What to do with the Book of Revelation

 For the last three weeks of Come Follow Me this year we are studying the book of Revelation. One of the podcasters I listened to, Nick Frederick, who has a guest on Follow Him, urged readers to read Revelation responsibly.  There have been, through the years, many extremists who have interpreted the symbols in the Book of Revelation in ways that lead to disaster.  People have seen this political leader as the "Beast" and that popular person as the "Prophet" and made decisions based on those assumptions that got people hurt. (you can listen to his podcast at time stamp 6:26 for specific examples).  

So how do we read Revelation responsibly?  One option is to completely disregard it or not read it at all. This is a safe option, but we get a hint from the Book of Mormon that the Book of Revelation is important.  In Nephi 14, Nephi sees a vision of the end of the world and Nephi is told not to write then end of his vision because it would be written by the Apostle John (v 27).  If Nephi saw the same kind of vision as John, and both where important disciples of Jesus, then perhaps it is important. 

I think the best way to read Revelation is as an assurance that God and Christ will triumph in the end.  It shows examples of patterns that were recorded in the Old Testament and then suggests that these patterns will be repeated over and over again until the end, when Jesus will win. As I read through the Book of Revelation this time I was amazed on how much it draws from Old Testament imagery.  I think there are really no new symbols in Revelation.  They are all taken from Old Testament writings, many from the later prophets, like Isaiah, and Ezekiel, but others from Genesis and Exodus. 

As an example think about the image of the pregnant woman in Chapter 12.  There is a woman who is about to have a child and a red dragon is threatening to devour her child as soon as it is born (v.1-4) The Child is born, but is is it caught up to a place of safety by a throne (v.5) The woman is whisked away to the wilderness where she is fed and protected (v.6).  Then the dragon made a flood (v.15), but the earth swallowed up the flood, so the dragon was angry and fought against the woman's descendants. 

If you have recently read the Old Testament, there is a lot of similarity between this story and the story of the Exodus.  The Egyptians were threatening to kill all the new babies.  Moses was born and taken to a place of safety by a throne.  The Hebrews fled toward the wilderness. A flood blocked their way, but the water was stopped and they went through in safety.  Later the "Dragon" or Egypt fought against the Israelites. 

Others have seen the woman in the story as Mary.  Harrod tried to kill her baby but she and Joseph were lead to Egypt. Jesus crossed through the waters of baptism to start his ministry, during which he fed and cared for his followers. Later Romans fought against Jesus' spiritual descendants. 

Still others see the woman as the church.  The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and Romans like Nero try to kill it before it even starts, but Paul and others bring it the "wilderness" through missionary work where it grows and becomes strong enough to face the dragon "Rome" and overcome it by converting Constantine. 

Which of these interpretations are correct? All could be correct and one might find other examples in history that fit the pattern. By giving the pattern, and showing how, in each case, right when things are darkest, the righteous triumph in the end, John gives the suffering saints of his time, and of times to come hope. 

One last note.  My favorite overview of the book of Revelation is the one done by the Bible project.  There are two short animated videos found here and here. I think he does a good job of showing how the Book of Revelation is a fitting end to the overreaching story of the whole Bible.