Question

How should we read Revelation?

in its historical context
a coded message
know we cannot understand it
a calendar of future events

Answer 1

Short answer: Read Revelation first and foremost as apocalyptic literature written to first‑century churches — a symbolic, pastoral message rooted in a specific historical situation — while recognizing its coded imagery, its difficulty, and that it is not a straightforward calendar of future events.

Why:
- Genre and purpose: Revelation is apocalyptic (like Daniel and other Jewish apocalypses). Its aim is theological and pastoral: to encourage persecuted communities, call them to faithfulness, and show that God (through Christ) will ultimately triumph over evil.
- Historical context matters: most scholars date it to the late first century and see the Roman Empire and local persecution as the immediate background. Knowing that helps decode images and concerns the author addresses.
- It uses coded/symbolic language: the book deliberately speaks in symbols and Old Testament echoes. Some references (e.g., 666) are likely coded allusions (gematria, symbolic names) rather than plain modern predictions. That symbolism is meant to protect its readers and to communicate truth in a form shaped by the apocalyptic genre.
- It is difficult, not indecipherable: Revelation is hard and many passages admit of multiple interpretations, but careful study — attention to genre, literary structure, biblical background, and historical context — yields meaningful, responsible interpretation. Saying “we cannot understand it” is too fatalistic.
- It is not best read as a literal calendar/timetable: treating Revelation as a step‑by‑step map of future events (a chronograph of modern history) is one longstanding approach (futurist or historicist) but is the minority view among historians and leads to speculative and frequently failed predictions.

Practical reading approach:
1. Start with the genre: study apocalyptic features and how they shape imagery.
2. Learn the historical background (author, audience, Roman imperial setting).
3. Note Old Testament and Jewish background (Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah).
4. Read symbolically but responsibly — ask how an image functioned for the first readers and what theological point it makes.
5. Avoid building rigid timetables; focus on the book’s core themes (Christ’s victory, judgment, call to perseverance, justice, worship).
6. Consult a range of commentaries from different interpretive traditions to see strengths and limits of each view.

If you want further reading, I can suggest a few accessible and scholarly resources from different perspectives.