Revelation by the Book: Reconciling Revelation by the Word of God

By Steve Davis

The vast majority of Christians are confused and uncertain about the book of Revelation, and it is no wonder. Ten different Bible commentators can present twelve different points of view on Revelation. Bible teachers just adopt the viewpoint of their favorite Bible commentator. Pastors tend to preach to the view point they were taught in seminary by a respected professor. Ninety-nine percent of pastors and Bible teachers are not dogmatic about their view of Revelation and will profess that each of the various interpretations has merit, but this is an unacceptable position.

Logically, there can be only one correct interpretation of the book of Revelation.

The desire to find the one true interpretation of Revelation has been with me since I first began reading the Bible over twelve years ago. After years of prayer, study, research, and contemplation, the fog of confusion began to clear. The key is quite simple and yet difficult in that it is most elusive.

The key to unlocking Revelation is a complete trust in God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781639613113

Book preview

cover.jpg

Revelation by the Book

Reconciling Revelation by the Word of God

Steve Davis

ISBN 978-1-63961-310-6 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63961-311-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Steve Davis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless specifically indicated, all Bible verses are based on the 1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible (also known as the Authorized Version) Published in 1769; public domain. Because some people have an aversion to the Old English style, minor adjustments have been made to many of the KJV verses. Shalt changed to shall, thou changed to you, proceedeth changed to proceeds, know ye not changed to do you not know, etc.

Scriptures marked NASB taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scriptures marked NIV taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked YLT taken from Young’s Literal Translation of the Holy Bible by J.N. Young, 1862, 1898; public domain.

All Bible verses accessed electronically using e-Sword®. Copyright © 2000-2017 Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Laying the Foundation

Two Views

Future vs. Historical vs. Symbolic

Comfort and Joy

Nitty-Gritty Details

Mass Confusion

The Old Testament

The New Testament

Codex Vaticanus and Sinaiticus

Westcott and Hort

Modern Bible Translations

Revelation Chapter 1

Seven Letters to Seven Churches

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamos

Thyatira

Sardis

Philadelphia

Laodicea

Foundational Prophetic Background for Chapters 4–21

The god of this World

The Rapture

Speculation

Has the Church of Christ Replaced the Nation of Israel?

Difference of Jews and Gentiles

End-Times—The Great Tribulation

Kingdoms of the World

Armageddon/Millennial Kingdom

The Antichrist

A New Approach

Revelation Chapter 4

Revelation Chapter 5

Revelation Chapter 6

Revelation Chapter 7

Revelation Chapter 8

Revelation Chapter 9

Revelation Chapter 10

Revelation Chapter 11

Revelation Chapter 12

Revelation Chapter 13

Revelation Chapter 14

Wait! What Was That?

Revelation Chapter 15

Revelation Chapter 16

Revelation Chapter 17

Revelation Chapter 18

Revelation Chapter 19

Revelation Chapter 20

Revelation Chapter 21

Rewards?

Revelation Chapter 22

Ordered Revelation

Appendix A: Olivet Discourse Compared

Appendix B: The Plan of Satan to Thwart God

Appendix C: The Prophetic A Day for a Year Debunked

For Maurchét

Laying the Foundation

Do not despise prophecy. Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good. (1 Thess. 5:20–21)

The vast majority of Christians are confused and uncertain about the book of Revelation, and it is no wonder. Ten different Bible commentators can present twelve different points of view on Revelation. Bible teachers just adopt the viewpoint of their favorite Bible commentator. Pastors tend to preach to the view point they were taught in seminary by a respected professor. Ninety-nine percent of pastors and Bible teachers are not dogmatic about their view of Revelation and will profess that each of the various interpretations has merit, but this is an unacceptable position.

Logically, there can be only one correct interpretation of the book of Revelation.

The desire to find the one true interpretation of Revelation has been with me since I first began reading the Bible over twelve years ago. After years of prayer, study, research, and contemplation, the fog of confusion began to clear. The key is quite simple and yet difficult in that it is most elusive.

The key to unlocking Revelation is a complete trust in God.

As we approach the study of the book of Revelation, we shall embrace the prophecies we are given and we shall prove (test) all things.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, to prove whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Let us be like those in Berea who listened intently to all that Paul taught them but searched the Scriptures diligently to test the things that they heard. If you already have some strong ideas about Revelation, you will need to step back from those views to objectively evaluate the ideas that will be presented here. I do not want to claim that my view is correct and your view is wrong, but I do want to encourage you to consider what is presented here fairly and test it against the whole counsel of the word of God. Where prophecy is concerned, we need to be cautious that we do not become like the Jewish leaders during Jesus's time. They were so set in their beliefs that they would not even consider what Jesus was telling them. We are also not to just believe everything that we hear or read. We are to listen, consider, and measure everything we encounter every day against the revealed written Word of God.

