Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. -Revelation 19<

The Book of Revelation truly is a remarkable book. There are many who say it is a concealed book, or a hidden revelation, not intended to be properly understood. After all, there are many studies and interpretations of this book today which do not correspond with one another. Yet the two terms "hidden" and "revelation" are totally incompatible, so if this book is indeed a REVELATION, then we must be able to make some sense of it.

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. -1 Peter 4

Understanding the oracles of God is foundational to preaching the testimony of Jesus Christ, but to do this we need to be able to rid ourselves of our conventional way of thinking. There are many scoffers who hold the belief that prophetic scripture is entirely ambiguous and cannot provide any definitive interpretation. It is not our responsibility to interpret scripture, but to study it; just as Peter said:

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. -2 Peter 1

The prophetic scriptures ALWAYS contain the necessary keys for us to unlock its symbolism. For example, in Isaiah we read:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. -Isaiah 14

The beginning of this passage is easily understood, but where is the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north? This could be interpreted to be Russia, Tibet, the Rockies or perhaps just about anywhere, but the answer is plainly revealed to us in the scriptures:

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. -Psalm 48

This is how we are to study these prophecies, as the scriptures interpret them for us. Here are a few examples of the more prominent symbols we will find in the Book of Revelation:

The Book of Revelation is the story of the final conflict between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. You can see in the diagram below how the entire book illustrates the contrast between these two opposing forces.

The Book of Revelation is ultimately a book of restoration; in Genesis we read about the fall of mankind, and in the Apocalypse we read about the restoration of mankind.

The first chapter of Revelation is written in the style of an epanados, where the particular terms and the sequence in which they are used are literally quoted from previous prophetic scriptures.

The purpose of this epanados at the beginning of Revelation is to tell us who the author of the book truly is: Yahweh.

I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done... -Isaiah 46:9,10

The Book of Revelation uses symbolic language taken from the entire Bible and from the Book of Daniel in particular. The number seven plays a significant role in the symbolism of these prophecies, and it even contains seven blessings for those who study it and take it to heart.

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (1:3)

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. (14:13)

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (16:15)

And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. (19:9)

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (20:6)

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (22:7)

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (22:14)

In these blessings we find more evidence that this remarkable book is meant to be understood, for how can we keep the sayings of the prophecies and heed the warnings if we are unable to comprehend them?

The structure in which this book is written is what's known as a chiasm. For example, in chapters 2 and 3 we will find chiastic links to the end of the story in chapters 21 and 22. In chapter 6 we find similar links to chapter 19, and you will find these chiastic chains run through the whole book, first linking the beginning with the end, and continuing all the way to the middle. The diagram below helps illustrate how this works.

Examples of chiastic links in the Book of Revelation

And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. -Luke 8:1-11

In western civilization our days begin at midnight, our months seem to be an arbitrary grouping of 28 to 31 days and we celebrate the beginning of a new year at midnight on the first day of Janus, the two-headed god of pagan antiquity. This is a system of reckoning that is contrary to Yahweh's instructions for observing time as they are clearly outlined in the Hebrew Pentateuch.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. -Genesis 1

Throughout the first six days of creation the text repeats the phrase, "And the evening and the morning were the first day." Evening always comes first, which is why in Jewish tradition the new day begins at sundown.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. -Genesis 1

Before the first Passover occurred in Egypt, God instructed Moses:

This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. -Exodus 12

In Deuteronomy He commands us to observe this first month as the month of Abib.

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. -Deuteronomy 16

The new month begins when two witnesses in the land of Israel testify to having seen the new crescent moon. Determining the month of Abib relies on the growth of barley in the land of Israel. The month in the Hebrew calendar when the barley has reached or passed this stage is called Nisan. On the fifteenth day of this month, harvest began by gathering a sheaf of barley, which was offered to the Lord on the sixteenth.

The calculation of time we are accustomed to is not Biblical, so when we see prophecy speak in terms of days, weeks or years we must keep this in mind. When thinking in terms of years, understand there are 360 days in the Biblical Hebrew calendar year. Since the nation of Israel has been replanted in the land of Zion, we may be able to restore this forsaken timetable.

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. -2 Peter 3

While Peter describes to us of the what the last days will be like he makes sure to emphasize this next point:

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. -2 Peter 3

This warning is crucial, because it brings us back to the beginning when the Jews were commanded to keep the Sabbath day and keep it holy, because it is a symbol of the Sabbath (7th) millennium, when the Messiah will rule all nations with a rod of iron. When God gave Israel the ten commandments He spent more time explaining the Sabbath than He did any of the others.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. -Exodus 20

In Matthew chapter 12 Jesus is being accused by the Pharisees and he tells them:

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. -Matthew 12

The sign of Jonas also points to both the resurrection and the 7th millennium (day)

"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." -John 14