Let me be clear: the Revelation is perhaps the most difficult book in the Bible, I think.
There are several reasons. The style of writing seems to be that of an epic poem that describes the course of Earth as a huge drama of heavenly proportions, ending with blissful Earth where all of humanity lives in harmony with each other and with the animals, with all of nature.
The Revelation also strikes me as a kind of clairvoyance, a view of the future. One expects a difficult future while also seeing, eventually, Heaven on Earth as the Prayer goes in the first book of the New Testament.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revelationFull Definition of revelation
1a: an act of revealing or communicating divine truth
b: something that is revealed by God to humans
2a: an act of revealing to view or making known
b: something that is revealed
especially : an enlightening or astonishing disclosure
shocking revelations
c: a pleasant often enlightening surprise
her talent was a revelation
3capitalized : an apocalyptic writing addressed to early Christians of Asia Minor and included as a book in the New Testament
— called also Apocalypse
— see BIBLE TABLE
- Bible Study Tools, https://www.biblestudytools.com/revelation/Interpretation
Interpreters of Revelation normally fall into four groups:
* Preterists understand the book exclusively in terms of its first-century setting, claiming that most of its events have already taken place.
* Historicists take it as describing the long chain of events from Patmos to the end of history.
* Futurists place the book primarily in the end times.
* Idealists view it as symbolic pictures of such timeless truths as the victory of good over evil.
Fortunately, the fundamental truths of Revelation do not depend on adopting a particular point of view. They are available to anyone who will read the book for its overall message and resist the temptation to become overly enamored with the details.
I'm a Futurist, I guess, though I find we live in some kind of end times, bliss (or total destruction) in near future.
So, I would be cautious to give my heart to the view of God being evil based on a mere revelation that can even be said to an epic poem. I think it's more about wrapping up the New Testament and saying what huge importance it carries along with the Torah as people of Abraham given The Prayer, "come thy will on Earth as in Heaven". That's not in the heart of an evil God, I can tell you that.
Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation
Qfd:
- what is your view of the Revelation?
- do you agree of Revelation as a kind of clairvoyance?
- do you agree with Revelation as epic poem as style of writing?
- how much should we put into the Revelation?
- is the author of Revelation a disciple of Jesus? Maybe not? A scholar only?