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield to them that put their trust in him. Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you, and you are found a liar. (Prov. 30:5–6)

How many of God's words are pure? Every word of God is pure. We are not allowed to pick and choose which ones we like and which ones we don't like.

My son, if you will receive my words, and hide my commandments with you; So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry after knowledge, and lift up your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures; Then shall you understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. (Prov. 2:1–5)

We are instructed to diligently search through the knowledge of God for understanding and discernment. If we do, God promises us that we will find the knowledge of God.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)

Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3 and reminds us that we are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Is just knowing and following some of the words of God acceptable? The strong implication would seem to be: No.

I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and for Your truth: for You have magnified Your word above Your name. (Ps. 138:2)

God has placed His Word above His name. When we are dealing with the Word of God, we should understand that God has the utmost regard for His Word. Anytime we study or discuss the Word of God, we should do so with great reverence and esteem. We should maintain an extremely high regard for the Word of God and avoid any misuse, misapplication, or misinterpretation. God has given us His Word for us to understand, keep in our hearts, and apply to our lives.

All verses in the Bible have one correct interpretation and many false interpretations. The book of Revelation has a correct interpretation and yet it is probably the most abused book in the Bible. Because parts of the book of Revelation are not straightforward and plain, many expositors, some well-meaning and some not so well-meaning, have taken great license with many of the texts. Taking license with the Word of God is not allowed under any circumstance. Those who do run a great risk of being harshly rebuked by God.

As we go through Revelation, we should make every effort to stick as closely to the words of God as they are given to us. This is the same method that should be used in every other book of the Bible. Just because the book of Revelation is presented in a different manner than the other books does not give anyone the right to treat it totally different and ignore the rules of biblical interpretation.

It is absolutely unacceptable to hold fast to your particular doctrinal viewpoint and bend the words to fit what you would like them to say or to ignore passages that do not align with your inclinations. If your current understanding or belief is in conflict or contradictory to the Word of God, then you need to adjust your understanding and belief to the Word of God. Any other response is heresy and, in some cases, is how cults are born.

For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Heb. 5:12–14)

We will be consuming large quantities of solid soul food in this study. As you read this, if you find that it is too difficult to digest, you may want to go back and study the other books of the New Testament quite a bit and then return. If you are unfamiliar with the Old Testament, it will benefit you greatly to study Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Zechariah, and the other end-time prophetic books. Since Revelation is the culmination of the entire Bible, those whose diets consist of the milk of the Word will most likely not be ready for this study.

There is much confusion about the book of Revelation. We cannot just jump into a breakdown of the biblical text without addressing this confusion. More than likely, you have been taught one or more erroneous viewpoints which lead to various misunderstandings. We will spend quite a bit of time addressing areas and sources of confusion and error. We must first remove the plank that is in our own eye so that we may be able to see clearly (Matt. 7:5).

Some and possibly many of the points made in this study will be quite different from what you have been taught in church or in a Bible study group. Even if you have been to seminary, there will most certainly be topics presented here that are contrary to what you have learned. Unfortunately, the Bible is not taught properly in our time. In most churches and seminaries, the teachings are weak and lukewarm at best. The wisdom of man has been added to the study of the Bible and thus diluted the Word of God.

For this study, we need to discard the wisdom of men and only consider what the word of God says. In many cases, some of the worldly wisdom will be presented which is commonly taught and believed. Then we will consider Bible verses which refute and disprove the worldly wisdom. The presentation will be very much like that which Jesus often presented to the Jewish leaders. It will effectively be, You have heard it said…but the Word of God says…

Most likely, there will be a few areas of your biblical understanding that will be refuted. Before you simply dismiss what is presented here, carefully consider the Bible verses that are presented and make certain that your understanding is based on the Word of God and not on the words of men.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned to fables. (2 Tim. 4:3–4)

It is a sad reality that the vast majority of our modern-day churches have watered down the Word of God. They only preach and teach the parts that people want to hear because they know that if they preach the whole counsel of God, many people will leave. In John chapter 6, Jesus drove away those who were following Him for the wrong reasons. There is no excuse for not teaching the whole counsel of God. There is no excuse for us to discount any portion of the Word of God, just because we might not like what it says. Let's make sure we are clinging to the Word of God and not being deceived by our itching ears.

