If you had to base your entire understanding of Christianity on one book of the Bible, which would it be? Of course, Christianity centers around the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, so for many Christians, when we want to introduce a friend to Jesus, we recommend they read the Gospel of John. John’s gospel really seems to be written for the non-Jewish mindset, with its clear portrayal of Jesus’ life and teaching without requiring a deep understanding of Jewish culture at the time. It shows clear contrasts between the kingdom of this present world, and the Kingdom of Heaven, and helps us see clearly the path Jesus is calling us to.
But for many, the first biblical book they feel compelled to read as adults isn’t the Gospel of John, but another book written by the same author – the book of Revelation. From the author of one of the most simple and straightforward Gospels, we also get one of the most complex and abstract. There are probably more disagreements in interpretation between Christians over Revelation than any other book of the Bible. In fact, we need all the rest of the books of the Bible to understand it.
So, what if Revelation was the only book of the Bible you ever read? What if your entire understanding of Christianity were based on it? Unfortunately, there are many people who only read the Bible for its entertainment value, and most in this category land on Revelation because of its high degree of symbolism, its vivid descriptions of future events interwoven with dreams and allegories, and, possibly, the fact wide degree of interpretation it seems to allow its readers.
I encountered one such person, Luis, who told me he doesn’t read the rest of the Bible but is fascinated by the Book of Revelation. Interestingly, I found him right in front of the Star Wars display at Target. Like the spirituality of the Star Wars saga, Luis doesn’t believe in the traditional religion he grew up in but does believe our souls go on to a new existence of some sort based on our conduct in this life. He has felt free to take what he likes from various religions and form his own interpretation around it.
But the Bible is not to be read according to one’s own interpretation. It wasn’t written that way, according to 2 Peter 1: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
All scripture should be read with the intention of discovering God’s message for us within it, not with the intention of imposing our own interpretation upon it. And the best way to discover the Author’s intention is to read it in the context of the rest of Scripture. What does the rest of the Bible say about it. How does it fit in?
The Book of Revelation has so many different levels of meaning, and we will miss them all if we just read it in isolation. I’m glad Luis and others like him are reading Revelation, but I hope they won’t stop there!
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