Expert: Rev Steve Parish - 10/31/2011

Question
Hi,
I would like if you can explain to me more about the book of Revelation. Some preacher say that at the end of time all things will happen exactly as in Revelation ( Last day + the mark of the beast). Is this true?

Thanks

Answer
I doubt it. This style of writing ("apocalyptic") may never have been intended literally. Some would say it was "a tract for the times" which it is now impossible to read and know for sure what was meant. For example, if Babylon represents the Roman Empire, it reads like an "underground" letter about resistance and endurance during persecution. So when John says "let the reader understand", the reader in his day probably understood very well, but there's no way we can now guess at what that meant.

Many have tried to predict events based on the Revelation, including dates for the end of the world, and Christians have often divided sharply on some of the basic interpretation.

My own view sums up as: the interpretation of apocalyptic literature is notoriously varied, and usually wrong.