(OPINION) Belief.Net – The Book of Revelation is one of the most complicated books of the Bible, even for Christians who have spent a lot of time reading the Bible. The last book of the Bible is also called the Apocalypse, meaning to disclose and reveal.
According to the Scripture, the Book of Revelation was “given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). We know from this that this book of the Bible includes information our Heavenly Father intends to reveal. Given Revelation is such a complex book, there are many things that people get wrong about this text. Here are six powerful keys to unlock the book of Revelation.
Many people are confused about the background of the Book of Revelation. Some Bible translations say that the Book of Revelation is the Revelation of John, but this isn’t entirely true. Revelation 1:1 tells us, “The Revelation [is] from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon occur.
He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John.” God talked to John in his dream and gave all the revelations he wrote in the book. However, the real author of Revelation is God, and Jesus Christ is the One who gave the Revelation to an angel to give to John.
John recorded the message but is not the real author of the book. John was fitted for this role as he considered Jesus, his best friend. He was a beloved disciple – He followed Jesus for three years and believed every word He said.
Most biblical scholars agree that the Book of Revelation’s framework is apocalyptic. As a genre, apocalyptic literature details the authors’ visions of the end times as revealed by an angel or other heavenly messenger.
It shares with prophecy revelation through visions and dreams, which often combine reality and fantasy. In both cases, a divine interpreter is usually provided to the receiver so that they may understand the many complexities of what is seen.
John uses end-of-the-world imagery, as you would commonly see from apocalyptic works. This literature type relies heavily on symbolism that speaks to the audience that the book is written for. READ MORE
