Bob Prichard

Topic(s): Bible Study

There are four predominant theories, or “schools of interpretation” concerning the book of Revelation. These are the Futurist, the Idealist, the Historical, and the Preterist. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The Futurist, or “End of Time” view, which is perhaps the most popular view today, is an extremely literal approach to Revelation, with the idea that everything in the book after the first three chapters refers to the end of time and the return of Christ. Most Futurists believe in Premillennialism, which holds that there will be a “rapture” of believers to heaven before Christ returns to sit on a literal throne, reigning from Jerusalem over His kingdom for a literal one thousand years. The primary objections to this view are that it attempts to take literally what John certainly intended to be symbolic, and it divorces the book from its first readers, who would receive virtually no comfort from its message of victory. This view also devalues the church and Christ’s sacrifice.

The Idealist, or “Above Time” view says that the events of Revelation are not considered historical. Its symbols represent the ageless struggle between good and evil, with good to finally triumph. The book of Revelation has been a source of inspiration and encouragement to suffering Christians since the first century, and it is a book that is always relevant to the struggles of God’s people, but this view ignores that Revelation claims to be actual prophecy, with immediate application. It begins, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; . . . Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Revelation 1:1, 3).

The Historical, or “All of Time” view came to the forefront after the Protestant Reformation, and sees the book of Revelation as a “timetable of history,” with its symbols prophesying what would happen in the religious-political world. This view holds that Revelation is a description of the victory of God’s people over Rome, and the apostasy of the church. By this view, Martin Luther identified the pope as the antichrist (and the pope identified Luther as the antichrist). The problem of this view is that it places an interpretation of history above interpretation of the text, and it is prone to interpretation according to the student’s prejudices, reading views into the text rather than out of it.

The Preterist, or “In That Time” view holds that the best understanding of the book of Revelation comes from examining the life situation of the Christians to whom the book is addressed, the seven churches of Asia Minor. While the seven churches specifically addressed in chapters two and three were not the only churches that might have been addressed, they were real churches and their needs and problems were representative of the needs and problems of the early Christians facing Roman persecution. No book of the Bible is fully understood until it is seen through the eyes of those who first received it. The Preterist view best allows for seeing Revelation through “first century glasses.”