Two Views

There are several different views on the book of Revelation, but I only consider two of them to be worthy of serious consideration. I completely reject the spiritualization of Revelation because there is no precedence for doing so established in any other part of the Bible (we will explore this in detail soon). Even when Jesus is teaching spiritual lessons, He uses straightforward relatable situations and terms that can be understood practically and easily paralleled for the spiritual application.

The two major views that I would like to consider are (1) the historical (or preterist) interpretation of Revelation which asserts that most of the events in Revelation have already occurred and (2) the futurist interpretation of Revelation which asserts that most of the events in Revelation are yet future.

If a person feels that most of the passages in Revelation align well with historical events, then he will assume that most of the events in Revelation have already occurred. If a person feels that most of the passages in Revelation do not align well with historical events, then he will assume that most of the passages in Revelation are yet future. Most people feel that only one view could be correct, thus they divide themselves into groups based on their assertions.

I think both views are true to an extent and thus both groups are right and both groups are wrong.

But how could both historical and future interpretations be true? Because this is the Bible, the word of God. What is highly improbable to us is no problem for God (Matt. 19:26). I believe the two views harmonize quite well.

To our western minds, prophecy is prediction and then fulfillment. To Jewish minds, prophecy is realized in patterns.

You may be familiar with types or models in the Bible. These are historical accounts of actual individuals and events that are a foreshadowing model of a future event that will be of far more significance than the original event.

The flood of Noah is a prophetic type of a final judgment on the wicked.

Melchizedek, king and priest of the Most High God and who offered a sacrifice of bread and wine, was a type of the coming Messiah.

The redemption of the Jews from slavery in Egypt is a prophetic model of God's ultimate redemption of God's people from the sinful enslavement of the world.

The water from the rock was a prophetic type of the living water that would come from the Messiah rock.

The manna from heaven was a prophetic type of the Messiah, true life-giving bread from heaven.

There are many others.

Those who want to dismiss notions of prophetic models as just coincidental parallels in biblical themes are against the clear teaching of Jesus.

Then some of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from You. But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12:38–40)

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14–15)

Jesus claims that the historical events of Jonah and the big fish were a prophetic model of Jesus being in the grave for three days before He will live again. Jesus also claims that when Moses made the brass serpent on a pole, that was also a prophetic model of Jesus. The Jews in the desert who trusted in the Word of God would look toward the serpent on the pole if they were bitten by a viper, believe God's promise, and would be healed. Those people with the deadly poison of sin coursing through them (all human beings) can look to Jesus on the cross, believe in the promise of God, be healed, and receive life instead of death.

I believe that this concept of prophetic modeling which is found throughout the Old Testament is also active in the period of the New Testament. The Old Testament focused on the Jewish nation as the people of God. The New Testament focuses on the primarily Gentile (non-Jewish) people of God since the majority of Jews rejected their Messiah. It would therefore be perfectly reasonable for God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow to continue to use prophetic models in the New Testament writings. It should actually be expected that many of the prophecies in Revelation would have actual historical events that occurred in the years following John's writing which align with the end-times prophecies as prophetic models.

We have seen that Jesus proclaimed Jonah to be a model of Jesus, but Jonah does not fit Jesus exactly. Jonah ran away from God's will, but Jesus did not. Jonah was cast overboard (sacrificed) because he was reluctant to follow the will of God, but Jesus was sacrificed with great willfulness. So we can see that there may be specific aspects of a historical event that contains prophetic models but that not all details of the historical event need to perfectly match for the event to be prophetically illuminating.

The historical events of the early church period don't exactly align with the events of Revelation, but a great number of prophecies in Revelation have exact parallels with significant historical events of the early Christian Church. Hopefully, you can see where I am going with this. I do believe that many of the events presented to us in Revelation have been fulfilled in a prophetic modeling sense but not in a final fulfillment sense. We will detail many of these, but here are a couple of examples:

In Revelation chapter 12, we have a woman clothed with the sun, moon, and stars who gives birth to a man child who is caught up to heaven. From a historical standpoint, this is Mary who gives birth to Jesus who is caught up to heaven, and Mary stays on earth and is persecuted along with the other followers of Jesus. From a future standpoint, the woman is the Gentile church, which contains true believers and those who are not true believers (tares and wheat). This Gentile church gives birth to the body of Christ (true believers) who is caught up to heaven in the rapture, then the remaining people who call themselves Christians are persecuted by the Antichrist and the satanic worldly system.

