How Little I Know

I am finally on the other side of my teaching responsibilities and my move from Kansas City to California. So, though it is late in the game, I thought I would give you a few thoughts on the fine and frustrating piece of literature that is the book of Revelation, or, the Apocalypse of John.

Negatively, Revelation has been accused of excessive obscurity, leading to confusion and misinterpretation. This is often a result of inexperienced interprets taking a run at it. (Note the above artistic rendition of "Caucasian John" writing in a book--can anybody say, "racially ignorant anachronism?") As a result, many pastors and theologians have refrained from offering interpretation (most notably, John Calvin).

Positively, Revelation is a crucible to test our ability to understand the narrative world of the Bible. Nearly every sentence contains a reference to the First Testament, of which the author assumed his audience was aware. For instance, in chapter 11:1-2, John is given a measuring tool to determine size of the Temple just as Ezekiel was in Ezekiel 40:3. The horses mentioned in Revelation 6 are a reference to the horses of Zechariah’s vision. The examples could fill a thousand pages of analysis. Suffice it to say that a significant, working understanding of the First Testament is required to set the stage for a proper reading of Revelation. In other words, it is helpful to know and understanding how to interpret what John is referencing before interpreting John’s use of the example.

I often feel inadequate as I read. This inadequacy causes me to reflect on the fact that I still do not quite understand the world of the Bible as well as I would hope. These metaphors and descriptions should form, and in many ways do form, the way I view our world. When John uses them to compose a message it is an opportune time to take inventory to see if I am really invested in the world as depicted in Scripture.

In short, an encounter with the book of Revelation reminds me how little I know. We must constantly take inventory regarding our understanding of this biblical world. Do we think in the metaphors of the biblical world? Do we speak in them? Do we meditate on them day and night? Do we teach them diligently to our children? Are they fronlets between our eyes and bindings on our hands?

So here is a question: How often does the worldview narrated in Scripture invade and transform your understanding of the world you experience? Until our world is invaded by the prophetic imagery of the First Testament we will be doomed to misappropriate this important text.

Follow-up question: What images and passages are most confusing to you as you read through Revelation?