Apocalyptic literature is a unique type of literature in the Bible. We mainly find it in Revelation and Daniel. We will focus primarily on Revelation but what we go through will help you to read and study Daniel.
Much of the confusion around reading and studying Revelation comes from the idea of interpreting the text “literally.” Some accuse certain people of interpreting the text symbolically and not literally in their opinion. One thing we need to remember as we are reading and studying the Bible is that we want to interpret the text we are studying literately. That is, if we are reading poetry, we want to interpret it according to the genre.
So, for example, Solomon writes this in Song of Solomon:
Your neck is like the tower of David, built in rows of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.
He is not saying that the love of his life has a long neck, try telling that to your wife and see how that goes over. Rather he uses this comparison to talk about her dignity.
When we come to Revelation, we want to think this way. Interpret what you read according to its genre. Revelation is a highly symbolic book, meaning John uses a lot of symbols to communicate his vision. The question is, “how do we interpret the symbols?”
The popular interpretation idea goes something like this, “interpret literally unless you are forced to interpret symbolically.”
We can see this most clearly from the use of numbers in Revelation. When John writes in Rev. 20 about the millennium this idea mandates that this must be a literal 1,000 years. There is no room in their interpretive grid for it to be symbolic for a long time.
The idea we need to go with when interpreting Revelation, and other apocalyptic literature, is “interpret symbolically unless you are forced to interpret literally.”
The Reformation Study Bible has these helpful words, Revelation “uses present events, understood symbolically, to speak both a warning and an encouragement to believers to persevere in the commitment to Christ and divorce themselves from any allegiance to the world system, which expresses the rule of the kingdom of darkness.”
As with the other genres of the Bible with Revelation, we must remember the three-step process for studying the Bible: observation, interpretation, and application. You never graduate from the school of Bible study basics. In Revelation observation is key.
We have two converging paths to walk in this lesson.
- Six keys for understanding Revelation
- Using Revelation 12 as an example of how to read and study Revelation
Six Keys for Reading Revelation
There are six keys to keep in mind. You can use these in each chapter by turning them into questions.
- The purpose of apocalyptic literature is to reveal (Rev. 1:1-3; 11). The Greek word for Revelations means the removal of a veil or other covering to reveal what lies behind. Contrary to what we may think Revelation is not meant to conceal but reveal the truth. Keeping this in mind as you read, and study will greatly serve you. God’s intention for Revelation is not to confuse you. You might get confused but it is not because God meant the book to be confusing.
- Revelation is a visual book (Rev. 1:2). Revelation is a vision John saw. This is the reason for the vivid and pictorial language. There are so many images in Revelation because John saw them. One characteristic of apocalyptic literature is that visions are heavily involved. In Revelation’s case, it is one big vision. The various parts need to be understood considering the whole, this gets back to the whole, parts, whole we have been talking about since the beginning of this study. The parts of John’s vision can only be understood by the purpose of the whole.
- Revelation was for the original readers. John said this was about what must soon take place (Rev. 1:1). It was addressed to people who were facing persecution (Rev. 1:9; 2:9). This was for a church under attack. The original audience for the book was persecuted Christians in the first century. This is a characteristic of apocalyptic, it was addressed to persecuted people. Our interpretation must be shaped by this reality. If someone in the first century did not know something in our interpretation, then we are likely wrong. Keeping this in mind gives you a track to run on as you read and study.
- Revelation only makes sense in the light of the Old Testament. In chapter 12 there are 32 cross-references to books of the Bible other than Revelation. Of those 32, 19 are from the Old Testament. Revelation will be easier to understand the more your knowledge of the Old Testament grows. This is where the whole Bible context is needed. John “cites or echoes” the OT over 250 times (Fee and Stuart, How to Read the Bible for all its Worth).
- This leads us to one of our foundational keys for interpreting the Bible, Jesus is the center. John sets this foundation at the beginning of the book (Rev. 1:1). Revelation was written to first-century persecuted Christian to reveal something about Christ to them in their persecution. Ultimately, victory belongs to God and His Christ. In Revelation, Jesus is revealed as a conqueror, the victorious one. This leads us to our last key.
- Revelation is the unfolding drama of Gen. 3:15 and Matt. 16:17-18. These two texts help us understand the book.
- Sinclair Ferguson writes, “Revelation tells the story of how these prophetic words will be fulfilled in the final triumph of Jesus.”
- Apocalyptic literature is concerned with contrasting this world and the world to come. We can see this in the breakdown of Revelation. 1-11 is about the spiritual struggle here on earth and 12-22 shifts our attention to heaven and the new heaven and new earth.
- In the end, these two Scripture promises are fulfilled. Jesus wins.
Before we turn our attention to Revelation 12 there is one more reality to be aware of. Revelation is apocalyptic literature, but it is also more than that. Revelation uses elements from three different literary genres, and I think this is part of the reason for some of the confusion we see.