If you are opposed to the idea of a rapture, don't tune out. We will cover this in detail, and then you can decide. Remember Proverbs 18:13.

Another example is in Revelation chapter 17 where we are told of a blasphemous woman clothed in purple holding a golden cup and drunk with the blood of the saints. This woman rides the great and terrible beast. From our modern-day historical standpoint, this clearly fits the Roman Catholic Church that rode the Roman governmental authority (beast), instituted antibiblical doctrines, put themselves in the place of Christ, and killed a massive number of faithful Christians. What was yet future for the Apostle John is historical fact for us.

Before any Catholics get too upset about this claim, please know that I am not a Catholic basher. I was married in the Catholic Church. My children went to Catholic elementary and high school. I have attended Mass fairly regularly for the past thirty-plus years. So please know that I am just presenting facts here. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). If we are children of God, we should be seeking truth regardless of what we may find. Are you more interested in the truth of Christ or the doctrines of the world? Are you drawn to the light of Christ or the darkness of the world? Satan seeks to obscure and confuse God's truths. We should not be surprised when we find areas within Christianity where Satan has introduced errors. Jesus and the Apostles warned us of such things (Matt. 24:4–5; 2 Pet. 2:1–3; 2 Cor. 11:13–15; Titus 1:14–16). We need to be knowledgeable and aware of those areas of corruption to ensure we do not adopt and teach them.

From a future standpoint, there is a yet to be established one-world religious system that will ride the power and authority of the one-world government (the revived Roman Empire) that the Antichrist will head. Will that religious system be the Roman Catholic Church, Islam, some ecumenical combination of the two, or possibly something quite different? We will have to wait and see. We do know that once it is established, the religious system will do similar things that the Roman Catholic Church did to gain power and control, except that the coming system will be even more egregious, oppressive, and blasphemous than the Roman Catholic Church was in the Middle Ages.

There is a fairly popular structure or pattern often used to present the Book of Revelation referred to as a chiasm. This would be presented as a V or a > pattern in which similar subjects presented in different verses line up in a first in/last out pattern. Let's look at a very simple example from the flood of Noah.

a: Seven days waiting for the flood waters to come (Gen. 7:4).

b: Seven days for the flood mentioned again (Gen. 7:10).

c: Forty days (Gen. 7:17).

d: 150 days (Gen. 7:24).

x: God remembers Noah (Gen. 8:1).

d': 150 days (Gen. 8:3).

c': Forty days (Gen. 8:6).

b': Seven days waiting for dove (Gen. 8:10).

a': Second seven days waiting for dove (Gen. 8:12).

These patterns are certainly interesting to see, but the pattern itself carries no meaning nor conveys any time structure. Notice that the seven days mentioned in a and b refer to the same seven-day period whereas the seven days mentioned in b' and a' are two separate periods of seven days. The forty days in c and c' are two different periods, but the one-hundred and fifty days mentioned in d and d' refer to the same period of time; a, b, and c, come before c', b', and a'. They do not represent any matching periods of time.

When the chiastic pattern is used to teach the book of Revelation, the chiasm is used to infer matching time periods such that a and a' would refer to the same time period and not that a' could be a different time period after the time period referred to by a. The text must be bent considerably and some elements spiritualized in order to fit the extraneously imposed assumed chiastic timeline. Using the chiastic pattern to attempt to justify skewing of the clear meaning of the biblical text is not acceptable. Anyone who attempts to imply meaning to the chiastic pattern itself is absolutely incorrect.

Future vs. Historical vs. Symbolic

If so much of Revelation can be tied to historical events, why should we not just consider those events as fulfillment and the remaining areas that don't quite fit as having a spiritual application?

The historical events of the early church period don't exactly align with the events of Revelation, but a great number of prophecies in Revelation are very similar to historical events of the early Christian Church. When we consider many of the events presented to us in Revelation as having been fulfilled in a prophetic modeling sense, it helps us to understand how the final fulfillment of the prophecy might come about.

As previously asserted, the blasphemous woman clothed in purple—drunk with the blood of the saints in Revelation chapter 17 who rides the great and terrible beast—from a historical standpoint clearly fits the Roman Catholic Church who rides the Roman governmental authority (beast), instituted antibiblical doctrines, put themselves in the place of Christ, and killed a massive number of faithful Christians. The description of the beast with seven heads and ten horns does not exactly fit the Roman Catholic Church. Many preterists (historical view) will pick certain aspects and events of the Roman Catholic Church to align with the Revelation verses but ignore or dismiss elements that do not align well. But this should not be allowed. The precision of the Word of God demands that the events either fit precisely or the interpretation must be rejected.

