Chapter 1, Verse 1

By Tom Allen

Is the Book of Revelation about the destruction of the world? I think not. Instead, it's symbolism describes our own as well as others relationships with God as we all move forward in God. The 7 seals, 7 trumpets and other sets of symbols are just the objects used to describe these relationships. Christ is revealed to us and in us, and this book suggests how that comes about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom Allen
• Release date: Aug 6, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452420806

Tom Allen

Tom Allen worked as a Primary School Teacher, mostly teaching 9–11-year-olds and has over 20 years voluntary sports coaching experience. He loves the power of sports and books and how they can inspire young people. His friend Rich passed away recently, leaving his incredible wife and three amazing children. Parts of the story are inspired by his friend’s tragic passing, and he hopes the themes explored in his story will give strength and guide younger children who have also lost a loved one. He resides in Bristol.

Book preview

Preface

This book focuses on the true purpose of the Book of Revelation as stated in chapter one, verse one, "The revelation of Jesus Christ...," and how that revealing takes place. It is not a book that outlines and details the future destruction of the world, there are plenty of those books already. Instead, this is a book about the revealing of Christ in his people, in you, as described in the Book of Revelation.

To see Christ revealed in the Book of Revelation we must first recognize the book provides information through the use of symbols. If we take the book’s symbols literally, we end up with the same age-old teachings of death and destruction. The seven seals, trumpets, bowls of wrath, and other sets of symbols remain neatly packaged containers of information that follow one another in logical order, and describe the calamitous destruction of the world. The blowing of the seven trumpets follow the opening of the seven seals. The pouring out of the fifth bowl of wrath follows the pouring out of the fourth bowl of wrath and so on.

What happens if we look at these sets of symbols in a different way? What happens when we see that it is not a particular set of like symbols that provides the information that reveals Christ, but rather the combining of elements from different sets of symbols? The first elements of different sets, the opening of the first seal, the blowing of the first trumpet, the pouring out of the first bowl of wrath, and so on, reveals Christ within us in some way. The second elements of these sets, the second seal, the second trumpet, the second bowl of wrath, and so on, reveals Christ in another way. Bible scholars have long been aware of the similarities that exist between various elements of different sets of symbols, but to the authors knowledge, no one has explained what that relationship is.

This explanation of the Book of Revelation attempts to do just that, explain the relationship between elements of different sets of symbols. It attempts to explain the revealing of Christ in the Book of Revelation and in so doing, clarify the mystery of God, ...Christ in you.... Jesus Christ once said, ...I am with you always. That is either true or it is not. We either wait for his ‘return’ or see him as he is, in a cloud of witnesses.

The author has divided this writing into two parts. The first part is a summary of what Revelation is telling us about the revealing of Jesus Christ. The second part is a verse-by-verse explanation of the symbolism found in the Book of Revelation as it relates to the mystery of God, Christ in you.

Chapter 1: Mystery

‘Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.’ William Shakespeare, Macbeth

The Book of Revelation is quite possibly the most read, least understood book ever written. It has information intended for each and every one of us, yet this information is hidden within descriptions of wars, famines, pestilence, beasts, and a beautiful city of gargantuan proportions descending from heaven to earth. No wonder Revelation has been a chief source of material for the apocalyptic story lines found in many popular books and movies today.

No doubt many of us would appreciate these books and movies more fully if not for the fact that these cataclysmic events are to occur in our near future. Some would say, our very near future. Just tune your radio or television to any station offering religious programming and you will hear an end-times message as often as not. It seems many preachers and teachers of the Bible have concluded that we have reached that time in history when the events described in the Book of Revelation are literally coming to pass. And why wouldn’t they? We are talking about the Bible here, the word of God, containing any number of prophecies that have come about. Won’t these disastrous, worldwide end-times events, as foretold in Revelation and other books in the Bible, also occur sooner or later? The answer to this question is yes. The world will end as we know it. But is it the end of the world or the end of your world?

