What is the greatest difficulty in understanding the book of Revelation?
The language! The language! The language! I dont know why, perhaps other do, it was written in this highly imaginative, symbolic language we call apocalyptic speech. But I do know it is not that unusual, the prophets are replete with this language and we find it elsewhere also in the New Testament. The question is, Should it be taken literally or interpreted symbolically? Apocalyptic language is not to be taken literally. It is symbolic. If it werent we would live in a new heavens and earth awaiting another because the Prophet Isaiah, among others, used this language to describe Gods judgment centuries ago. Isaiah 65: 17; 66: 22 This means that when you read someone who want to take the millennium or the 144,000 Jews literally, for example, have your saltshaker close-by because you are going to need several grains of salt. What is perhaps the second greatest problem? The time! The time! If you read commentaries on Revelation, you find they describe themselves as being preterist, hyper-
