In Eat This Book, Eugene Peterson warned: “[W]e live in an age in which the authority of Scripture in our lives has been replaced by the authority of the self: we are encouraged on all sides to take charge of our lives and use our own experience as the authoritative text by which to live. The alarming thing is how extensively this spirit has invaded the church.”

In the opening chapter of the book of Revelation, the Apostle John strongly asserts the authority of Scripture. How was this book written? Christ sent an angel, who showed John visions of “what must soon take place” (v. 1). Then John testified to all that he saw (v. 2). At the time, about AD 95, John was in exile on the island of Patmos, a Roman penal colony.

The book of Revelation is an “apocalypse,” that is, an account of the end of the world. The term apocalypse means an “unveiling” or “disclosure.” This literary form consists mainly of symbolic visions and can be confusing or even overwhelming. This book also includes prophecies, narratives, and doxologies of praise. Though some see the events of the book as mainly in the past, a futurist interpretation will be taken here.

The main purpose of the book, for the original readers as well as for us today, is encouragement. This is why John offers a blessing for reading this book (v. 3). Revelation encourages us to stand firm in the face of persecution from Satan and the world. We should take its message to heart, implying a response of faith and obedience. We can be encouraged primarily because of the imminent return of Christ (1 Thess. 4:16–18). “Imminent” means Christ could return at any time. In a very real sense, “the time is near.”

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