CAN THE BOOK OF REVELATION BE UNDERSTOOD?
Hugo McCord
The scholarly commentator, Adam Clarke, in 1830, in his "Preface to the Revelation," wrote:
I have read elaborate works on the subject, and each seemed right until another was examined. I am satisfied that no certain mode of interpreting the prophecies of this book has yet been found out, and I will not add another monument to the littleness or folly of the human mind by endeavoring to strike out a new course. I repeat it, I do not understand the book.
But speculators and sensational preachers still claim they have "the real truth about. ... The Mark of the Beast and the Mysterious # 666" and "The United States in Prophecy" and "Near Death Experiences," all of which will be revealed by Mark Finley in Portland, Oregon, at 1910 SE 182nd Ave., October 5-13, 1996.
"Over 20 signs of Christ’s second coming have been revealed; there is one left," says Finley. But Jesus said that there is no sign of his second coming:
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ... Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Matthew 24:36, 42-44, NIV).
Jesus carried the thief illustration into the book of Revelation: "Behold, I come like a thief!" (16:15), and so did Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2) and Peter (2 Peter 3:10). Now, if the owner of a house can figure out when the thief is coming, then a preacher can figure out when Jesus is coming.
As to the one correct interpretation of the book of Revelation, some assert that "if God did not intend for us to understand the book, he would not have given it," and "if it is a mystery, it is not a revelation."
However, God knows best. On one occasion even the inspired man selected to write a Bible book did not understand part of what he had written! Daniel’s heaven-sent vision about a ram and a he-goat (Daniel 8:1-26) was so confusing and mysterious that he wrote:
I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding" (8:27).
"Not now, but in the coming years," was what Daniel had to learn. "Some day we’ll understand" all of the books of Daniel and Revelation, and will fully appreciate at the end of time every word of God’s everlasting Scripture.
John gave inspired interpretations for the meaning of 12 symbols (1:20; 4:5; 5:6, 8; 12:9; 17:9, 12, 15, 18; 19:8; 20:14), but many are left unexplained. A wise person remembers that the "secret things, belong to the Lord our God" (Deuteronomy 29:29), and he remembers that he must not "go beyond that which is written" (1 Corinthians 4:6, ASV), and he remembers that he must not add to the book of Revelation or to any other Bible book:
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. If anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Revelation 22:18-19, NIV).
Moreover, a wise person will realize that any theory that contradicts plain and revealed teachings in other Bible books must be wrong.
In addition, a person of good will keeps in mind that guesses as to what John may have meant arouse the suspicion of those who guess otherwise. The sad development is that brothers often disagree to the point of cleavage.
Churches are torn, which latter evil is worse than the original speculative evil. It is bad enough to guess about God’s secrets, to make plain what he did not, but when such divides God’s children, it is beyond apology. "Hast thou [a guess? an opinion]? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself" in pushing his theory (Romans 14:22, KJV). "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith we may edify another" (Romans 14:19). "Let brotherly love continue" (Hebrews 13:1).
F. L. Rowe, a gospel preacher and editor of the CHRISTIAN LEADER (Cincinnati, Ohio) in the forties, was so outdone by brotherhood debates and church splits about the book of Revelation that he exploded, writing in an editorial that he wished that a Bible would be published that omitted Revelation.
He was as lacking in knowledge as the infidel who blamed all wars on Christianity. No, the book of Revelation is not the cause of trouble. Indeed, it has blessed millions, and it will continue to spread comfort and courage to all who prayerfully spend time with its holy contents.
Notwithstanding the fact that the book of Revelation has many God-planned mysteries (musterion, 1:20; 10:7; 17:5, 7), it also has many simplicities, things easily understood. The young and the old, the educated and the uneducated, all easily understand many verses in God’s last message to mankind:
To him who loves us, and who washed us from our sins by his blood, and who made us a kingdom and priests before God, even his Father--to him is the splendor and the strength forever and ever. Amen! (1:5-6.)
Look! He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the nations of the earth will mourn over him. Yes! Amen! (1:7.)
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, ... (1:10.)
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. He put his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid: I am the first and the last, the living one. I was dead, but look! I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and Hades." (1:17-18.)
But I have this against you: you have forsaken your first love. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, change your heart, and do the first works. If you do not, I will come and remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you change your heart. (2:4-5.)
Let him, who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the congregations: to the one who overcomes, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God. (2:7.)
Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. ... Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. (2:10.)
Let him, who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the congregations: he who overcomes will not be harmed by ... the fiery lake, which is the second death. (2:11; 20:14.)
He who overcomes will be clothed in white garments, and I will never remove his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. (3:5.)
I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. (3:15-16.)
You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for you created all things. Because of your desire, they came into existence, yes, they were created. (4:11.)
You are worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals, for you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God men of every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them to be a kingdom and priests for our God, and they reign on the earth. (5:9-10.)
These are coming out of great distress. They have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in the temple. He who sits on the throne will dwell with them. (7:14-15.)
Blessed from now on are the dead who die in the Lord. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors. Their works go along with them. (14:13.)
I saw a great white throne, and the one sitting on it. The earth and heaven fled from his face, and no place was found for them. I saw the dead, the great and the small, stand before the throne. Books were opened, and another book was opened, the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things written in the books according to their works. (20:11-12.)
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more! Neither mourning nor crying nor pain will ever be, for the former things will have passed away. (22:4.)
L. O. Sanderson loved not only the book of Revelation, but all of the God-breathed Scriptures. He was the author of the beautiful hymn, "The Precious Book Divine":
How precious is the Book divine,
By inspiration giv’n!
Bright as a lamp its precepts shine,
To guide my soul to heav’n.