In the first eight verses, we learn that Revelation is (1) Apocalypse (Rev. 1:1), (2) that it is prophecy (Rev. 1: 2), and (3) it is a letter (Rev. 1:4-8). Revelation is a prophetic letter addressed to the seven churches of Asia that is meant to reveal Jesus Christ to them during their time of persecution. Everything we learned about epistle and prophecy applies to Revelation as well.
Applying the Keys to Revelation 12
Before we look at chapter 12 let’s read beginning in Rev. 11:9.
Chapter 12 is the theological key of the book (Fee and Stuart). “It depicts the decisive conflict between the church, the devil, and the royal child, Jesus Christ.” (Phillips, Revelation) This is a transition point in the middle of the book. It reveals the reality behind why the church is suffering. This chapter is the hinge on which Revelation swings. Understanding this chapter will help you understand the book. This chapter is the whole book in miniature form. This is the cliff-notes edition of Revelation.
As we go through this chapter, I want to use the six keys we discussed as our guide to help us understand it. You could do this for much of Revelation and it would be a good practice because it would require going through the chapter multiple times to answer the questions adequately.
Let’s begin with the last key.
Genesis 3:15 and Matthew 16:17-18
If Sinclair Ferguson is correct that “Revelation tells the story of how these prophetic words will be fulfilled in the final triumph of Jesus” then we should be able to apply this thinking to Revelation 12. How are these two realities revealed in this chapter?
Let’s take Genesis 3:15 first. The first sign John sees is a great sign. He sees a woman crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. Then a second sign appears in heaven, a great red dragon. What does the dragon want to do? We see his intent in verse 4, “the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that [this is the purpose clause], when she bore the child he might devour it.”
At this point, we do not know the identity of this, but we do know the dragon does not want this child to be born. Remember, chapter 12 is two interrelated scenes. So, we need to look at the second scene to grow our understanding of the purpose of the dragon because we need to know who the dragon is. Look at Rev. 12:9, “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.”
The great red dragon is Satan, the devil. He is identified as the ancient serpent. Why is he called the ancient serpent? This is where we need Gen. 3:15. In Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve listened to the serpent, God says this to the serpent, “The LORD God said to the serpent, because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all the beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Here in the opening verses of Revelation 12, we see the ancient serpent’s pursuit of the promised offspring of the woman. The child, which we will look at soon, is Christ. He is the offspring of the woman. We see that Christ was ultimately victorious which is symbolized by the child being caught up to God and His throne, safe and secure.
In verses 7-12 the dragon is defeated. In the end, Jesus won. He crushed the head of the serpent. In Christ’s victory, he crushed the head of the serpent and this is where Matthew 16:17-18 comes into the picture, mainly verse 18 where Christ says, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This is a statement of a church that is on the offensive. We see the angelic army on the offensive here, notice it is the dragon and his army that are fighting back, they were attacked.
But we see this truth clearly in that the dragon pursues the woman, symbolic for the people of God for all time. First, we see the Old Testament people of God Israel. Jesus, the Messiah came through Israel. At the end of the chapter, we see that the rest of the offspring of the woman was pursued by the dragon. But he is never victorious. Throughout the chapter, though the people of God are preserved, Christ is protecting and building His church.
Vivid Symbolism
Next, let’s ask what vivid symbols does John uses? We won’t have the time to unpack them all but let’s get them together. With the symbols, we need the Old Testament to understand them in most cases.
- First, there is the great sign, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (Rev. 12:1)
- Second, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his head seven diadems (or crowns). The dragon’s tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth (12:3-4).
- Third, the number 1,260 days is symbolic (as most of the numbers in Revelation are) (Rev. 12:6).
- Fourth, when the dragon is thrown down from heaven to earth the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle to flee from the serpent into the wilderness to be nourished (Rev. 12:14).
- Fifth, the woman was to be nourished in the wilderness for a time, and times, and half a time (Rev. 12:14).
- Sixth, the serpent poured water like a river from his mouth to destroy the woman (Rev. 12:15).
One of our keys to studying the Bible is whole, parts, whole. We have been applying this to a whole book, but it also applies here with the visions found in Revelation. The visions must be taken as complete units to understand the parts, which will then help us to understand the whole. The symbols have a certain function within the vision therefore we need the whole vision to understand the symbols.
The Old Testament in Revelation 12
Let’s look at three examples of how John used the Old Testament in this chapter. To put it into a question, how does the Old Testament help us understand this?
The symbolism that John uses to describe the woman is found in the Old Testament. Genesis 37 recounts two dreams from Joseph, the dreams that ticked his brothers off. The second one is found in Gen. 37:9, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When Joseph told the dream to his father Jacob do you remember how he responded? “Shall I and your mother and your brothers come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” The dream has a collective element. The symbolism is meant to remind us of the twelve patriarchs. The twelve sons of Israel God used to build the nation. The woman then represents the people of God through which Jesus the Messiah came.