If you interpret the scriptures of the Book of Revelation literally and do not question the conventional teachings about Revelation, then the destructive events described in the book are either now unfolding or will come to pass in the near future. Some physical entity, either a single person or organization, will bring about the physical death and destruction of many people while some Christians escape all, most, or part of a great tribulation visited upon the earth.

However, if you are not convinced that God intends to do damage to a great part of the earth and most of the people on it, you might find it worthwhile to look at the Book of Revelation in a different way. Consider at least two good reasons for pursuing an alternate, perhaps controversial, explanation of the book’s scriptures.

First, the book’s stated purpose, found in chapter one, verse one, is the revealing of Jesus Christ. If he is to be revealed, that means he is here, but we just don’t see him. Remember, he told us, ...I am with you always. The Book of Revelation is given to us in order that Christ might be revealed in, ...things that must shortly come to pass.... When we see (...let those who have eyes to see...) these things come to pass, the end of our own personal world comes about and we see Jesus Christ revealed.

The second reason seems a bit obvious. If God provided us with information about the revealing of His Christ, he must intend for us to understand it. In order to understand this information, we must accept the way God chose to package it as well as his reason for doing so. God chose symbolism as his way to communicate information in the Book of Revelation. His reason for doing so? We are to experience Christ before we can understand the scriptures that bears witness to that experience. Otherwise, it remains hidden from us until such time as we do experience Him. This is not exactly a new way for God to communicate with us. Only when we first experienced him in our lives and were saved, did we become set upon knowing about Him.

Before we first knew God, first experienced Him, the scriptures of the Bible were just words in a book, a story. That changed when we first came to know God. The scriptures became alive to us and bore witness to our relationship with Him. Likewise, the manifestations of Christ within us, as described in the Book of Revelation, bear witness to Christ revealed in us, through us and to us. To understand the Book of Revelation is to see Christ revealed.

Revelation’s apocalyptic writing style uses symbolism both liberally and intentionally to communicate information and truth. If the number of symbols found in Revelation relates to the number of truths found in the book, it must be an absolute treasure trove of enlightenment. The book has seven of this, seven of that, various Beasts, several kings, and a number of other symbols and events all meant to tell us something, but what?

Consider three of the most prominent events mentioned in Revelation: famine, war and pestilence. Famines have occurred more times throughout the history of humankind than we can count. Evil rulers, wars and widespread instances of pestilence have been legion as well. Although these and other terrible events have occurred from the beginning of time, past events are simply what they are, past events. Will they continue to happen in the future? Yes, they probably will. Disasters like these are taking place now in some parts of the world. Yet, it is the consistent repetitiveness of these events throughout history, as well as their effects on people, that make them enduring and recognizable symbols that convey pertinent spiritual information.

It is not the symbol itself, but the various attributes of a symbol that communicates information. For example, two of the many characteristics or attributes of a famine are its cause and effect on people. A famine occurs because of a shortage of food. A shortage of food occurs because there is either no food available or food is withheld from people. History shows that Joseph Stalin withheld food from millions of his people and, in effect, created a famine. Likewise, a church leader may also withhold spiritual food from God’s people, starving them and not allowing them to grow spiritually. The result is a spiritual famine.

Revelation also uses the attributes of events such as war and pestilence to convey knowledge. When we understand the meaning behind the symbolism of these destructive events we recognize some deeper truths, perhaps about ourselves. Why do we go to ‘war’ with other people, wounding or killing each other with our ‘swords?’ Throughout the Bible, swords, as well as plowshares, are symbols used to depict the word of God ("...beat your sword into plowshares..."). Haven’t we all been guilty of doing battle with scripture, the word of God? It is only when we finally beat our swords into plowshares that we can plow the ground, opening others and ourselves to receive the seed that will grow in us. Famine, war, pestilence, and other events found in the Book of Revelation symbolize the destructive behaviors, concepts and beliefs that have kept us from knowing God more fully.

