[Articles in the Multiple Views series are intended to present various views held by Christians, in an objective and unbiased manner]
“The Book of Revelation takes its name from the Greek word found in 1:1, apokalypsis (637), an unveiling, uncovering, or disclosure … Written largely in what has been termed apocalyptic genre, not surprisingly Revelation has yielded the greatest number of divergent interpretations of any NT book.” [1] Today, this article will present an overview of four of the most predominant views which have cropped up.
| Perspectives |
How Revelation is Viewed |
| A) Futurist |
- Revelation is a prophecy primarily about the future end of the world and years leading immediately to the end
- All or nearly all of Revelation is yet to occur
- Held to by dispensational premillennialists and some historic premillennialists
|
| B) Historicist |
- Revelation is a prophecy about church history from the time of John to the end of the world
- The events in Revelation are viewed as symbolic descriptions of historical events throughout church history
Note: Some futurists understand the Seven Churches (Revelation 1-3) in a historic manner, treating each church as descriptive of a particular era of church history |
| C) Idealist |
- Revelation is a non-historical and non-prophetic drama about spiritual realities
- Revelation is viewed as “… hyper-allegories or esoteric parables designed to simply illustrate the ongoing conflict between God and Satan, good and evil, the Church and the world.” [1]
- Seemed to have originated among ancient Alexandrian theologians, who frequently spiritualised and allegorised biblical text
|
| D) Preterist |
- Revelation is a prophecy which was fulfilled primarily in the first century AD
- This view “stresses the immediacy of the book’s message.”
- Strand #1: Partial Preterism – views most of Revelation as fulfilled in the first century although the final chapters of Revelation describe future events to occur at the end of time
- Strand #2: Full Preterism – views the return of Jesus described in Revelation 19 as spiritual and occurred in AD 70 when the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed.
- Typically held to by amillennialists or postmillennialists
Note: Christians throughout church history have understood full preterism to be a heresy |
Source: Rose Guide to End-Times Prophecy (2011)
[1] Hebrew Greek Key Word Study Bible NIV (1996), p.1447
