© S. J.
Lea 2010
R EVELATION
Using this guide
The Revelation to John, popularly known simply
as Revelations, is one of the hardest books of
the Bible to understand. But it is not impossible
to understand and you don’t require a masters
degree in theology to get something out of it.
This guide is intended to give you some pointers
on how to approach your reading of Revelation.
This guide is not intended as religious
instruction. Nowhere are you told what to think.
The purpose of the articles is to encourage you
to read Revelation rather than dismiss it
altogether as too weird! In fact, as you will see
in this guide, Revelation is not really that weird
once you consider the book as part of the
overall message of the Bible. In a sentence:
Good wins over evil.
Bear in mind as you read, what kind of book you
are reading. That is, John is recording a
Revelation or Apocalypse. Revelation refers to a
The seven churches that are in Asia
John passes on, to each congregation, an
individual message from Jesus in chapters 2 and
3 of Revelation. There is a question over
whether the churches referred to are actual
churches or meant to be symbolic. Seven, for
example is a highly symbolic number. And there
were a lot more than seven churches in Asia at
the time of writing. For sure, a much wider
audience than a single congregation in, Ephesus
for example, was intended to hear and learn
from the message to that church. Let’s look at
Please see The seven churches that are in Asia on page
TO J OHN
Using this guide 1
The seven churches that are in Asia
Who was John?
1
2
Arguments for and against John (and John) 2
The Olivet Discourse - what Jesus had to say 2
Interpreting Revelation – four approaches 3
John’s use of the Old Testament 3
Introducing the major characters 5
666 The mark of the beast 6
Tribulation and Rapture 6
Discussion 7
supernatural communication, something that is
revealed by God through his divine will. So what
we have is John’s account, inspired by God, of a
supernatural event. John’s isn’t the only
revelation in the Bible but it is the only book
consisting entirely of revelation. This being so it’s
hardly surprising that neither reporting the event
for John, nor reading that report for us, is going to
be simple!
In this guide you will see that John expects his
writing to be taken as symbolic. And that
Revelation is not some hallucinogenic trip at the
end of the Bible but adheres closely to ideas and
the seven churches:
Ephesus – city was home to the Temple of
Artemis, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient
world. Jesus rebukes the church for an unloving
attitude.
Smyrna – city was home to the temple to
Augustus and his mother and built another for
Tiberius Caesar. Jesus acknowledges their
persecution.
4
Page 2
Who was John?
The author of the book identifies himself as John.
He does so four times: The Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave him to show his servants
what must soon take place; it made it known by
sending his angel to his servant John [1:1]. John
to the seven churches that are in Asia [1:4]. I,
John, your brother who share with you in Jesus
[1:9]. I, John, am the one who heard and saw
these things [22:8]. But he does not tell us which
John he is. This must be because he doesn’t
think that that is important. It could be that he
assumes that everyone reading his work already
knows who he is. After all, if you send someone
Arguments for and against John (and John) as the author
As we have seen, the author of Revelations
refers to himself four times as John. The Apostle
John in his Gospel doesn’t refer to himself by
name instead calling himself ‘the one whom
Jesus loved’. Revelations and John’s Gospel were
written in Greek but Revelations is written in a
much sloppier style. In addition to this, with
most authors it is possible to recognize their
‘voice’ through their writing style, Revelations
and the Gospel are not written in the same style.
Those who believe that the Apostle John is the
The Olivet discourse – what Jesus had to say
Jesus’ discourse on the Mount of Olives, also
known as the Olivet discourse, refers to the
teaching of Jesus about: The destruction of the
Temple in Jerusalem, the tribulation, and his
return to earth. In Matthew [24:2], Jesus points
out the temple to his disciples and says ‘Truly I
tell you, not one stone will be left here upon
another; all will be thrown down’. The disciples
|Revelation to John
you know a letter, do you always put your full
name? It could also be that the author simply
thinks that who he is isn’t important, he is a
humble servant it is the message than counts.
People in the early church, from the second
century onwards considered this John to be
the same John who wrote the Gospel of John.
Dionysius, Pope of Alexandria (248-265),
argued that John was not the Apostle John but
another John, an obscure figure from the early
church called John the Presbyter. It is still
unknown today which John is the author.
author of Revelations have an answer to each
of these problems. The fact that John is
named in Revelations and not in the Gospel
may simply be because John had a reason for
naming himself. Although the two works have
different styles, they are after all different
kinds of books, they do share similar words
and phrases. For instance, Jesus is only
described as Logos in John [1:1] and
Revelation [19:13], and referred to as a Lamb
in John [1:29] and Revelation [5:6]. What
This article continues on page 5
ask Jesus about the Temple, the sign of his
coming and the end of the age. Jesus warns
them about false prophets claiming to be the
Messiah. And of wars, famines and
earthquakes. Christians will be persecuted
and martyred but God’s people will persevere
and message of Jesus will be told. When the
entire world has heard this message, the end
will come.
 |Revelation to John Page 3