This is the genius of using symbolism to convey information in the Book of Revelation. To recognize, experience or know the information contained within the book, we must have experienced those things that correlate to certain attributes of a symbol. Otherwise, it remains hidden.

Unlocking the symbolism found in Revelation requires applying a basic tenet. God is spirit and his word is spiritual. This is not just true of the scripture found in the Book of Revelation. In the gospel of John, Jesus explains to his disciples, who at that time numbered many more than twelve, that God’s action of supplying manna to their ancestors while they journeyed in the wilderness had a higher, spiritual meaning. This ‘manna from heaven’ wilderness event depicted himself, Jesus Christ, being sent by God to feed his people. He is the manna, the bread from heaven provided by God, and they must eat his flesh and drink his blood if they are to live with him as he lives with God.

Most of his disciples could only understand his words in a literal sense. They understood him to say that they were to literally eat his flesh and drink his blood. Knowing some of the disciples were thinking this, Jesus essentially asks them, "You have a hard time hearing the things I said? How are you going to interpret seeing the son of man ascending to where he was before?" Jesus wants them, and us, to understand that what he says and the things we see him do need not be taken exclusively at face value. He is saying to those who are seeking to know more, that the event itself is only a shadow of deeper truth. Jesus then lays it out for them. He tells them it is the spirit that gives life, not the flesh, and that his words are spiritual. The events in the life of Jesus, and the scriptures that describe those events, have higher meaning. The literal reading and traditional teaching of scripture always contain more and deeper knowledge. This is hardly news.

As it turned out, most of his followers left him that day. Why? Those who no longer followed him could only understand what he had to say in a literal fashion. A lack of spiritual understanding, an inability ‘see through’ the event, caused a split among his followers that day, leaving only twelve who would follow him. When Jesus asked the twelve disciples why they had stayed, they answered that he alone had the words that provided eternal life. His words, indeed all of scripture, have different levels of meaning.

Are we still, two thousand years later, interpreting his words literally, the milk of the word, and missing the meat of the word of God? This story about Jesus is found in the gospel of John chapter six. John 6:66 reads, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."—666, an interesting number.

Chapter 2: Understanding

Jesus Christ’s last name was not Christ. Jesus is his name and ‘Christ’ is his title. The word Christ means ‘the anointed one,’ the one consecrated by God to the office of messiah. Where Christ is, so also is the fullness of God.

Our relationship with God exists because of our faith in Jesus the Christ. We believe God sent Jesus to die for our sins and to teach us how to have a relationship with God based on faith, not our ability to keep the law. We are, therefore, collectively known as Christians and as such, share some fundamental beliefs. We all believe Jesus Christ is the purposeful embodiment of God, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. We also believe that God inspired the authors who penned the scriptures that make up the Bible, and that these writings came into being for our growth and edification.

This being the case, it seems ironic that these same writings, intended to unify us, have often been a source of division in the Christian church for the past two thousand years. Disagreements about the meaning or importance of scripture have ultimately led to divisions among God’s one people, his one church. These divisions however, have not been without benefit to the overall church. Indeed, they have served as a mechanism to meet the needs of those who simply had to know more about God. Those people not being ‘fed’ seek nourishment elsewhere, among other like-minded believers. Like cells in the human body, the original church has divided again and again until we now have literally hundreds of groups, big and small, each centered on some personal understanding or perspective of God and his purpose.

Nevertheless, it is amazing that after all the splits and movement of the church throughout the last two thousand years, we are all still rooted in some elemental biblical teachings about God and his Christ. Below is a short list of these basic beliefs. Although it could be argued that the list is incomplete, the following seven statements would almost certainly be included in any group’s canon of Christian truths.

1 - Jesus died for us.

2 - We are to spread the gospel throughout the world.

3 - The spirit living in