Second, John records that the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven. This is from Daniel’s vision in Daniel 8. In that chapter, Daniel has a vision of a ram and a goat. After the ram and goat fight, Daniel sees a little horn and this horn threw some of the stars to the ground and trampled on them (Dan. 8:10). You can read the whole chapter for more context, but this little horn was destructive and was bent on taking God’s worship away. Stars in Daniel refers to the saints so in Revelation 12 when the dragon sweeps away a third of the stars this is a picture of the dragon’s persecution of the saints.
Third, the Old Testament helps us to understand the identity of the child the woman gave birth to. John says that this child is to rule the nations with a rod of iron. In Psalm 2:8-9 we read:
“As of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Psalm 2 is considered a Messianic Psalm that finds its fulfillment in Christ. He is the promised one, the anointed one that came from the line of David. This promised one will have the nations as their heritage and will possess the ends of the earth. Then we see that phrase rod of iron. This rod of iron is like a shepherd’s club that was used to shatter the nations like pottery.
I hope you can see the importance of understanding the Old Testament so that you can understand Revelation. We only made it five verses into chapter 12 and there was a lot there from the Old Testament and more could be said. I can’t say this enough to myself and you if you want to grow in your understanding of Revelation grow in your understanding of the Old Testament.
What Did Chapter 12 Reveal to its Original Readers?
If apocalyptic literature is meant to reveal, then what did this chapter reveal to its original readers? Here was see two more of the keys. The purpose of apocalyptic writings was to reveal, but it revealed something to its original readers, which is another of our keys to understanding Revelation.
Revelation 12 reveals the behind-the-scenes of the persecution they are facing. There are at least two realities that John reveals to them from this chapter.
- Persecution is not new but has been happening to the people of God from Genesis 3 on. In Genesis 4 this enmity between the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman becomes clear. Cain, the offspring of the serpent, kills his brother Abel the offspring of the woman. Throughout the Old Testament. Pharaoh tries to kill the newborn Hebrew males. He tries to keep the people enslaved in Egypt. The various enemies that Israel faces throughout the history of the Old Testament show this enmity. In the account of David and Goliath, Goliath is the offspring of the serpent attacking the people of God who is defeated by God’s anointed one David. As we come to the New Testament, we see the story of Pharaoh again but through Herod. He orders that all newborn males two years and younger be killed. He is the offspring of the serpent trying to kill the offspring of the woman, Jesus Christ. What the original readers of Rev. 12 were facing was not new, it was part of the larger spiritual warfare that had been happening throughout the history of the world. Satan is ultimately behind their persecution.
- Second, in the end, the dragon can’t and won’t win. When the child is born the plan of the dragon is confounded because the child was caught up to God’s throne. After being thrown down from heaven his plan to extinguish the woman was thwarted twice. The readers know then that as the dragon goes on to make war with the rest of the offspring of the woman there is little chance that he will win. Jesus is victorious.
How is Jesus the Center?
The victory of Christ brings us to the last key we want to examine. How is Jesus the center of Revelation 12?
Revelation 12 takes a lot of observation to answer this question, but we see the importance of Christ to this chapter in two ways.
First, we see the incarnation of Christ in verse 5. Jesus came and accomplished the work the Father gave Him to do. Therefore, the dragon was powerless to defeat Him while He was on earth. He ascended back to the Father. It is because of Christ that the dragon, the great accuser of the brothers was thrown out of heaven (Rev. 12:9-10).
Second, those who were accused by Satan day and night have conquered him by the blood of the lamb. Their victory is rooted in Christ’s victory. Without the work of Christ Satan would have been able to continue his work, but not anymore. Jesus won. He is victorious and we can rest in His victory and fight spiritual warfare in it. We can’t lose because Jesus is the conqueror.
Conclusion
Revelation is a beautiful book, but it will take hard work and a lot of dependence on the Holy Spirit to understand it. Paul’s words to Timothy fit well in this context, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” Use the natural abilities God has given you because God wants to grant you understanding. This applies to Revelation.
As we conclude here are the six keys.
- Revelation is meant to reveal.
- Revelation is a visual book.
- Revelation meant something to the original readers.
- Revelation only makes sense in the light of the Old Testament.
- Revelation’s center is Jesus Christ.
- Revelation is the outworking of Gen. 3:15 and Matt. 16:17-18.
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it.” There is a blessing attached to the reading and studying of Revelation, don’t rob yourself of God’s blessing.
Reflection Questions
- How does the three-step process of studying the Bible (observe, interpret, and apply) work with Revelation?
- Have you viewed Revelation as a puzzle you need to put together? Why or why not?
- These six keys can be used to understand each chapter in Revelation. Go through chapter 11 and use each key to understand it.
- What will you change in how you read and study Revelation after this lesson?