Revelation as prophesy

Of all the books of the Bible, I would venture to guess that Revelation is, by far, the most intriguing, misunderstood, and art-inspiring. It has provided language and imagery for postapocalyptic films like Apocalypto and I Am Legend as well as books like the Left Behind series. In addition, scholars have produced a wealth of academic and theological research to keep us learning for a lifetime. I will admit that I have spent less time in Revelation than other books in the Bible, mostly because it is confusing and violent, and I just have not spent enough time on the study of its content to make much sense of it. So, I was excited to embark on my recent study abroad in Türkiye because the content of this class, Early Church and Empire, promised to dive into Revelation and set it in its historical and cultural context. Although we could not get into the entirety of Revelation because this class was not solely focused on the exegesis (a fancy word for critical interpretation of scripture) of Revelation, we were able to take a deep look into the first three chapters containing prophecies of Revelation to the early first-century church.

Revelation is more than just apocalypse writing. It is a prophetic message to Christians living in the seven largest cities in the Greco-Roman empire in the second half of the first century. In the Bible, prophecy is not just future-telling, it is a description of what presently is through the eyes of God. It is often an indictment against God’s people when they stray from God, like when Hosea proclaims:

“Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel;      
for the LORD has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. 
There is no faithfulness or loyalty, 
and no knowledge of God in the land.”
(Hosea 4:1)
 
Prophesy can also be a positive promise to God’s people based on their obedience, like when Isaiah says:

“Do not fear, for I am with you,
     Do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will keep you,
     I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
(Isaiah 41:10) 
 
Both genres of prophecy are apparent in the first three chapters of Revelation, where we spent the majority of our studies. John, claiming to testify on behalf of God and Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1), prophesied either an indictment or promise (or a mix of both) to each of the seven churches depending on whether they “accommodated themselves to the lordship claims of Rome or defiantly proclaimed the lordship claims of God and Christ.” Did the Christians in each city follow God or did they succumb to the religion of the Greco-Roman empire and its pantheon?

Like the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament, each of the prophecies and promises in Revelation were justified by the strengths and failures of the people of God, and each church was given an instruction with a promise, signified by a tangible sign or symbol.
 
A good example of this in the Old Testament is the story of Noah. In this story, God proclaimed the wickedness of the people (failure) as justification for destroying the earth (Genesis 6:5-7) and the righteousness and blamelessness of Noah (strength) (Genesis 6:9). Once the flood subsided, God instructed Noah to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1), promising that He would never again destroy the earth with water (Genesis 9:11). God then gave Noah a tangible sign of a rainbow to signify His promise (Genesis 9:13).  

John addresses each of the seven churches in Revelation in a similar fashion, including their strengths and failures, instruction and promise, as well as a tangible sign or symbol. Here are a few examples. In its letter, Smyrna is described as rich in good works (strength)
(Revelation 2:9), instructed to “be faithful until death” (Revelation 2:10), and promised to “not be harmed by the second death” (Revelation 2:11) signified by the symbol of “the crown of life” (Revelation 9:10). On the other end of the indictment-promise spectrum, in its letter Laodicia is described as “Lukewarm” (Revelation 3:16) and spiritually “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17) (failure). God instructs Laodicia to repent (Revelation 3:19), promising them a place to eat with God (Revelation 3:19), signified by the symbols of a “white robe” and “eye-salve” (Revelation 3:18). Four of the other churches (with the exception of Philadelphia) are described as having both strengths and weaknesses, like Thyatira, described as having “love, faith, service and patient endurance” (strength) (Revelation 2:19) as well as being idolatrous and immoral (failure) (Revelation 2:20). They are instructed to “hold fast” to their faith (Revelation 2:25) so that they may earn the promise of “authority over the nations,” signified by “the morning star” (Revelation 2:28).

Prophecies are addressed to their original audiences and may also speak to us. In the prophecies of Revelation, we are reminded of God’s instruction to put God first over worldly powers. We are called to be faithful like Smyrna and enduring like Thyatira (strengths). We are warned against being spiritually lukewarm like Laodicia and immoral like Thyatira (failures). Like all of God’s people throughout history, we are instructed to repent and hold fast to our faith in the midst of worldly temptations and struggle; and by the grace and love of God, we are promised a seat at God’s banquet and eternal life with Him, symbolized by the water, bread, and wine of our Baptismal and Communion Sacraments.