Reading Revelation through frosted glass
There are many books on Revelation that draw out some excellent applications. But when it comes to interpreting the finer details, they fluff it.
They are reading Revelation through frosted glass. General shapes can be made out – the “universals” – but their audience ends up with a showbag full of ideology, a religion set adrift from the shore of reality, a Jesus whose feet never quite touch the ground. The Bible speaks in symbols, not ideology, and the symbols are anchored in reality. Joseph and Daniel are historical figures, but they are also symbols.
Joseph and Daniel interpreted the dreams of their kings. Then, as wise men, with the king’s seal of authority, they brought their prophecies about in history. Jesus opened the mystery of the New Covenant at His ascension (the seven-sealed scroll). Then, He measured out its consequences in history.
This is no mere ideology—no fluffy generic truth. It happened in the first century – the seals, the trumpets and the bowls.
No more reading Revelation through frosted glass. Interpretation first, then application.
