees Revelation as having no specific historical setting, but describing in symbolic terms the conflict between good and evil.

4. Futurist - sees Revelation 4-22 as referring to events which are to occur in the future at the end of the age during the Tribulation Period and Millennium.

Some aspects of each approach are valuable. We take the Futurist approach.