Interpreting Revelation – four approaches

Revelation needs interpretation. Even someone

who takes the Bible 100% literally must still find a
way of interpreting John’s visions. John himself,
makes it clear that the things he is describing are
representations of other things. In chapter 17, one
of the seven angels explains to John, who is
‘greatly amazed’ [17:6] by what he has seen, the
meaning behind some of the visions, advising him
‘This calls for a mind that has wisdom’ [17:9].

The four main approaches to interpreting the

Revelation to John.

Futurist – Everything that John describes refers to

events that will happen at some time in the future.

Historicist – Some of the events that John

describes have happened already, some are
happening now, some will happen in the future.

Preterist – Everything John describes has already

The old and the new – John’s use of the Old Testament
happened in the past.

Idealist – Nothing in Revelation will happen

John never quotes from any of the books of the In the first chapter John links sacrificial blood with
literally , rather everything is symbolic.
Old Testament directly but frequently refers or freedom, reminding us of the blood of the
alludes to popular
many ofinterpretation
the books. In was
referencing
The most idealist,the
until sacrificed lambs in the Passover story. This time it
scriptures, John is demonstrating that his is Jesus’ blood – Jesus ‘who loves us and freed us
the historicist method was developed in the 12th
experiences
Century. Thisare part of the whole byBible story. In from our sins by his blood’ [1:5]. In chapter 11,
approach, favoured Martin Luther
this article we’ll look at just some Old Testament John uses Egypt as a symbol of evil power [11:8]
amongst others, had a strong anti-papal flavour.
ideas appearing in John’s
bit revelation and take a and a few verses later John talks of ‘the ark of the
The now happening meant interpreting the
look at some of the Prophets to see what they covenant’ [11:19]. The ark, of course, features in
beast in Chapter 13 as the Pope! The futurist and
had to say. the Old Testament, ‘David and all the house of
preterist methods Spanish Jesuits came up with
during the Reformation era provided an argument Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with
In Revelation
these[8:7] we see
on athe
plague of hail. Later shouting, and the sound of the trumpet’ [2
against attacks Pope. Today, the
we see ‘from the smoke came locusts on the Samuel 6:15]. John also refers to trumpets being
historicist approach is all but dead with the others
earth’ [9:3]. The fifth angel in [16:10] plunges used to signify God’s will or power. In Numbers
still going strong.
the kingdom ‘into darkness’. John then sees ‘foul God tells Moses to ‘make two silver trumpets’
spirits like frogs’ [16:13]. In Exodus 8, 9, 10 we [10:2] with instructions on when to use them.
see plagues of frogs, hail, locusts and darkness. Seven priests blow seven trumpets as part of the

Please see John’s use of the Old Testament on

page 4
Page 4
Continues from The seven churches in Asia on page 1
Pergamum- city sided with the Romans. Jesus
commends the church for not denying their faith
but rebukes them for idolatry and fornication.
Thyatira – city known for large number of trade
guilds. Jesus commends the church but warns
against compromise.
Sardis – one of the richest cities in the region
with a legendary past. Jesus rebukes the church
Continuing John’s use of the Old Testament from
page 3
destruction of Jericho in Joshua 6. In Judges 7,
Gideon’s army of just 300 men use trumpets to
defeat a huge army.
Isaiah refers to God as ‘the first and the last’
[44:6] and again in [48:12]. In Revelation Jesus
says to John ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and Zechariah’s vision of the horsemen is similar to
the last’ [1:17]. Compare ‘I have trodden the
wine press alone, and from the peoples no one
was with me; I trod them in my anger and
trampled them in my wrath’ [Isaiah 63:3] with
‘they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath,
poured unmixed into the cup of his anger’ [Rev.
14:10].
Daniel dreams of four beasts, ‘like a lion and
had eagles’ wings […] a second one that looked
like a bear […] another appeared, like a
leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on
it’s back and four heads […] After this I saw a
fourth beast, terrifying and exceedingly strong
[…] and it had ten horns’ [Daniel 7:4-8]. The
first beast in Revelations also has ten horns,
John says ‘And the beast that I saw was like a
leopard, it’s feet were like a bear’s and it’s
|Revelation to John
for being spiritually dead, he tells them to ‘Wake up’
[3:2].
Philadelphia – the city is home to the temple of
Dionysius and nearby vine-growing district. Jesus
acknowledges the difficult relations between the
church and Jewish leaders.
Laodicea – a centre of banking. The water was
notoriously foul. Jesus severely rebukes the church
comparing the state of their faith to the water. He
mouth was like a lion’s mouth.’ [Rev. 13:1-3]. In the
previous chapter John uses the unusual phrase ‘for a
time, and times, and half a time.’ [12:14]. Daniel
uses the phrase ‘for a time, two times, and half a
time’ twice, in [7:25] and [12:7].
John’s horsemen in Revelations 6. ‘In the night I saw
a man riding on a red horse! […] and behind him
were red, sorrel and white horses […] the angel who
talked to me said […] “they are those whom the
LORD has sent to patrol the earth”’ [Zechariah 1:8-
10]. In Zechariah 4, he has a vision of a lampstand
and olive trees. John also has visions of olive tress
and lampstands. Compare Zachariah who was told
that the olive trees ‘are the two anointed ones who
stand by the Lord of the whole earth.’ [4:14] and
John ‘These are the two olive trees and the two
lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth’.
[11:4].
Isaiah, Daniel and Zechariah, like John, all deliver
prophecies about the End Times. From Isaiah we get
the peaceful vision of days to come when ‘He will
judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for
many peoples; they shall beat their swords into
 |Revelation to John Page 5

