Four Major Views on Interpretation of Revelation

• Major views:

        ◦ \\\\*\\\*The Preterist View:\\\\*\\\* This approach believes that Revelation dealt only with the church in John’s day. In the Preterist approach, Revelation doesn’t predict anything. John simply described events of his current day, but he put them in symbolic code so those outside the Christian family couldn’t understand his criticism of the Roman government. In the Preterist view, the Book of Revelation was for then.
        ◦ \*\*The Historicist View:\*\* This approach believes that Revelation is a sweeping, disordered panorama of all church history. In the Historicist approach, Revelation predicts the future, but the future of the “church age” – not the future of end-time events. In the Historicist view, Revelation is full of symbols that describe now.
        ◦ \*\*The Poetic View:\*\* This approach believes that Revelation is a book full of pictures and symbols intended to encourage and comfort persecuted Christians in John’s day. In the Poetic or allegorical view, the Book of Revelation isn’t literal or historic. Revelation is a book of personal meaning.
        ◦ \*\*The Futurist View:\*\* This approach believes that beginning with chapter four, Revelation deals with the end times, the period directly preceding Jesus’ return. In the Futurist view, Revelation is a book that mainly describes the end times.
        ◦ Which approach is correct? Each one is true in some regard. The Book of Revelation did speak to John’s day. It speaks to church history. And it does have meaning for our personal life. So while elements of the first three approaches have their place, we can’t deny the place of the futurist view. We can know the Book of Revelation speaks with clarity about the end times because of two central principles drawn from Revelation 1:1-3.
            ▪ First, we believe that the Book of Revelation must mean something. This is a book that Jesus gave to show His servants something. It isn’t a book of meaningless nonsense. It has a promise of blessing, not a promise of confusion.
            ▪ Secondly, we believe that Revelation definitely claims to contain predictive prophecy. John made it clear: things which must shortly take place . . . the time is near. John wrote about events that were still future to him.