Nowhere in the Bible are the words to be completely spiritualized and not received as having a tangible application. There are plenty of instances where any given verse may have spiritual applications and certainly may contain spiritual truths, but the verses themselves cannot be spiritualized. God gave us His Word to be understood, to be applied as given, and to be trusted as absolute certainty. Many people may not like the direct application of specific verses in the Bible and will then claim that God did not mean for the verse to be applied to our earthly life but rather only to our spiritual life.

Many people who read Revelation do not like the clear implication that most people will suffer terribly during the Great Tribulation and that God, through His angels, will cause massive death and destruction. This aversion to the verses, as presented, leads some to claim that what is presented in Revelation is just grandiose poetical depictions of the general spiritual suffering of life while we are here on the earth and that all will eventually make it into heaven after they have suffered sufficiently for their evil deeds. These types of notions can then be used to support ideas such as purgatory or reincarnation for which no support exists in the Bible.

There are prophecies and warnings given in the Old Testament which would have been easy to spiritualize but at a later time were fulfilled literally. There are many examples, but let's take a look at a couple.

And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the Lord your God has given you, in the siege, and in the anguish, wherewith your enemies shall distress you: So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he has nothing left him in the siege, and in the anguish, wherewith your enemies shall distress you in all your gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, And toward her young one that comes out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and anguish, wherewith your enemy shall distress you in your gates. If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, the lord thy God. (Deut. 28:53–58)

How easily would this warning be to preach a spiritual message on? It is difficult for us to imagine eating your own children, no matter how hungry we might be. The ancient teachers of God's Word may very well have taken these gruesomely difficult passages and taught that forsaking the commands of God would bring leanness into your soul and you would make many wrong decisions that would have detrimental materialistic and financial impacts on your children.

And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If the Lord does not help you, how shall I help you? out of the threshing floor, or out of the winepress? And the king said to her, What ails you? And she answered, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her the next day, Give your son, that we may eat him: and she had hid her son. And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth upon his body. (2 Kings 6:26–30)

The words of God were fulfilled literally about 600 years after they were given. How could a loving God allow parents of His chosen people to eat their innocent children? This would indeed be a tough message to teach, and there would be many who would reject this type of message. By spiritualizing the message, we soften the truths to make them more acceptable for a wider audience, and we can avoid having to address some very tough questions that most people do not want to hear the answer to.

And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for you shall strike the Syrians in Aphek, until you have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Strike on the ground. And he struck three times, and stopped. And the man of God was angry with him, and said, You should have struck five or six times; then would you have struck Syria until you had consumed it: whereas now you shall strike Syria but three times. (2 Kings 13:17–19)

The Prophet Elisha has the king of Israel perform symbolic acts of shooting an arrow out the window and pounding on the ground. But these symbolic actions have a real literal fulfillment. The only reason to spiritualize a message is to appease those who might find the clear implication of the message offensive. The Bible message is offensive to those who do not want to subject themselves to God, but God is not interested in appeasing them anyway. God is not ashamed of His words, and neither should we be. If someone is offended by the Word of God, let them be offended. We are to give out the Word of God as God gave it and not to change it as we think best. God will use His words to accomplish His plans.

Many of those who reject the Word of God will use excuses such as the God of the Bible is mean and cruel, many of the events are fairy tales because they could not have occurred in the way that it was written, or it was written by men and there are so many versions that you cannot tell exactly what was originally meant. We need to challenge these types of excuses and not to give credence to them. When we change the biblical message to avoid these issues, those in opposition feel validated in their misconceptions and are actually less likely to be persuaded by the message.

We certainly should acknowledge that there are many figures of speech and literary devices used in the Bible. When Jesus said He wanted to gather His people under His wings as a mother hen, the Bible is certainly not suggesting that Jesus was a chicken. Metaphors and similes are often used to help us to understand various concepts, but those are very different from spiritualizing passages, chapters, or an entire book.

When we are told to bind God's commands on our fingers and write them on the tablet of our heart (Prov. 7:2–3), tattooing Bible verses on your fingers and chest is certainly not what is being suggested. The reference to hands means hands, and the reference to the heart means the heart. Our hands are the part of our body we are most familiar with. We can easily see them and we use them every day for a wide variety of tasks. That which is in our heart guides our conversations, interactions, and our conduct. There are many figures of speech used in the Bible that should be contemplated deeply, yet we need to be careful not to misapply or twist the direct application.

