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The Revelation is one of the most important books of the Bible and the only one that admonishes against misrepresentation. In this sense, any attempt to interpret its meaning for others can only be regarded as a limitation. It is therefore justifiable to ask, even from the outset, what this book is about if we are not meant to interpret The Revelation for others.

This is purely a personal study and does not claim to have the only true meaning of The Revelation. A lot of interpretations of The Revelation are available in Christian literature and in some cases, these interpretations are used as a basis for faith and doctrine in the various sects. Unfortunately, most of these interpretations base their study on fragments of John’s vision often taken in isolation. However, the revelation in my view is a single unified revelation of the time and work of the Son of Man, the end time or the second coming of Jesus as many regard it.

Over the past two millennia, highly gifted individuals have attempted to study and understand The Revelation and have largely only succeeded in keeping it relevant for the different generations of Christians. This is not surprising because The Revelation is written for the end-times and can only be fully accessible at the end-time. Most striving Christians will agree that we are today living in the so-called end-time and that the events of The Revelation are imminent.

All the promised messages for the end-time are now available to us and I believe we are in a better position to understand the message of The Revelation. Indeed, I believe that we urgently need to understand its message and I can empathize with the urge and pressure amongst all striving human spirits to unravel the mysteries of The Revelation. It does not, however, necessarily follow that we must limit ourselves to past understanding. We must be prepared to review the Revelation in the light of any new knowledge or Message from the Light.

This work is intended for those who are interested in detailed study of the subject from a new perspective, different from the currently held views and to give a new insight based on my understanding of the new knowledge in Creation. It, in no way, claims to be the only correct reading, but I believe that the insight provided may be a basis on which others can take the work further. Hopefully also, it will open the readers to the urgent need to objectively examine the new knowledge in Creation, contained in the work In the Light of Truth by Abd-ru-shin. It is my hope and prayer that the earnest reader will be stimulated to reflection and awakened to an urge to study The Revelation for himself or herself, prayerfully and humbly.

In evaluating this book, it is also important to recognize the limitations imposed by translations. I have based my study exclusively on the English translations of the Greek manuscripts using the New International Version (NIV), unless otherwise indicated.

This work is offered in the recognition that the Revelation is being fulfilled in this epoch. The Revelation is one of the most extensively studied but least applied of the books of the Bible. The style of writing, the often-profound reactions evoked and the uncertainty of the genre lends itself to scholarly license. While it had remained difficult in practical application, it had nevertheless inspired great artists and musicians. It is easy to conclude that in spite of its name, the Revelation often conceals more than it reveals (Mitchell).

In our study of The Revelation, it is important first to establish that it is a spiritual and not a scholarly work. Spiritual events cannot be confined within the bounds of intellectual analysis. Attempts to do so immediately narrow the perceptive capabilities of the individual and produces rigid interpretations and definitions of timelines. Attempts to date or give form to the end-time must remain futile and grossly limiting.

Scholars have also sought to classify The Revelation in accordance with accepted literary styles, resulting in highly erudite works that further distance the reader from the experiencing of the impact of The Revelation. Interesting theses have appeared on whether The Revelation is apocalyptic, prophetic or episcopal. Yet, while the literary genre of the apocalyptic owes its derivation from the revelation (Greek - apocalypsis), the work cannot be brought to fit with other apocalyptic writings (Ladd, 1957). Similarly, although John refers to his revelation as a prophecy, it lacks the scope of changeability inherent in prophecies, except for the letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2-3). Prophecies are predicated on human reactions to them and often change in details of manifestation (scope and time) if the target audiences repent. The Revelation on the other hand emphasizes the inevitability of its message from the beginning (Rev. 1:1) and this is intrinsic in the difference between the revelation and the prophecy genre.

The approach to The Revelation in this study will de-emphasize theological scholarship, avoid eschatology (end time motifs) and focus on the need to keep the human spirit alert to the coming of the Son of Man. The main purpose of The Revelation To John is not, as often supposed, to give comfort and hope to the Church, but to keep the focus of the servants of our God and His Christ on the defining event for Creation, as advised by the Son of God – the need to remain spiritually alert for the coming of the Son of Man. Once we understand this, attempts at interpretation of The Revelation become meaningless and unnecessary. Indeed, the Revelation itself warns against adding or removing from the work, an injunction that is persistently overlooked in many efforts to interpret the Revelation. The Revelation is to be read, either individually or to others, rather than interpreted (Rev. 1:3), a requirement that was more understandable to John’s contemporaries than to us.

In spite of this however, it remains necessary to indicate in passing, the effort many dedicated Christians have made to keep the message of The Revelation alive and relevant over the millennia. This introduction will therefore, briefly examine the approaches to interpretation, the controversies about authorship, date and style, some of which have a bearing on the unfolding of the revelation and may serve to awaken the reader to the message of the Spirit to the Churches.

Interpretation

The Book of Revelation has remained the most misunderstood document in the Bible, in spite of being extensively studied. This is only partly due to the heavily symbolic and apocalyptic nature of the writing. All through the church era and even long before it was reluctantly accepted as canon in the 4^th century AD, The Revelation had been a controversial work. Arguments and discussions have ranged from its authorship and authenticity to its meaning and relevance. In spite of this, each epoch of the Christian church had found it relevant and supportive for their time while in most cases also providing for them a window into the future of the church.

The earliest commentary may be ascribed to Melitus, Bishop of Sardis about 175AD (Eusebius), but this work is no longer extant. The earliest extant work is that of Victorinus of Pettau (d.c. 304) and the plethora of commentaries and scholarly literature on the Revelation since then attests to its importance.

Interpretations, not surprisingly, have clustered around the timeline and meaning of The Revelation and various schools of thought have evolved overtime. These views have been extensively studied and categorized (Morris, 1987) and will not be discussed in detail here. Four main views stand out, Preterist, Historicist, Futurist and Idealist. From the earliest period of the church, the futuristic and idealist interpretations have been the major positions. It is however likely, as many scholars have pointed out, that the correct perception contains something of all of the above views.

Whatever view one adopts, the book itself refuses to be left in the past. Indeed, with each epoch of human development, new depths of interpretation emerged that suggested that the revelation is for all ages of the church until the end. It is in this context that this work intends to show that the revelation has never been as relevant as it is for our time. There is enough evidence within the text of revelations to believe that it was written for the end time, a concept that is in itself as abused as the revelation. Although, the phrase ‘end times’ has been adopted in this work, the revelation did not mention the end time. Caird emphasizes this point and according to him “Much debate ‘has turned on the nature of the eschaton, the final event...but the word eschaton (neut.) does not occur in the New Testament. John knows only of the eschatos (masc.), a person who is both the beginning and the end’ (Caird, 1966).

As the prophecies, indicating the end times unfold with alarming rapidity and as we gain more insight into them with almost every event, the revelation becomes more clarified, understandable and relevant. Rapid globalization, the explosion of knowledge and the fulfillment of the promise of the Spirit of Truth on earth, place the revelation in the centre of our time.