Continuing Arguments For and Against John (and John) as author from
page 2
about the different writing styles and sloppier
Greek? There are explanations available. Three
plausible ones are:
• John required an amanuensis to help him
write his Gospel. That is, he dictated his
thoughts to a secretary who wrote them
down for him. Because he was exiled on
the Island of Patmos when he wrote
Revelation he didn’t have any help with
his Greek, hence the sloppier style.
• Revelation is a kind of vision, something
revealed in a very special way. John may
have wanted to get his thoughts down as
fast as possible before the clarity of the
experience dimmed in his mind. In his
haste, his Greek suffered.
• It is possible that Revelation was written
before his Gospel and epistles. As with all
first examples of writing from a author, we
would expect to see a less proficient style.
Until we get some more evidence we’ll never know
the identity of the author for sure. One question
still remains however. Whether the author is the
Apostle John, or John the Presbyter, or an entirely
different John – when was the book written?
Like the identity of the author, no-one knows for
sure, but most people put the actual time of
writing either in the 60s AD or the 90s AD. Clues
are in the text, such as references to an intact
Temple in Jerusalem (indicates before 70 AD), or
the presence of a church in Laodicea (the city
suffered an earthquake in the early 60s, so it’s

Introducing the major characters

John has the formidable task of shown as eyes of fire.