Jesus claims to be the door. He is not a literal door. He is using a very well understood concept of a door to convey a spiritual truth. Jesus is the only way out of our confinement of sin. The door is not a substitution for something else. It is a literal door, but the concept has a specific spiritual parallel.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again. Nicodemus thinks that Jesus is speaking literally. Jesus uses a very well-understood concept of natural birth to convey a spiritual truth. We must experience a spiritual birth to enter heaven. The concept of birth is not a substitution for something else. Jesus references birth and means birth but the concept has a specific spiritual parallel.

Using clearly understood common concepts to teach spiritual truths is very useful for us. We only know earthly concepts, so the only way we can understand spiritual truths is through comparisons of common concepts we can know and relate to.

The events in Revelation are not new. All significant events and players in Revelation are prophesied elsewhere in the Bible. We are given more details in Revelation about those events and key persons. Essentially, God is reconfirming His promise to fulfill all the prophecies that had yet to be fulfilled after Jesus was resurrected. You either believe that God will bring about those things that He has foretold or you don't believe that those prophecies will be directly fulfilled. God has literally fulfilled many of the prophecies in the Bible. If you believe that, it seems irrational to me that you would not believe that God will certainly literally fulfill those prophecies that have yet to be fulfilled.

The Old Testament contains hundreds of specific detailed prophecies which were literally fulfilled in astounding detail. I have not found prophecies in the Old Testament that were fulfilled only in a spiritual sense. God delights in making and fulfilling prophecies. We are specifically told that we are to look at fulfilled prophecies to determine if a prophet is speaking for God or if he is speaking for himself.

And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not occur, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid of him. (Deut. 18:21–22)

When Jesus came, the Jewish leaders rejected Him because He did not fit their notions of the Messiah. Jesus kept pointing them back to the prophecies in the Old Testament, but they refused to consider His points as valid. The Jews had spiritualized the prophecies in the Old Testament that spoke of the Messiah suffering, being afflicted, and being killed because that did not seem to fit with the prophecies of the triumphant Messiah who would conquer the enemies of Israel and make the Jews the rulers of the world. They could not see how both could be true, so they spiritualized the ones they did not care for and considered the ones they liked as literal.

If we pick and choose which passages we will take as literal and which we will take as spiritual, we are on proven dangerous ground. Are there passages that have spiritual applications? Absolutely. When Jesus is teaching, He is, in many cases, emphasizing the spiritual lesson using physical stories or physical comparisons. But this type of teaching is very different from the giving of prophecies. True prophecies from God are more certain of being fulfilled than it is certain that the sun will rise tomorrow.

The spiritualizing of the book of Revelation was begun in the Roman Catholic Church. When the Caesars of Rome were the heads of the Roman Catholic Church, it was quite unpopular to profess that Jesus would come and wipe them out and take over the rule of the world. Much of Revelation was then spiritualized so that Jesus would not physically reign on earth but that He would reign in the hearts of the believers. It was also spiritualized that the Roman Catholic Church would continue to grow in reach until it dominated the entire world. This theology was acceptable to the Roman rulers and thus could be adopted as the state religion.

So is everything in Revelation meant to be taken literally? Yes* (with an asterisk).

Before I explain the asterisk, let's look at a similar type of symbolic revelation from God.

Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like a bear, and it raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth: and they said to it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast also had four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld until the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke: I beheld even until the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed. (Dan. 7:2–14)

If you have read Revelation, then this section of Daniel should sound very similar. We have the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. We have four strange beasts physically described and their actions foretold. We have One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds and given dominion and all peoples, nations, and languages serve Him in an everlasting kingdom.

Unlike most of Revelation, here in Daniel, we are given the interpretation of this vision.

I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, whose look was greater than his associates. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Dan. 7:15–27)

We are specifically told these beasts represent kings (rulers and/or kingdoms) which arise out of the earth. So the Great Sea represents the peoples of the earth. The first beast was a lion with eagle's wings, and this just happens to be the symbol of the Babylonian empire which was the first kingdom, relative to Daniel's time, to subject a huge number of lesser nations. The second beast was a huge bear raised up on one side with three ribs in its mouth. The Medes and the Persians formed an alliance, but the Persians were stronger than the Medes; thus, one side of the great empire was higher than the other, and this empire defeated three dominant kingdoms to control most of the known world. The third beast was like a leopard with four wings and it had four heads. After the reign of the Medio-Persian Empire, the Greek empire lead by Alexander the Great conquered the known world with his four chief generals. When Alexander died, the four generals became the four heads of the Greek empire. The Medio-Persian and Greek empires were clearly defined in the vision of Daniel chapter 8 which is a parallel vision.

