Overview of Revelation

Letter: John writes to seven churches who represent the struggles and successes of the Church at large in John’s day, and the Church today.
Prophecy: The content has a warning element and includes themes of judgment paired with salvation.
Apocalypse: This literature relies on symbols and passages from the Old Testament to communicate meaning and theological truths.

Author/Date: Revelation was likely written by the Apostle John in the 90s AD.
Setting: The Emperor Domitian reigned in Rome from AD 81–96, demanding allegiance and adherence to the imperial cult, which viewed the Emperor as divine.
Audience: John wrote to Christians who were living under the rule of the Roman Empire and faced the threat of persecution as well as the temptations of social and economic compromise.

Revelation has over 400 Old Testament allusions—more than any other book in the New Testament.
John does not cite his references—he expects his audience to make connections around Old Testament images and theological ideas.
Books most referenced are Exodus, Psalms, Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Zechariah.

Symbolic language in Revelation is ideographic, not pictographic. The scenes and characters are not literal; they represent ideas.
- For example, an icon of a heart is not pictographic (it does not look like a human heart, nor does it look like someone in love). Yet it is associated with love, affection, or health.
John records symbols of Christ, not pictures of him. For example, Jesus doesn’t literally have a sword coming out of his mouth, but that represents the idea of his word and how it brings judgment.

The person of Jesus Christ
- The revelation is from Jesus and about him—who he is and what his plan is. *Note, the book is titled “Revelation,” singular, not “Revelations.” It is the revealing of a person.
The triumph of good over evil
- While the Roman Empire conquers through intimidation, threat, military might, and coercion, Jesus is presented 28 times in the book as a lamb, conquering through his own blood and sacrifice. His followers conquer through their faith and perseverance in the face of evil opposition.
The perseverance of the Church
- Evil empires seek to destroy the Church, but Christ will be victorious. This theme is seen in the completion of Jesus’ work, our ultimate unification with him, and his unification of heaven and earth.

Don’t:

Look for how the book lines up with current events.
Try to find an ideal or “right” interpretation that resolves all tensions and answers all questions.

Do:

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