A Revelation Invitation

(The “How to Read Revelation” series begins here.)

Principle #3: Historical Context of Revelation

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:10-11 ESV)

And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” (Revelation 22:6)

As the first passage above illustrates, Revelation was written to specific people in specific churches in specific cities. As the second passage shows, Revelation assured these people that God would act soon on their behalf. John knew his audience well, and they knew him well. The Christians in these churches were Jews and gentiles, merchants and tradesmen, slaves and freemen, husbands and wives, young and old. Because of their allegiance to Christ (rather than Caesar), the Roman authorities often viewed them as threats to the stability of the Empire. Except for the handful who were Roman citizens, they had few rights under the law and were subject to the arbitrary whims of the magistrates. Because their faith in the God of heaven precluded them from worshiping the pantheon of Roman God’s, they were decried as atheists. (Ironic, isn’t it?) Because their refusal to engage in community religious festivals surely angered the gods, their neighbors blamed them for any bad circumstances that fell on their livelihoods or on their cities. Because they were excluded from the guilds for their refusal to worship the guilds’ gods, their businesses were boycotted. These are the people to whom Revelation was written. These are the people who needed assurance that God would act soon. It is first through their eyes that we need to interpret its message.

How did these ancient Christians in the Roman province of Asia hear the words of the prophesy? How did they understand its imagery? What came to their minds when it was first read in their assemblies? What admonitions and encouragements did they take from its reading? Because we live in profoundly different times and in entirely different places in vastly different cultures, these questions are difficult for us to answer; but consider them we must. Whatever applications we take from Revelation must be consistent with those of our first century brothers and sisters.

Even with no more than a cursory knowledge of Revelation’s historical setting, we can reject some of the wilder, contemporary interpretations. If my interpretation of apocalyptic imagery would have been incomprehensible to our first century brothers and sisters, then I should revisit my interpretation. Those who see ICBM missiles or Apache helicopters in its pages, need to ask whether that would have made sense to a person in ancient Ephesus. If not, it can’t be what John was trying to communicate. We should look at Revelation through the eyes of a church who was being oppressed by the Roman Empire. The encouragement that Revelation brought to such people will encourage believers today in the same way. Keeping this historical context in mind at all times prevents us from straying into any of the bizarre interpretations currently in circulation.

Do I need to become an historian to read Revelation properly? No. Understanding the circumstances of the original audience more fully is certainly going to help. But the basics begin with knowing the theme(here) and the purpose(here) of the book. Applications will then emerge through thoughtful, humble reading.

Lord God, thank you for your power and foresight in preserving this great book through time and distance. You loved the people John shares his vision with as you love me today. Help me walk in their sandals as I read. Help me hear it through their ears. I know that I will miss a lot at first, but give me patience as you open my eyes to insights that help put the pieces together. Amen.

(Part 5 of “How to Read Revelation” is here.)