The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. (Dan. 8:20–21)

So even though Daniel was given a prophecy of strange beasts performing strange actions, they each align very precisely with what we now know as historical events.

Let's look at an example from the New Testament.

For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which produces bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Gal. 4:22–26)

Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac are used symbolically to explain a spiritual truth, but Hagar, Sarah, Ishmael, and Isaac were real people with real history.

Okay, great. So what is the point? The point I am trying to make is that, yes, there is symbolic language, but as we are clearly told in Daniel and elsewhere in the Bible, these symbols represent real tangible things. And the events and actions ascribed to these symbols literally happened. Some shortly after the revelation was given and others were fulfilled long after the individual prophet had died, some of which the significance of the prophecy was not realized until a much later time. The symbols are used to convey the spiritual nature of the object that is being symbolized, but the object of the symbol is real and not a nebulous spiritual concept.

There are areas where imagery is used to make a point. These are usually referred to as parables, but they are still understandable analogies that can be used to convey spiritual principles.

Now will I sing to my beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and removed the stones which were in it, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress in it: and he looked for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; and break down its wall, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor dug; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. (Isa. 5:1–7)

God compares the nation Israel to a vineyard that has not produced the crop that the owner had intended. It may be difficult to understand why God might be displeased with the nation of His chosen people, but when God compares the nation to an unprofitable vineyard, it becomes much more easily understandable and relatable for us to see how God views disobedience in His children.

Whenever the Bible is making a point using imagery, it is a tangible, easily understood reference to a common concept that will help to clarify how God views a certain situation. It is not to allow people to sidestep biblical truths or to bend the Word of God to better suit their personal desire.

I will reiterate this because it is very important. There is no precedence anywhere in the Bible for spiritualizing the words into spiritual concepts that do not have a literal fulfillment or a tangibly spiritual application. When you spiritualize meanings, you can make the Bible say just about anything you want it to say, and that is very dangerous territory and the source of all manner of apostasies.

Throughout the centuries, many erroneous teachings have been introduced. A couple of notable examples would be the Roman Catholic Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses. Each group has interpreted Revelation very differently and in a manner that was favorable to their doctrine.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the church is the Mustard Seed from the parable (Matt. 13:31–32) and that the Roman Catholic Church will continue to grow until the whole world is resting under their canopy. They also teach that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ who sits in the place of Christ in an earthly rule. They do not believe that Christ will return and wipe out the warring nations of the world nor set up a literal kingdom on earth and reign for a thousand years. They, therefore, reject the plain meaning of many of the verses in Revelation and give them a purely spiritual application that fits with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Jehovah's Witnesses love the book of Revelation, but they have interpreted it in a manner that best supports their particular view. They believe that Jesus is a lesser god than Jehovah. They also believe that Jesus returned to the earth in 1914. Thus, they have taken many of the verses in Revelation and interpreted them in a broader spiritual sense rather than a purely tangible sense. They teach that World War I was the opening of the seven seals and the return of Jesus (first rider on the white horse). When Revelation claims that all nations will be gathered together to attack the nation of Israel, their premise does not fit, so those verses must be spiritualized. The Jewish people were not the focus of World War I, and though they were greatly persecuted during World War II, the entire world was not gathered to fight against Israel. The Jehovah's Witnesses claim that they are members of the 144,000 sealed by the angel in Revelation chapter 7. Since there are far more than 144,000 Jehovah's witnesses, and they are not from specific tribes of the Jews, they must spiritualize the verses to make their claims.

Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses emphatically believe that their interpretation is the correct one. Both groups claim biblical scholarship behind their specific interpretations. There are quite a few other groups who claim a scholarly basis for their viewpoint as well. If Revelation can be interpreted in so many ways by different scholars, how can the simple disciple of Christ hope to determine the correct interpretation? Through faith in the Bible, prayer to the Holy Spirit for guidance, and with reverence and honor to what is written.

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable twist, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Pet. 3:16)

Let us be diligent not to twist the scriptures to our destruction. These groups that misinterpret Bible passages have a preconceived doctrine, and they interpret the Bible verses in such a way that will support their doctrine. If we find ourselves bending the simple reading of the text to fit our specific viewpoint, we are on dangerous ground.

