The Lion and the Lamb: A Guide to the Book of Revelationნიმუში

Context Is Everything

To read Revelation faithfully, we’ve got to keep a few big ideas at the front of our minds: Jesus is King (that’s what yesterday was all about), and context is everything.The context is the information that gives meaning to what we’re reading.

To keep this simple, we’re going to explore three big contextual elements that give us clues to understanding this book.

1. The Bible is God’s Word for us, but it wasn’t originally written to us.
2. The Bible is meant to be read literately, not just literally.
3. The Bible is best read in passages, not pieces.

So, what does all that mean, and how does it change the way we read this book? Let’s walk through each concept together.

1. The Bible is God’s Word for us, but it wasn’t originally written to us.

One of the reasons the Bible is so special is because it was written by people and it was inspired by God. Each book, scroll, letter, and document was written by an author, to an audience, for a specific purpose—just like any other form of writing. But, because of the inspiration of God, those writings were given wisdom, truth, and power beyond any ordinary person’s ability.

The inspiration of the Holy Spirit working through human authors is captured in the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus says, “‘David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared …’” (Mark 12:36).

Now, let’s apply this to the Book of Revelation by answering three big questions: Who is the author? Who is the audience? What is the author’s purpose?

Thankfully, we don’t have to guess the answers to these questions. They’re right there in the book for us!

John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia … Revelation 1:4 NIV

The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”
Revelation 22:6-7 NIV

Who is the author? John, an apostle of Jesus. (This is the same John who wrote the Gospel of John and was an eyewitness of Jesus’ resurrection.)

Who is the audience? The seven churches in the province of Asia, which, you will soon discover, aren’t so different from many of our churches.

What is the purpose? To tell the Christians in these churches what is about to take place so they will be blessed. How? By remaining faithful to Jesus through all their challenges until He eventually returns to make all things new.

If the Bible was only written by people, that would be the end of it. But, because it is inspired by God, we can trust that these words written so long ago still have relevance to our lives today.

Because, as followers of Jesus, we are still awaiting the return of our King. And until He comes back, we will face all sorts of trials and temptations. We will get things right, and we will get things wrong. At times, we’ll want to throw in the towel and turn our backs on God. But, if we stay strong, if we stick with Jesus, then we will be blessed. The day is coming when He’ll return to finish what He started. He will deal with sin, death, and evil, once and for all. He will remake the world, and all who believe in Him will have a place in the New Creation.

The Bible is God’s Word for us, but it wasn’t originally written to us. So, if we want to understand what it means for us now, we have to learn what it meant to the original audience.

2. The Bible is meant to be read literately, not just literally.

Another thing that makes the Bible unique—and also tricky—is that it is not a single book, written by a single author, in a single literary genre. It is a library of 66 books, written by dozens of authors, in multiple languages, spanning a time frame of more than 1000 years.

This is why, in addition to learning the author, audience, and original purpose, it is immensely helpful to figure out what literary genre the book is. Because if you try to read poetry like it’s history, or prophecy like it’s a letter, you’ll get really confused very quickly.

So, what literary genre is the Book of Revelation? It’s a letter (also called an epistle) written in the form of prophecy (specifically “apocalyptic” prophecy). This is one of the other reasons Revelation can be so challenging to read. It jumps from one literary genre to the next, with what seems like very little warning. This is why our last point is so important.

3. The Bible is best read in passages, not pieces.

When it comes to reading the Bible in context, we have to keep in mind that when the Book of Revelation was first written, it was not divided into chapters and verses. It was one continuous document from beginning to end. Chapters and verses didn’t show up in Bibles until more than 1000 years after the New Testament was written! The inclusion of chapters and verses was done to make navigating the Bible easier, which is a very good thing. But one of the unfortunate side effects is the tendency for people to just focus on a single verse without considering all the other verses, paragraphs, chapters, and even other books of the Bible that give meaning to that verse.

This is especially dangerous when it comes to the Book of Revelation. Because so much of the book is written in the form of apocalyptic prophecy, ripping a single verse out of context can lead to all sorts of wild theories that are not faithful to the text or helpful to us as followers of Jesus.

When it comes to understanding Revelation, one of the best things we can do is remember how the book begins and ends. It begins with the declaration that Jesus is King and has the power to overcome anyone and anything that challenges His rule. It ends with a vision of the New Creation, what the world will be like when Jesus returns, where there will be no more death, pain, suffering, or evil, and everyone who trusts in Jesus will live eternally in the presence of God and with the fullness of joy. All the strange imagery that appears between that beginning and that ending needs to be understood within the structure of the entire book.

So, whenever you come across a difficult piece of this book, remember to look at the whole passage. All of it is working together to help us see the goodness and majesty of King Jesus so that we can trust and follow Him—no matter how dark or difficult the road ahead becomes. Let’s ask God to strengthen our resolve and grow our trust as we continue to do the work of reading His Word wisely.

Our Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for how it reveals who You are and how You’ve called us to live. As I read today, I pray that my heart will be open to hearing Your voice and receiving correction and encouragement from Your Word. I want to stay faithful to You, no matter the difficulties that come my way. Strengthen me and teach me. In Jesus’ name, amen.