Although I still have a lot to learn from Revelation (and from all the other books in the New Testament), I have come to greatly appreciate this book. When John encourages followers of Christ to have hope and faith despite the trials that they are facing, his sincerity and ability to understand his own advice is made more powerful knowing that he writes these letters from his own imprisonment on Patmos, in the Aegean Sea. Members of the church were being treated terribly, but John understood, and was facing his own set of trials. As John encouraged followers of Christ to overcome the challenges they faced then, we can take courage and overcome the trials that we face today.
I'm sharing just a handful of the slides I created for a discussion about Revelation a couple of weeks ago - most of these slides were ones I didn't actually have time to share in class. There was so much material in here that as per usual, I didn't even share half of my slides in class. Mainly, I want to share the sources I dug up as I was studying, and focused on learning about what was happening in the world when Revelation was written, who the author John was (most likely he was John the Beloved, also known as John the Revelator), and how reading and studying Revelation can help us triumph over our adversity.
I'm sharing just a handful of the slides I created for a discussion about Revelation a couple of weeks ago - most of these slides were ones I didn't actually have time to share in class. There was so much material in here that as per usual, I didn't even share half of my slides in class. Mainly, I want to share the sources I dug up as I was studying, and focused on learning about what was happening in the world when Revelation was written, who the author John was (most likely he was John the Beloved, also known as John the Revelator), and how reading and studying Revelation can help us triumph over our adversity.
“After the Savior’s death, Church leaders and members were persecuted and killed. The Roman emperor Domitian sent John, who may have then been the only member of the Twelve still alive, as a prisoner to a rocky island called Patmos off the coast of Turkey. There he received the revelation that became the book of Revelation in the New Testament. It is about how good will finally triumph over evil.”
Friend Magazine, 1995https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/friend/1995/08/john-the-revelator?lang=eng
The article "Seeing the Book of Revelation as a Book of Revelation," written by Gerald N. Lund in 1987, is an excellent source. He talks about many facets of this book but for example, I like how he declares that the symbols aren't that hard if you look for interpretations: "In many cases,
we have no excuse for not understanding the divine imagery revealed to John,
for the Lord has clearly specified how the symbols are to be interpreted.
Sometimes the Lord gives the key in the same context as the symbol itself;
other times, he explains its significance later in the vision; often, he
provides the key somewhere else in the standard works. Here are some examples
in which the context gives the interpretation: The “seven
golden candlesticks” (Rev.
1:12) are “the
seven churches” (Rev.
1:20). The “golden
vials full of odours [incense]” (Rev.
5:8) are “the
prayers of saints” (Rev.
5:8). The “great red
dragon” (Rev.
12:3) is “that old
serpent, called the Devil, and Satan” (Rev.
12:9). ... Here are a few
examples in which the interpretation is given elsewhere in Revelation: The “morning
star” (Rev.
2:28) is Jesus
Christ (Rev.
22:16). The “seven
heads” of the beast (Rev.
13:1) are “seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth” and “seven kings” (Rev.
17:9–10). Here are
several examples in which the interpretation is given elsewhere in scripture: The “tree of
life” (Rev.
2:7), whose fruit
the faithful may eat, is “the love of God” (1
Ne. 11:25). Michael (Rev.
12:7) is Adam (D&C
107:54).
Babylon, or
“the mother of harlots and abominations” (Rev.
14:8; Rev.
16:19; Rev.
17:5), is a symbol
of the great and abominable church founded by the devil and of spiritual
wickedness (1
Ne. 14:3, 10; D&C
86:3; D&C
133:14)."
Other great sources about Revelation
- Read about John the Revelator, who was also John the Beloved in the Bible Dictionary. He was "A disciple of Jesus Christ."
- Consult "The New Testament Study Guide: Start to Finish," Edited by Thomas R. Valletta.
- Review the insights in the New Testament Study Manual, Chapter 53, Revelation (See slide further below for one example of an insight from the manual.)
- Read the interpretations and insights in Matthew 4:21–22). Latter-day revelation affirms that John the Beloved is the author (see 1 Nephi 14:18–27; Ether 4:16; D&C 77:1–2).
- Joseph Smith Translation
- Review BYU Studies. (See slide below for one example.)
- John, the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved, by Eric D. Huntsman
Quotes from Eric Huntsman: (I loved this article and really would prefer to quote the whole thing):
"John and his brother, James, also had a partnership with brothers Peter and Andrew, and all four left their fishing business when Jesus called them to follow Him in full-time discipleship."
"Yet it is in the writings that are associated with John that he is best seen as a powerful witness of the divinity of his master and friend, Jesus Christ. These New Testament books present John as both a teacher and a model for us in our own discipleship."
References:
Colin
J. Hemer, The
Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001).
W. M. Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches, ed.
Mark W. Wilson (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994).
Keith Burton, "Numbers," Eerdmans
Dictionary of the Bible, ed. David Noel Freedman
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000).