The only way to approach Revelation is the same way we should approach every book of the Bible. We must read it as it is given to us. The plain and simple interpretation should be assumed and where there is doubt, we must search the scriptures to validate the interpretation. If there happens to be a couple of verses that we cannot fully reconcile, we must resist the temptation to bend the straightforward meaning to fit what we would like for it to mean.

These are God's words. He has given them to us because He wants His children to know and understand. He knows better than we that we are dumb sheep and that He cannot get too complicated or we would have no chance to understand.

For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb. 4:12)

The Word of God is very precise. God knows the end from the beginning. God calls things that have not happened as though they had happened. Once He has spoken it, it must come to pass; otherwise, He ceases to be perfect.

Then he took to him the twelve, and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully treated, and spit upon: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hidden from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. (Luke 18:31–34)

Jesus tells His disciples that all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. How many things? All things!

We have looked at quite a few prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah that were very symbolically presented. Jesus clearly states that all of those prophecies will be accomplished. Those prophecies concerning the Messiah being a light to the Gentiles, cut off, a man of sorrows, bruised for our transgressions, broken staff of Beauty, bearing our iniquities, on the third day He will raise us up, and many more were all literally fulfilled.

And don't miss the fact that on many occasions, the apostles did not seem to understand what Jesus was telling them. They were thinking that Jesus was speaking spiritually or symbolically about His death. But when Jesus is speaking physically, He is conveying tangible spiritual truths. When Jesus is speaking spiritually, there are literal physical events that correspond to those spiritual proclamations. Physical healings were one thing, but the more important healing was the spiritual. Jesus had to physically die for us to be spiritually saved.

So, yes, I believe that everything in Revelation will have a literal fulfillment, precisely as described. But how are we to understand what Revelation is conveying, especially with all the different opinions of expositors throughout the years? In Daniel's case, God sent an angel to give Daniel the interpretation of the symbols. In the case of Revelation, we are not given the interpretation of the symbols…or are we?

The book of Revelation is at the end of the Bible for several reasons. It was certainly given and written last, but it is also the culmination of all of the other books in the Bible. The Bible begins with the creation of the world that God declared as good. Man sinned against God, and the rest of human history is a tragic narrative of the consequences of our rebellion. From the beginning to the end, God has repeatedly promised to redeem our condemned souls through His atoning Messiah. God has been continually pleading with all of mankind to repent of their sinful ways, trust in God, and obey Him in love.

The book of Revelation outlines the end of the narrative. This is the period of time where God will cease pleading with mankind and pour out His wrath as He destroys those who refuse to submit themselves to His will and insist on following their own will. Since Revelation is the culmination of the whole Bible, we should be able to find references to everything we need somewhere in the other books of the Bible.

Comfort and Joy

Many who adopt the predominantly spiritual view of Revelation will often justify their position claiming that Revelation was given to the persecuted churches during the Apostle John's time to comfort them as they were going through Great Tribulation. That sounds nice, but it does not fit the facts. What facts? The fact that there is very little in the way of comforting messages in Revelation. As a matter of fact, Revelation is the opposite of comfort for the churches of Christ; it is instead a dire warning to those who refuse to have Jesus as the Lord of their lives.

Revelation begins with seven letters to seven churches. These are direct messages from Jesus to seven specific churches. Only two of those churches are not rebuked by Jesus, and one of the two, Smyrna, is just told to remain faithful unto death. How comforting is that message? We could almost imagine if we had been in the church at Smyrna during that time and a letter came for us from Jesus that we would have been quite excited about it. Once the letter was read aloud, we might well ask, Are you sure that was from Jesus? I thought Jesus was supposed to protect us. What about ‘no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand?' The persecuted churches were told that their persecution was going to get worse; their enemies would actually kill them and most probably kill their families. How could anyone consider that as a comforting message?

Even the churches that were not directly told they would be killed still were not given much of a message of comfort. These churches were under heavy persecution. They are struggling for their lives, trying to keep the faith, and what comes from Jesus? Rebukes. Let's look at some of these comforting messages from Jesus to these churches.

Nevertheless, I have somewhat against you:

You have left your first love.

Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen and repent.

Or else I will come unto you quickly and will remove your lampstand.

Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison.

You have those who hold the doctrine of Balaam…[and] eat things sacrificed unto idols, and commit fornication.

You have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Repent; or else I will come to you quickly, and will fight against you with the sword of my mouth.

You permit that woman, Jezebel, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication and