KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE BOOK OF REVELATION

Here are some keys for understanding this great book:

• The focus of the book is Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1). It reveals Him, not just events. Prophecy is the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 19:10). Keep Him before your eyes as you study this great book.
• Revelation was given to be understood. God wants you to understand it. The very word revelation means to reveal, not to conceal. God gave this revelation to us so we believers may understand it. “Prophecy is given more primarily to reveal the future to believers than to veil it from unbelievers. For this reason, it is the obligation of believing interpreters to assign a largely non-figurative role to the prophetic Scripture” [Paul Tan, THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHEY, 139.]
• Pray and rely on the Holy Spirit as you read and study this book. The book is written for believers. Proverbs 2:1-5 indicates that to gain understanding of the Word we must be willing to receive it, to mediate on it, to pray, and to search the Word. Like the rest of Scripture we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to give us insight and understanding (1 Cor. 2:12, 1 John 2:26, Romans 8:16). He is the spirit of wisdom.
• Do not let symbols scare you. Yes, Revelation is prophetic book that uses symbols. But remember, symbols are used for the purpose of revealing a literal truth or person. Reality stands behind these symbols.
• Follow Old Testament prophecy as a guide. In the Old Testament there are 300 prophecies about Christ first coming and about 500 concerning His Second Coming. [Tan, 39]. Since the Old Testament has much to say about the events in rev, we cannot understand it if we do not refer back to the Old Testament. Revelation is the Capstone of Prophecy. The Old Testament is the foundation for the capstone.
• Accept the plain sense of the text. “If the plain sense makes sense, don’t look for any other sense, or you will end up with nonsense” is a common saying among Bible students.
• Believe the Word, even when you may not fully understand it. Think for a moment how hard it has been for past believers to believe some of the facts of this Revelation. For example, Revelation 9 speaks of an Army of 200 million. When it was written by John there were not 200 million people in the world. Today we know that China, or other leagues of nations, are capable of putting together such an army. John and his reader had to believe the word, even when they could not comprehend such figures. In some cases that still is true. Today, because of technology, we have a deeper understanding of some of the prophecies, and how they could possibly come about. Just because we cannot understand the sense today, does not mean it could not be. We may know and understand more in 25, 50, or 100 years from now than we do now. We should kept an open mind and remember the integrity of the Word of God.
• While believing the Word, try to avoid as much speculation as possible. Speculations tend to become taught as fact, and have landed expositors in trouble, or at least into looking foolish. For example, one popular prophecy expert taught that within a generation (approximately 40 years) of Israel’s return to the land, Jesus was to return. It did not happen. The crux of the problem is that we tend to assume that we are the last generation and thus apply events to present day or near future events (which may or may not be the case). We need to be careful about such speculations, and confess they are only speculations. All Scripture is profitable to us, but not all Scripture is written directly to us, or about us. We need to use discernment by prayer and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. 

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)