Troublesome Topic: KEY #6 Be Willing to Consider a New Method

Like many of you, I grew up hearing the typical schematic of “end times” events. I was raised Pre-trib, then I changed my position to Post-Trib, now I am neither Pre, Post nor Mid-trib. This is because I have found a new/old way to interpret Revelation that has totally revolutionized my thinking, causing me to enjoy Revelation. It has shown me the power, relevance, and beauty of John’s vision.           

I invite you consider a different way of looking at Revelation. It will likely be new to you because of how most of us have been taught all our lives, but in reality, it is very old. I am convinced that this ancient way of looking at Revelation is as close as I can get to the way the people of John’s day would have understood it.

Did you realize that the concept of a pretribulation rapture did not arise until 1827 or 1830, depending on whether you credit John Darby or Margaret MacDonald as its originator? Therefore, the teaching on eschatology that is most popular today has a very recent origin. (To see what was taught before then, read my lesson about the 4 major interpretive methods regarding Revelation.)

What you will find in my translation and paraphrase of Revelation is an attempt to get back to the way the people of John’s day would have interpreted the symbolism in Revelation. No one denies that there is lots of symbolism in John’s vision, the question is how to interpret it. I suggest to you that we must start by trying to understand it as the people of John’s day would have understood it because it was their symbolism, not ours. We cannot grant ourselves the freedom to make ancient symbolism mean whatever we want it to mean today.

I realize that changing your perspective from something you have heard described one way all your life, to thinking differently about it, is not easy. The more you read of my translation and paraphrase of Revelation, the more your mind will be stretched because it is so different than what you have always heard.

But if you are willing, your mind can be retrained in a new way of understanding John’s vision. If you are willing to go on this journey with me, I believe you will find this new/old way of looking at Revelation to be powerful, relevant, beautiful, and consistent. Gone will be the sense of confusion and frustration caused by the endless debates that are so common among prophecy experts. Gone will be the days of reading a new batch of books after every major world event, only to find out later that the predictors were wrong again.

The next lesson for The Keys that Open Up Revelation is: KEY # 7 Interpret the Symbols as the Original Audience Did

The next lesson for The Most Important Excerpts from this Study on Revelation is: What Can We Know for Sure about the Future?