I Love Revelation, but Eschatology Scares Me
By Trevin Wax on Sep 25, 2007 in Christianity, Theology | 
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Revelation is one of my favorite books of the Bible, yet I’m not quite sure what to make of it. The different interpretations of Revelation can be overwhelming at times. How can it be that so many good, biblical theologians have come to so many different conclusions regarding the last book of the Bible? How is anyone to know who is right and who is wrong?
Sometimes, I feel like an agnostic when it comes to John’s apocalypse. I know there is an answer and a correct interpretation, but I wonder whether or not we finite humans will ever completely understand it.
My own eschatological journey began deep in Dispensationalism. When I was in the 7th grade, I wrote a series of stories about a teenager who was “left behind” after the Rapture. (This was before Left Behind ever hit the shelves. I’m still waiting on LaHaye to send me some royalties.) The book was an amalgam of all the Dispensationalist ideas I’d heard in my Christian school. Man-eating locusts. Solar flares that baked the world. Millions dying from plagues and wars.
Growing up in an independent Baptist school, the pretribulational, premillennial rapture was considered one of the “fundamentals” of the faith. It was like the Virgin Birth or physical Resurrection of Jesus. You just didn’t question Dispensationalism.
Then I moved to Romania. I soon discovered that no one over there had even heard of a Rapture, a 7-year tribulation and all that jazz. For a couple weeks, I tried to convert everyone to the “correct” understanding of eschatology. But the wide-eyed looks and furrowed brows of my colleagues convinced me that maybe I didn’t know as much as I thought I did.
Reading through Mark one day, I arrived at the apocalyptic language of chapter 13. Two things stood out from my reading. First, the chapter began with Jesus making a specific prediction about the destruction of the temple and then the disciples asking him what the “signs” would be. I skipped over that pretty quickly and kept reading Mark 13 as I always had – as a treatise on the wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, and missions efforts that would accompany the very last days of earth.
But when I got to the final part of the predictions (Jesus’ statement that “this generation shall not pass away until all these things take place”), something struck me as wrongheaded about my approach.
Up to that point, I had always interpreted the apocalyptic language of Mark in a literal manner and had taken Jesus’ final statement as figuratively (“Generation” could mean “race” or that last generation; all these things could refer to some of these things). But for the first time, I realized that perhaps I was getting this all backwards. Maybe the apocalpytic language of Mark 13 was meant to be interpreted figuratively, and Jesus’ seemingly straightforward conclusion was meant to be taken… well… straightforwardly.
Then came September 11. The tragedy of September 11 came with a variety of cosmological metaphors. It was an earth-shattering event. The sky fell in on New York. Artists sang songs like “Where were you when the world stopped turning?” All Americans grasped for words to describe the events of September 11. Two towers came down, yes. But so much more was lost in the aftermath of 9/11.
Shortly after 9/11, I realized that I had been reading Revelation wrongly. Statements about the sun and moon not shining, about stars falling from the sky, and earthquakes are metaphors designed to invest earthly events with cosmic significance. It would be absurd for me to interpret all the 9/11 metaphors in a literalistic manner. No, the world did not actually stop turning on 9/11. The sky did not really fall in on New York. The earth did not shatter. But the events of 9/11 were so gruesome that those metaphors are still true descriptions of 9/11.
The same is true of Revelation. Could it be that most New Testament prophecy is pointing ahead to a “Day of the Lord” that finds its fulfillment in the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70? Not all of the prophecy, of course. But much of it, anyway.
I do not make any lofty claims to superior knowledge of Revelation. I am now decidedly not a Dispensationalist. I have found myself in each of the millennial camps at some point and occasionally dabble in partial preterism.
What I do know, though, about Revelation is that the focus of the book is not ultimately a “theology of the end times” designed to fascinate us with details we can chart on a map. The focus of the book is on the unveiling of Christ and his bride. Read Revelation to find out about the end of the world and you might miss Christ – the center and focus of all Bible prophecy.
Maybe one day I will better understand Revelation. Until then, I’m satisfied to leave the eschatological speculation to the pro’s. Better yet, I’m going to keep my eyes on Jesus – the One who is coming soon.
written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog
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Trevin,
Your experience reminds me a little of my own. The Baptist Church I joined after conversion was all about the rapture. It seemed like no service or sermon was complete without an allusion to it accompanied by the warning – it might be today! Good post. Theological speculation brings out the worst strain of our folk religion. You are right to point us to Christ as the message of Revelation.
Tony Kummer | Sep 25, 2007 | Reply
Thanks, Tony. I am still learning and loving Revelation… but I’m quick to admit to people that I don’t have all the answers.
trevinwax | Sep 25, 2007 | Reply
Good comments. Perhaps it’s been mentioned by you elsewhere, but in the two passages folks point to regarding a rapture, Matt 24 and Thes 4, consider who is left behind. In Thes 4:17, Paul says that “we who are alive, who are LEFT” shall be caught up. Those who are “left” get caught up to meet the Lord. Similarly, In Matt 24 where “One is taken, one is left” we see this compared to Noah and Lot. With both Noah and Lot, who was left behind? The good guys of course – Noah and his family, and Lot and his daughters. This is the opposite of what the Rapture devotees would have you believe.
Brian | Sep 25, 2007 | Reply
I have had the same battle as you… starting out as dispensational, now I’m “partial-preterist” where I see a lot of the things happening in 70AD, yet some still in the future. I’ve been premill and now I’m amill. Yet I also realize many great theologians disagree with me, men who know far more than I. That’s not to say I’m not oblivious to problems with my view that Matthew 24 has been fulfilled. It plainly says this generation (genea) shall not pass away. Unless there is a 2000 year old disciple (which some have said!) I don’t see how it can be anything but the siege of jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. Yet the question asked is “the end of the age.” And here is the problem for me: The NT only talk of two ages, this one, and the one to come. If the end of the age was in 70AD, then we must be in the age to come, yet we still marry, we still have sin, etc.
That being said, I hold my position until I hear a better explanation for it. I have written a post discussing Matthew 24 somewhat at length if you’re interested in reading it. I talk about the time texts, the cosmic signs, the “coming of the son of man” and whether the Gospel had gone to the whole world or not.
And just in case anyone was wondering, I affirm the future second coming of our Lord and the final judgment.
Bryan | Sep 27, 2007 | Reply
Hi Bryan,
Thanks for the feedback. There are definitely problems with the partial-preterist view too… just like with all the different End Times scenarios. Still, this is where I’m at currently because it seems like it has the least amount of problems. I’d love to look over your post. Send me an email with the link and I’ll take a look.
trevinwax | Sep 27, 2007 | Reply
Hey Trevin,
It seems that you’re mailto link doesn’t have your email address attached to it. Am I overlooking it somewhere else on the site?
Bryan | Sep 27, 2007 | Reply
Bryan,
Sorry about that… I think I fixed it. It should be working now.
trevinwax | Sep 27, 2007 | Reply
Your blog is most interesting! Have you read “Famous Rapture Watchers” and “Pretrib Rapture Diehards” on Google? The same writer has a large book “The Rapture Plot” (Armageddon Books online) which reveals a lot of new documentation about the rapture’s birth in 1830 that lay buried in British libraries for more than a century. But anyone with a weak heart probably shouldn’t read it. Just my two cents’ worth. Flo
Flo Banks | Sep 27, 2007 | Reply
I very much appreciate all of your thoughts. I took a course this semester (in my sophomore year of Biblical Studies) on the Book of Revelation. Similar to most of your experiences it seemed as though the majority my classmates came from dispensationalist backgrounds. The class was assigned a paper to write comparing the traditional interpretations and concluding with our own interpretations. From my discussions with my fellow students regarding their conclusions it seems that the majority of us ended up adopting the eclectic view, which is essentially a conglomeration (hence the name) of the positive aspects from each traditional view.
The way I arrange the eclectic view is by starting with analyzing (like the preterists) what the text meant for the churches it was addressed to. Then from what this analysis produces start applying the meaning to our contemporary context (like the idealists do right from the get go). The timeless truths that may be gleaned from the analyzing and application may be found to be true in examples from history (like the historicists are so determined to emphasize) which we can learn from. Also, the meanings can be applied to inspire hope of our future (as the futurists occasionally promote, although many futurists, such as dispensationalists, are generally focused on a fearful messages from revelation).
Anyway, for your consideration. Be blessed with the grace and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jordan D. | Dec 26, 2008 | Reply
My personal view is that the timing doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make us more or less saved does it?
Yes the end is coming, yes it is a part of our hope for the future but it’s not what we should be focusing on. I agree that we should be focused on not only Christ Himself but also, we should be focused on the 3 things Christ told us to do which are: Love God, Love each other & Go and tell the world the Gospel.
Dana | Oct 6, 2009 | Reply