providing a written description of
the amazing and awe-inspiring
things he sees during his revelation.
Let’s look a some of the ‘beings’ he
describes.
One like the Son of Man
[1:13] This is Jesus. Wearing a
sash like a high priest. Unlike a
false idol whose feet are made of
clay, his are bronze. He holds seven
stars representing the seven
churches. The power of his words
are represented as a sword. His
divinity is shown by his face shining
like the sun and his omniscience
Twenty-four elders [4:4] There is no consensus on who these
elders are. Do they represent the New Testament Church, or the 12
tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles? Are they a choir of angels?
Four living creatures [4:6] One like a lion, one like an ox, one
has a human face and one like an eagle – they all have six wings
and are full of eyes. These creatures are similar to ones mentioned
in Daniel and Ezekiel. They are angels.
A Lamb [5:6] The lamb is ‘slain’ but alive. The lamb is Jesus.
Four horseman [6:1-8] The white horse is the conqueror, the red
horse is war, the black horse is famine and the pale green one is
death. Is the white horse Jesus or the Antichrist?
Please see Introducing the Characters on
page 6
Page 6
666 the mark of the Beast
‘This calls for wisdom: let anyone with
understanding calculate the number of the beast,
for it is the number of a person. Its number is six
hundred and sixty-six.’
[Rev 13:17]
Or is it? Some ancient authorities read six hundred
and sixteen. But what does it mean? The most
well-known attempts to solve this riddle have
involved converting to numbers the letters in the
names of people considered as suitable candidates
for the role of beast and managing to come up
with 666 (or 616). Almost all of these calculations
rely on the following to get them to work:
1. Using a non-usual version of the person’s
name, such as a nick-name.
2. Using a title, a description of the person,
or their name + title and/or description.
3. Converting the any of the above to
Hebrew, Greek or Latin in order to get
letters that will fit numerologically and
add up to either 666 or 616
Other views say that 666 refers not to a person
but to the date or barcodes. The 2nd Century
church father Irenaeus warns against idle
speculation on the number and given that
Revelation calls wisdom, it is probably best not to
spend too much time making wild guesses.
Tribulation and Rapture
‘For at that time there will be great suffering,
such as has not been from the beginning of the
world until now, no, and never will be.’ [Mark
24:21]
‘Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in
heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn, and they will see “the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven” with power and
great glory.’ [Mark 24:30]
‘For the Lord himself, with a cry of command,
with the archangel’s call and with the sound of
God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are
|Revelation to John
Introducing the Characters from
page 5
144,000 of Israel [7:1] Controversial, who
exactly are the 144,000?
The two witnesses [11:4] One witness is
described as ‘two olive trees’ and the other as ‘two
lampstands’. Are they two people, or the church
itself?
The pregnant woman [12:1] Many different
opinions on who this is. Is she the people of God,
or perhaps the Virgin Mary?
The red dragon [12:3] John tells us who this is,
it’s Satan, the Devil.
The second beast [13:1] Conjured up by Satan.
Not a monster though but most likely a human
figure.
The great whore [17:1] Rome, depicted as
Babylon and portrayed as a prostitute.
Rider on a white horse [19:11] Called ‘Faithful
alive, who are left, will be caught up in the
clouds together with them to meet the Lord in
the air; and so we will be with the Lord for
ever.’ [1 Thess 16-17]
‘Look! He is coming with the clouds: every eye
will see him, even those who pierced him; and
on his account all the tribes of the earth will
wail. So it is to be. Amen.’ [Revelation 1:7]
Exactly at what point during the tribulation
the rapture will happen is disputed among
futurists. Remember that idealists don’t take
it literally and preterists believe most of the
prophecy has already been fulfilled, for
example, when the Romans destroyed
 |Revelation to John
Discussion
We have seen that Revelation needs to be read
with wisdom and understanding. Revelations has
inspired people to seek a better understanding of
God’s relationship with human beings. But it has
also been abused by people seeking to confuse and
frighten others into joining some private cause or
just buying some products. Have you noticed that
the book of Genesis begins with light and life and it
ends in the dark with the death of Joseph,
embalmed in a coffin? The whole story of the Bible
is one of God at work, reclaiming his perfect
creation. Throughout the Bible we see light
representing good and darkness representing bad.
In Genesis 1, if you read carefully, you will see that
on each day that God creates there is the line ‘and
God saw that it was good’ – except – on the second
day. Instead we read ‘So God made the dome and
separated the waters that were under the dome
from the waters that were above the dome. And it
was so. [1:7 my italics]. This is because there was
no light on that day. The author is making the point
that God’s light is good. Let’s look at a passage
from Isaiah:
‘Thus says God, the LORD. Who created the
heavens and stretched them out, who spread out
the earth and what comes from it, who gives
breath to the people who walk upon it, and spirit to
those that walk in it: I am the LORD, I have called
you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand
and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to
the people, a light to the nations, to open eyes that
are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the
dungeon, from the prison those who sit in
Page 7
darkness.’ [Isaiah 42:5-8]
In Revelations we read ‘See, the home of God is
among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will
be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will
be no more; mourning and crying an pain will be
no more; for the first things have passed away.’
[Rev 21:3-4]
Going back to Isaiah, we remember this familiar
passage: ‘He shall judge between the nations, and
shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat
their swords into ploughshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks; and nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
any more.’ [Isaiah 2:4]
Throughout Revelation John frequently refers to
old Testament prophecy and to Jesus’ prophecy.
Everything John reports is consistent with the Bible
message: God will reclaim his creation, good will
triumph. The imagery in the Revelation is shocking
at times (most of the time!) but perhaps we need
to be shocked, have we become like some of the
churches in Asia John is writing to? Are we guilty of
compromise like the church in Thyatira, has our
faith become lukewarm like the church in
Laodicea? Are we becoming like the congregation
of the church in Sardis – is Jesus telling us to Wake
Up!
There are constructive and destructive ways of
Page 8 |Revelation to John

Some questions to think about or discuss

1. Does it matter who the author of Revelation is? How does the date of authorship
affect the interpretation of the book?
2. Are the seven churches referred to by John, intended to be understood as real
churches, existing during his lifetime?
3. Why did some of the seven churches need to be rebuked by Jesus?
4. What connection is there, if any, between the city, the church, and the rebuke? For
example, the city of Thyatira was well known for its trade guilds, Jesus cautions the
church in Thyatira about compromise – is there a connection?
5. How does John use Old Testament prophecy and imagery.
6. Why does John use Old Testament prophecy and imagery.
7. How does John’s revelation relate to the Olivet discourse?
8. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of the Futurist approach
9. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of the Historicist approach
10.Consider the strengths and weaknesses of the Preterist approach
11.Consider the strengths and weaknesses of the idealist approach
12.What is the mark of the beast, 666 or 616, all about?

Space for your notes