Numbers: Numbers in Revelation stand for ideas. They tell us the nature of things. For example, “Seven is the number of fullness of completion1.” So, the “seven Spirits” before God’s throne (1:4) represent the Holy Spirit in fullness.
Three Symbol of the divine: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Four Refers to the world, as in the four corners of the earth.
Seven The perfect number. Combines four (earth) and three (heaven)
Six A number falling short of perfection. It never reaches seven
Ten A complete number. Likewise, 1,000 is a long complete time.
Twelve Represents God’s people (i.e. the twelve tribes/apostles).
1260 A broken number. “Three and a half,” “time, times, and half a time,” and “forty-two months” all represent “half of seven.”
Symbols: The key to understanding Revelation is being familiar with other prophetic literature in Scripture. Scholars refer to John’s style as apocalyptic literature because it uses symbols to reveal a meaning to the reader. Bible students recognize this from the dreams and visions of the Old Testament.
Was Pharaoh’s dream really about cows and grain (Genesis 41:26)? Was Nebuchadnezzar’s dream really about a giant statue that would stride the earth (Daniel 2:31-45)? God’s word tells us the cows, ears, and statues represented things. We were not to look for an actual statue but kingdoms of men. So why should we look for literal locusts or a real beast with ten real horns and seven actual heads? Don’t attempt to find literal representations of the symbols. The images of Revelation are symbols that represent the character of things.
The Date: The apostle John received his vision from Christ during his exile on the island of Patmos (1:9). John’s exile came during the reign of Roman emperor Domitian (AD 81-96). For over 400-years, every historical account referring to Revelation agrees with this date. There is no historical reference to a date before AD 70 until the year AD 508 and it occurs in the heading of a rather obscure version of the New Testament.
John probably wrote down his Revelation in AD 96-97 shortly after being released from Patmos. The monumental church historian Eusebius quotes early Christians like Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Victorinus, and “the historians of the day.” They are all in agreement John wrote Revelation, “After Domitian had ruled fifteen years…the apostle John, after his island exile, resumed residence at Ephesus2.”
May God bless the study of his word!
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