The book of Revelation is filled with all sorts of symbolism used more than once throughout. Numbers may have
some importance in the other books of the New Testament with the number twelve holding specific importance, but
the book of Revelation itself holds a higher percentage of the references to each number than any other book in the
bible. The number seven, for example, the perfect number, known as the biblical number appears in the New
Testament eighty seven times. Seven is a number that symbolises wholeness and completion and there are many
examples of the biblical number being used throughout Revelation, there are the seven churches John writes to, the
seven seals seven spirits seven angels and many more such images building a message of the complete power held
by God.
It’s not only numbers though which form the basis for the symbolism. Colour takes a large role in Revelation
particularly in chapter 6 in the passing of the four horses and their riders. ‘And out came another horse, bright red;
its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men would slay one another.’ The colour red is used
throughout all of Revelation as a synonym for the murderous power that will end peace on earth. The red dragon
could be synonymous of the Chinese communist party and it is possible that the prophesies of Revelation centre
around china and not the middle east as ‘...the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand’
and there is no other country in the world where ‘every citizen is also a soldier’ so therefore the message could be
as, if not more important to the Christians of today. Another colour that is used many times throughout Revelation
that could again imply that Revelation is relevant to modern society and holds a modern message is the colour white
which to many is synonymous of purity and the very person of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 6:1-2 John mentions the
white horseman who is viewed after one of the scrolls is opened. ‘And I saw and behold a white horse... and a crown
was given unto him: and he went forth conquering and to conquer.’ The rider of the white horse brings victory and
liberation to the people of God symbolising the inevitable victory of Christ over all evil again making the message
of Revelation relevant to modern Christians.
One particular theologian, Kenneth Burke the author of ‘Revelation uses a method called ‘entelechy’ to find the
hidden messages in Revelations he uses this in order to make people see things they hadn’t noticed before. It is his
opinion that humans can understand symbolism more easily than well thought out descriptions so therefore it is
possible that John had written Revelation filled with symbols that would be if not explicitly then somehow
understood by Christians throughout history leading him to believe that there is a message for the Christians of
today in Revelation.
After a short introduction in which John establishes his authority by saying ‘which God gave him’ comes the seven
letters to the churches in Asia. The fact that John writes to them particularly suggests that he had no audience in
mind other than them, causing me to doubt whether Revelation is of any importance today. The letters seem to be
filled with specific things that his intended audience would be aware of suggesting that Revelation was written as a
historical account of the first century ‘I know your affliction and your poverty. However the fact that the letters
address the chances of following false teachers and letting their love for Jesus be eroded 3:9 ‘I will make those of
the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not...’ it could be suggested that these letters were written as
a message to all Christians throughout time to ignore false leaders and to follow ‘the words of the holy one, the true
one.’ The letters are often viewed as a way of strengthening faith in Jesus, that he would someday end the
persecution of Christianity, and so it could be argued that they have a message for the believers of today who are
questioning their faith. There is further evidence that suggests it was written for that particular audience in that John
says ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer’ this suggests that John is giving the message to the Christians of that
specific time referring to perhaps the destruction of the Temple and the following years of persecution at the hands
of the Romans and that God would someday restore justice.
There is a lot of evidence throughout Revelation to suggest it is a historical account of the main events in the first
century for example virtually every scholar agrees that the Beast with seven heads is Rome, with each head
representing a king. At the time that Revelation was written five heads had fallen meaning it was written in the time
of the sixth king. Although it is difficult to know with which king to begin, many believe it to be written in the
time of Nero. Another reason many scholars believe the sixth head to be Nero is found in Revelation 13 in the Beast
from the sea, the number which we are given that represents it is six hundred and sixty six and if we use the
technique of assigning values to the letters of the Greek alphabet, then Nero is equal to that amount suggesting that
the writings of Revelation were designed specifically for those who lived in the time when Nero ruled when
Christians feared persecution. The number of the beast in its three sixes seems to represent chaos and imperfection
and as John tells us that the number of the beast is the same as that of a person it seems to indicate that Revelation
was written about events taking place just before or a around the time when the Christians would have feared the
persecution of the Roman’s under Nero’s reign viewing Rome as the beast and evil.
Although much evidence points to it being an account of the first century we cannot forget the prophetic way in
which Revelation is written. By taking into account Revelation 14, the lamb and the 144 000, we can see what
seems to be the preparations for the final battle. ‘Then I looked and there was the lamb, standing on mount Zion!
And with him were one hundred and forty four thousand who had his name written on their foreheads.’ As this could
be interpreted literally as the end of the world then surly the message of Revelation is relevant to the Christians of
today if only forty four thousand will be chosen to join God. Another example of prophetic writing comes in
Revelation 15 where John sees a vision of the future. During this chapter we are told of the seven plagues God will
send down upon men before the end of time therefore again there is a message for people of today. Perhaps one of
the clearest prophetic images is that of New Heaven and the New Earth in chapter 21. The chronological sequencing
clearly depicts the apocalyptic view of many theologians as many people believe that Revelation contains
information about the future so again giving reason for many to believe that the messages is as important to today’s
and the future Christians as it was to the Christians during the time of Johns ministry.
Many problems arise today that are parallel with symbols in the book of Revelation. For example the major topic up
for debate recently the problem of global warming could be represented by the plagues and can be viewed as ‘the
harvest of our sinning against our environment.’ We are being told that we are to be blamed for the problems arising
due to our disrespect for the planet and all it has provided us with by ignoring the warnings and continuing by
increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases. Another parallel today with the book of Revelation is our
idolisation of money and power. The people with the power in the world are in control and we can see parallels with
the beast whose power was great not in splendour but in control. The ten commandments state ‘do not worship
anyone but God’ and in our idolisation of power is that not exactly what we are doing this could therefore mean that
the book of Revelation holds a very important message for the Christians of today?
For those Christians who take Revelation seriously it appears to be a way for God to signal the beginning of the end
of time. They see it as an apocalyptic writing explaining all that will happen throughout the heavens and earth when
the time comes for the second coming of Jesus. Many people today believe that Revelation contains information
about the future and that the stories in Revelation encourage people to keep their faith that God will someday
restore justice to the world. To many literalists the book contains a very important message to Christian’s right
throughout history and they take the message away from it, that in the world of today in order to improve our lives
and those of others in the world we need to listen to the words of Jesus and be faithful to him. However those who
see the book of Revelation as a historical retelling of the important events during the first century tend to see that
Revelation held many messages for those early Christians living in Rome during the persecutions but not many if
any relevant messages for people of today in a society completely different to when it was written.
In my opinion it depends on how you look at Revelation. Whether you see it as a historical retelling of
important and meaningful events for the Christians during the first century, or as the prophetic work foretelling the
end of time and the second coming of Christ. I believe the book should be looked at as symbolic of the
persecution the early Christians had to endure. The book of Revelation was written for a new type of Christian who
had been expelled from the temple and had to build up an entirely new religion, it is my opinion that John was
writing for that specific audience, that he wanted to help them with their faith when feeling as if they had been
abandoned by God. This does not however mean there is no message at all in the book of Revelation for people of
today’s society. If there is a message throughout the entirety of Revelation it is that you need to have faith no
matter what we endure in this world that God will bring peace and justice eventually.
Bibliography:
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible
Revelation; the Human Drama – Stan A. Lindsey
The Apocalypse in figures and colours: learning the symbols
The Book of Revelation – Catherine A Cory
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/book_of_revelation
Word count – 2274
