Originally published in the Pueblo West Baptist Church November 2025 newsletter

Many do not even attempt to read it because it appears so confusing.

This feeble-minded pastor gets why some ignore the book. Even brilliant John Calvin never wrote a commentary on Revelation, nor did he preach through it. My faithful stick-to-it dad started to teach through it a couple times and gave up. These past few months of reading and studying in preparation for this series, I have been highly tempted to dump preaching through Revelation.

With the Lord’s grace and your prayers and patience, I hope to work my way through the book the next few months. The following have helped lessen my trepidation and encouraged me to preach through Revelation.

Revelation is meant to unveil – and it does

It is intended to make something clear. The very first word in the book —  revelation — tells us that. The word comes from the Greek word apokalupsis which means to unveil, or reveal. Something that has not been seen or not clear is now unveiled or made clear.

Revelation makes clear one main point: As Christ builds His church – bringing unworthy sinners to saving faith from every tongue, tribe and nation — the devil and his partners will war against Christ and His people but they will not prevail.

Well-intended Christians interpret the book differently; but what’s made clear remains clear

Here is a brief summary of the four approaches people hold today as well as in the past.

Preterist

Everything or most of what’s in the book has already happened.

Preterist/preterism comes from the Latin word preter, which means “past.” Meaning: All of the prophecies in the book of Revelation were fulfilled during the first century after Christ, or in the time of the Roman empire.

Full preterism is the belief that all prophecy has already happened. {As best I understand this interpretation, it is outside of the realm of acceptable beliefs (orthodoxy)}

Partial preterism is the belief that most prophecy in Scripture has already been fulfilled, but not all. Partial preterists believe the last 2-3 chapters of Revelation – Christ’s return, final judgment, new heavens, new earth — have yet to happen.

Preterists tend to believe the book of Revelation mainly corresponds to God’s judgment carried out in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

R.C. Sproul held to a partial-preterist view of Revelation. Pastor Doug Wilson holds this as well.

Historicist

This interpretation is not widely in use today but was held by many of the Protestant Reformers several hundred years ago.

In general historicists believe the seven churches of chapters 2-3 represent seven chronological eras until Christ returns. The seals, bowls, trumpets also represent successive ages in the time between Christ’s first coming and His second.

Revelation then is a kind of survey of church history, with specific historical events and time periods symbolically portrayed.

I don’t know of any well-known person today who holds to this view.

Futurist

Most of Revelation is yet to be fulfilled.

This is probably the most well-known view among evangelical Protestants today.

The most popular version today of futurism started developing in the mid-1800s. One of the key components that has come out of this school of interpretation is the necessity of a secret rapture of the Church prior to seven years of tribulation. {Popularized by the books, The Late Great Planet Earth and Left Behind}

Some in the futurist camp argue that Revelation 6 -19 has not happened yet. Some equate these chapters with Daniel’s 70^th week (seven literal years of tribulation yet to come). Many argue that the seals, bowls, trumpets, etc, in chapters 6-19 occur in the seven-year tribulation and are focused on Israel.

There are two main varieties in the futurist camp: The post-tribulation view believes the Church goes through the seven years of tribulation. The pretribulation view believes the Church is secretly raptured prior to the seven years of tribulation. Which means that after Revelation chapter 3, the church is no longer in view. {The post-trib view holds the Church is on earth during this time.} Those in the futurist camp typically hold to a literal, future, 1,000 year reign of Christ; hence , they are pre-millennialists.

Dr. John MacArthur was a pre-trib rapture proponent. Dr. Al Mohler identifies with the post-tribulation (historic premillennialist).

Idealist (or Symbolic)

This view believes that Revelation applies to all the time between the first coming of Christ and His second coming. The seven churches of Asia (chapters 2-3) were real churches but they serve as a type of what Christ’s people will face to some degree or another in every era until His return. What Christ has to say to them has implications for all churches and believers in every age.

Chapter 6-19 (the seals, bowls, trumpets, etc) symbolically represent the real cosmic battle in the spiritual realm that influences and is intertwined with life here on earth until Christ returns. The main characters in Revelation are Christ, His Church and the devil. It is a verbal picture book with different ‘scenes’ with different emphases that show what is to be expected throughout the Church age until Christ’s final judgment of all His enemies and final salvation for all His people.

Dr. Voddie Baucham held to this view as does Dr. Kevin DeYoung.

The plain intent is the main intent

The entire book is intended to bless Christ’s people (1:3).

+ It blesses weak, struggling churches and believers helping them to live in grace and peace in the knowledge of their Sovereign Triune God (Rev. 1:4,5).

+ It blesses weak, struggling churches and believers helping them to see what they have, and who they are, in Christ (1:4-8).

+ It is a blessing because it shows Christ’s people (1:1,5,6,11) in every generation what to expect until Christ returns. It helps us to be overcomers – to live lives honoring our Lord, confident in Him – amidst hatred, temptation, deceit, manipulation, coercion, satanic lies, accusations and unseen cosmic battles; and, yes, death because of our allegiance to Christ (1:3, 11; chps 2-3; 12:11).

Think of it as a spiritual warfare picture book for the ages, not a present-day puzzle book

Revelation blesses churches and believers in all eras by giving us a big picture of a cosmic war and Christ’s righteous eternal victory {and ours}. This battle against Christ and His people is so immense and fierce and grotesque and majestic in scope and the results of His victory so final and pure – it must be revealed primarily in symbolic language.

Revelation is meant to edify. You’re reading it wrongly if you despair or fret. You are ‘getting it’ if it strengthens and straightens you today in holy love for Christ and His people, and confidence in the One who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood. The One who is ever worthy of all honor. Amen.