The Importance of Understanding Audience and Purpose
Artificially restricting the audience or purpose can result in lack of
relevance to other believers and undermine application.
The Bias Against Prophetic Content
Some would have us believe that the prophetic aspects of
The Book of Revelation
are only minor. They want to minimize any prophetic emphasis in
order to avoid the implications for the future. A devotional or political
emphasis is elevated in its place.
A Prophetic Book
Revelation contains Prophecy!
" It is important to understand what the book claims for itself.
The words
prophecy, prophesy, prophesying, prophet
and
prophets
are forms used twenty-one times in the writing. " (Couch,
A Bible Handbook to Revelation,
81)
What Characterizes Prophecy?
Biblical prophecy is characterized by:
1)
Short-term relevance to original hearers (also provides testability);
2)
Revealing the future which only God can foretell--a witness to His
message (Isa. 46:9-10);
3)
Motivation for godly living for the hearers of all ages (Jonah and Nineveh -
Jonah 3:5-10;
Christian living -
2Pe. 3:10-14).
Prophecy Often Transcends the Immediate Audience
By its very nature, prophetic scripture
must
be given to an original audience which may not be
alive when the events transpire. Relevancy to the original readers is not
the
sole measure
of the purpose of a passage (e.g.,
Isaiah 53;Zec. 9:9
cf.
Mat. 21:2-5).
John's Motive
What was John's Motive?
Some assert that John wrote
The Book of Revelation
after a long and careful consideration of the geopolitical climate and the
impact the culture was having upon the Church.
Anti-supernatural Bias
" It was
natural
that the Church of the first century should produce such a writing,
for Christian hope centered in the coming of the kingdom of God... " (Beckwith,
The Apocalypse of John,
156).
John's Motive was Obedience!
John had a powerful
spiritual encounter with the glorified Christ
(Rev. 1:9)
and was
told
to " Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the
things which will take place after this. " (Rev. 1:19).
Purpose
To Reveal Christ in His Deistic Glory
Christ is immediately and clearly revealed in His deity
(Rev. 1:8;1:11,17-18
- Jesus
is God!).
To Address the Needs of the Seven Churches
Chapters
2
and
3
address the specific needs of historic churches and by
extension, churches of all times and places.
To Confirm the Prophecies of the Old Testament
Chapters
4
through
22
confirm that God's program as set forth in the Old
Testament will indeed come to pass. It was not abandoned or subsumed by the
Church Age.
To Reveal the Future
Achieving several results:
1)
motivating believers to godly living and to watch for Christ;
2)
motivating unbelievers to consider their ultimate destiny and that
of the earth;
3)
revealing the restoration of God's original created order.
Theme
The Sovereignty of God
God's direct intervention and control of the events of history is a
powerful testimony of His sovereignty over creation. His purposes are
immutable.
The Sovereignty of God
God's direct intervention and control of the events of history is a
powerful testimony of His sovereignty over creation. His purposes are
immutable.
The Glorification and Worship of God
The book is chock-full of scenes of the worship of God in heaven
(Rev. 4:8,11;
5:8-13;
7:9-12;
11:15;
15:2-4;
16:18;
19:1-8).
The Arrival of God's Kingdom on Earth
This expectation from the Old Testament is finally fulfilled as Christ
reigns from Jerusalem upon the throne of David.
A Worldwide Revival
This time of unparalleled persecution and upheaval will bring perhaps the
greatest revival of history as multitudes reject the worship of
the Beast and turn to God.
For additional information on this topic, see the commentary.
