The Literary Genre of Revelation
Discerning authorial intent is crucial for sound hermeneutics. Contra those who are primarily concerned with what the text means to the individual, the right approach is to ask what did the author mean when he wrote a particular work? And to get at what the author meant, one must discern the type of genre the author employed.
For example, when an author begins a work with “Once upon a time,” we know that the author intends to write a fairy tale and not a history book. Or when a work begins with “Dear Sarah,” we know it’s a letter and not a fantasy novel.
If someone gets the genre wrong, they get the author’s meaning wrong as well. This principle is especially true when reading Scripture. The difficulty comes, however, when one realizes that the Bible consists of several different genres. It contains historical narrative, poetry, letters, wisdom literature, prophecy, and more.
When reading poetry, one shouldn’t treat it like prophecy and vice versa. Rather, one must read poetry using the interpretive guidelines for poetry with an awareness to its unique features (parallelism, imagery, etc.).
This principle is especially true when reading Revelation. Revelation’s genre, however, is a bit more complicated than the average biblical book. The reason for this complication is two-fold. First, Revelation contains a mixture of three genres. And second, the primary genre is foreign to people living in the twenty-first century. Consider Revelation 1:1-4 as it indicates the different genres in the book:
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Epistolary Genre
“John to the seven churches that are in Asia.” This line indicates that John is writing a circular letter to seven different congregations. The average Christian is familiar with this type of literature since the New Testament contains several examples.
The letter of Philippians begins this way: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.” Similarly, 1 Peter begins, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.”
In all three instances (Revelation, Philippians, and 1 Peter), the author starts with his name and then indicates who he is writing to. While this approach is opposite to how we write letters today (we conclude with our name), this was standard letter writing in the ancient world.
Like other New Testament letters, Revelation must be tied to the receiving churches’ historical situation.1 For example, knowledge of the imperial cult in Asia is necessary background information for proper interpretation. Some estimate that 80 imperial temples existed in Asia Minor at the time, all dedicated to emperor worship. Pergamum hosted the very first temple dedicated to cult worship in 29 BC. About the same time that John wrote Revelation, Ephesus erected a third imperial temple and a twenty-five foot statue in honor of Emperor Domitian.2 Without this background knowledge, one misunderstands many of the references in Revelation.
Prophetic Genre
John says in Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy.” The prophecy designation is also used in 22:7, 10, 18-19.
As prophecy, John believed his work carried the same authority as other Scripture. For example, Revelation 22:18-19 declares, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” This warning is strikingly similar to Moses’ warning in Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it.”
Prophecy, of course, is a word from the Lord. It is generally meant to announce judgment on the wicked and offer hope for the righteous. Revelation certainly fits this criteria. Prophecy can also be predictive, and Revelation fits this description as well. Several times, John notes that the events described in his book “must soon take place” (Rev. 22:6).
Apocalyptic Genre
Finally, and most prevalent, Revelation is apocalyptic literature. The very word “revelation” comes from the Greek word, “apocalypsis.” Standard definitions of apocalyptic literature note that it includes an unveiling of a transcendent reality intended to provide a heavenly perspective of what is taking place on earth all the while mediated through an otherworldly being to a human recipient. The goal of the apocalypse was to encourage believers and exhort them to remain faithful to God as they face persecution and various social pressures.
Common features of apocalyptic literature include: historical dualism (good vs. evil), visions, pseudonymity (Revelation is an exception), numerology (numbers are symbolic), angelology, demonology, and predictive woes.3 Apocalyptic literature is in the Old Testament (Daniel, Zechariah, and Ezekiel), in the Olivet discourse (Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), as well as in non-canonical books Jewish books (1 Enoch, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and the Apocalypse of Abraham). That is to say, while we may not be familiar with this genre, it was quite common in the ancient world.
Modern people have a difficult time making sense of Revelation because they often fail to acknowledge the key feature of apocalyptic literature–symbolism. The beasts aren’t literally beasts. The dragon isn’t literally a dragon. The prostitute isn’t literally a prostitute. And so on. The symbols all represent some other reality. The task of the reader is to determine how the symbols function and what they signify. Since determining the meaning of the referents is a difficult task, I’ve provided four interpretive steps to aid in the process:4
1. Recognize the Symbolic Imagery
This point is obvious. Yet all too often, readers miss that almost all of Revelation is symbolic. Numbers, colors, institutions, and places all carry metaphorical meanings. As Köstenberger and Patterson remark:
Think of Revelation as an impressionistic painting instead of a video recording of the future world. John paints verbal pictures depicting the contents of his vision replete with symbolic hues and shades. His descriptions are intended to evoke a sense of wonder, awe, and worship as well as communicate prophetic eschatological expectations.5
For example, John uses the number seven (the number of completeness) fifty-five times throughout the book. Not only that, the name “Christ” occurs seven times. “Jesus” and “Spirit” both occur fourteen times (7 x 2), and “Lamb” occurs twenty-eight times (7 x 4). Seven times God is referred to as “the Alpha and Omega,” “the first and the last,” or the “beginning and the end.” Seven times the Lord is called, “The Almighty.” Seven times he is called “The one who sits on the throne.” The book contains seven “beatitudes.” And so on.
2. Look for Interpretations of the Symbols in the Text
Many times, Revelation provides the interpretation for the symbol. Here are a few examples:
- The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches (1:20).
- The seven lamp stands are the seven churches (1:20).
- Golden bowls of incense are the prayers of the saints (5:8).
- The 144,000 are those who did not defile themselves with women and kept themselves pure (14:4).
- Fine linen, bright and clean represent the righteous acts of the saints (19:8).
If only Revelation provided interpretations for all its symbols!
3. Look for Old Testament Allusion in the Symbols
About 278 of the 404 verses in Revelation contain an Old Testament reference.6 As a result, many of Revelation’s symbols have Old Testament counterparts. For example the beast from Revelation 13 that was like a leopard, bear, and lion alludes back to Daniel’s vision of the four beasts in Daniel 7–a lion, a bear, a leopard, and an unidentified terrible beast. The beasts in Daniel refer to different world powers (Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.) The beast in Revelation must therefore refer to a world power (probably Rome).
4. Look for Connections between the Symbol and Historical Context
Much of the confusion over Revelation stems from the fact that we are two thousand years removed from the book and situated in a different context. The seven churches lived in the Roman Empire and among the imperial cult. Images of beasts, Jezebel, and the Great Prostitute would have resonated with an early church as appropriate descriptions of the issues they were facing. The images, therefore, make more sense to fit their context than ours. For example, it doesn’t make sense to equate the beast with Adolf Hitler, the Pope, or any other referent outside their immediate first-century context.
Conclusion
Revelation consists of epistolary, prophetic, and apocalyptic literature. Without a basic understanding of these genres, one cannot interpret the book correctly. Certainly, challenges exist for a modern interpreter of apocalyptic literature with its rich imagery and symbolism. I offered four interpretive steps for discerning the meaning behind the symbols. Be that as it may, one must still approach the book with a certain level of humility. As I alluded to in the previous post, Revelation is a difficult book to interpret.
- Thomas Schreiner, The Joy of Hearing, 22.
- Andreas Köstenberger and Richard Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, 527-528.
- Leon Morris, Apocalyptic, 2nd ed.
- Kostenberger and Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, 551-557.
- Kostenberger and Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, 552.
- G. K. Beale, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, 1.
