The Book of Revelation | Promise, Not Prediction

¹⁹ Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this.

Revelation 1:19 (NRSVUE)

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

⁷ “See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Revelation 22:6-7 (NRSVUE)

One of the most important things to understand about Revelation is what kind of book it is. It's not a detailed roadmap of future events that we can use to predict when the world will end. It's not a coded message that, once deciphered, will tell us exactly how history will unfold.

Instead, Revelation is what biblical scholars call "apocalyptic literature"—a genre that uses symbolic language to offer hope to people who are suffering. The word "apocalypse" doesn't mean "the end of the world" in the original Greek; it means "unveiling" or "revelation." The book is called Revelation because it reveals something important about God's character and his ultimate purposes.

F.F. Bruce and other reputable biblical scholars remind us that the first readers of Revelation were facing intense persecution under the Roman Empire. They needed to know that their suffering had meaning, that God was still in control, and that their faithfulness would ultimately be vindicated.

That's exactly what Revelation provides—not specific predictions about microchips and barcodes, but powerful promises about God's faithfulness and ultimate victory over evil. It's not a timeline for the future; it's a foundation for hope in the present.

This distinction matters because when we treat Revelation as a prediction manual, we often miss its actual message. We get so caught up in trying to figure out what the symbols mean for the future that we miss what they meant for the first readers and what they mean for us today.

The promise of Revelation isn't that we'll be able to predict the future; it's that we can trust the God who holds the future. It's not that we'll escape suffering; it's that our suffering has meaning and that God will ultimately make all things right.

Prayer: God, help me to receive Revelation as the message of hope you intended it to be. Instead of trying to predict the future, help me to trust you with it.