5. The Bible Is “Clear” About the End Times
Evangelicals love to believe that the Bible is clear and easily interpreted. It’s really true. Even the more liberal or progressive evangelicals fall into this trap, assuming that their corrections to conservatives are readily apparent. The truth about Revelation that few today want to accept is that no one knows what it’s really all about.
Even assertive old Luther discouraged preachers from teaching from the book. Early church councils that compiled the canon of scripture almost left Revelation out because they had no idea what it meant.
Today, we have a better idea about the symbolism and message of Revelation thanks to comparisons made with apocalyptic literature and historic events, but on the whole, it’s impossible to create a one-to-one chart for every scene and symbol in the book.
As a group, American Christians hate uncertainty, and Revelation is like a front-end loader that dumps a megaton of it in our laps.
Sorry Headline Writers, Revelation Is NOT Bad News
Some of us invested a lot of time and energy into the Left Behind narrative of Revelation, complete with the rapture, mark of the beast and bloody battle of Armageddon. Some of us may have even visited the McDonalds located in the Valley of Megiddo in Israel to warn the employees of God’s coming wrath.
Having invested that much into a doctrine, it’s hard to step back and say “Uncle.”
While it’s hard to leap into the uncertainty of Revelation or to admit we’ve been wrong about the rapture or a literal unfolding of future events complete with beasts rising from the sea, I have good news for you.
The message of Revelation is far more encouraging and relevant than any of us could have guessed. While the rapture is a mistaken doctrine, I’m certainly not making up the positive message of Revelation.
If you can imagine a group of suffering Christians for a moment, consider what John would write to them to help them persevere as they struggled with false teachers, poverty, oppression from the Romans and threats to their lives.
What if John “revealed” the spiritual struggles behind the events of their day and our own? What if John painted symbolic pictures of future scenes where God brings justice to earth and saves his people once and for all?
That’s just the start of it. To learn more, check out my new book The Good News of Revelation that I co-wrote with Revelation expert Dr. Larry Helyer. We may never give you all of the answers, but I guarantee you’ll at least be “less wrong” about Revelation after reading our book.
