Why do some Christian's claim to understand the book of Revelations?

I've seen it many times from many different sources where different Christians claim to know the book of Revelations like any other doctrine in the Bible. I've seen the "gap theory" used and it rejected. If the gap theory is used then Revelations 12:4 reflects back to Luke 10:18 and Isaiah 14:12. If the gap theory is not used then Revelations 12:4 is an event yet to happen. I'm confused. Can someone explain this for me? Please use language that doesn't add to my confusion.Why do some Christian's claim to understand the book of Revelations?
You're going to run into people like this all you life. I hope your mother warned you about them. It's called ego. Satan had it, too.Why do some Christian's claim to understand the book of Revelations?
The website below should answer your questions.



My quick answer: Christians do understand the book of Revelation. There are, however, some denominations that are not completely Biblical and choose to reject things in the book or say that stuff has already happened. It's wrong and it's frustrating because it causes so much confusion for non-Christians and even a lot of Christians.... Anyway, the website is a better resource then me. I hope it helps.



God Bless, joeWhy do some Christian's claim to understand the book of Revelations?
First of all, consider who Revelation was written to, and when it was written. This is a principle of interpretation called 'audience relevance.' Without using this key to interpret, people read themselves into the text as if WE are the direct recipients of that letter! We are not. Revelation was a letter that contained a vision sent by God to John while he was exiled on Patmos. He was told which churches to send the vision to: the 7 churches in the province of Asia, very real churches in the 1st Century. It wasn't until a few hundred years later that Revelation became part of the Bible we read today.

When was it written? While the Old Covenant was phasing out, soon to be abolished by Roman armies, just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70.

That's the first step to understanding it. The second step would be to learn 'apocalyptic language.' This is the Jewish literary style found in the Old Testament, and 1st century Jews were very familiar with its symbolism. Phrases like "sun, moon and stars" and "heavens and earth" and "coming on clouds." (I've included links to get you started.)

The third step would be to listen to the adverbs about WHEN the contents of the letter were to happen. Rev. 1:1, 1:3, 3:11, 22:6, 22:10, 22:12, 22:20 are good examples. Remember who those adverbs pertain to! The 7 churches in the province of Asia.

This will get you started, and it's a lifelong study to understand all of Revelation. But it doesn't take long to get the gist of what was communicated to the first century saints. Many people study the history of that time period to bring everything into perspective, and one more thing: a study of the Jewish Temple (Old Covenant) will open your eyes to many things regarding 'lampstands' etc.

It's a wonderful letter communicating God's faithfulness to complete his salvation promises and restore His presence to mankind! Enjoy your study.

(One more thing: the gap theory is not logical, it is not proper exegesis. The church put it there and called it "the church age" but Daniel's vision had no holes or gaps. I've also included a link for Daniel's 70 Weeks)
The dragon has authority also in the spirit realm. With his tail, he “drags a third of the stars of heaven.” Stars can represent angels. (Job 38:7) Mention of “a third” would emphasize that a considerable number of angels have been misled by Satan. Once these came under his control, there was no escape for them. They could not return to God’s holy organization. They became demons, dragged along, as it were, by Satan their king, or ruler. (Matthew 12:24) Satan also cast them down to the earth. This no doubt refers to Noah’s day before the Flood, when Satan induced the disobedient sons of God to go down to earth and cohabit with the daughters of men. As a punishment, these “angels that sinned” have been thrown by God into the prisonlike condition called Tartarus.—Genesis 6:4; 2?Peter 2:4; Jude?6.



John sees this particular star falling from heaven. How? The experiences of an ancient king help us to understand. Speaking to the king of Babylon, Isaiah said: “O?how you have fallen from heaven, you shining one, son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the earth, you who were disabling the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12) This prophecy was fulfilled when Babylon was overthrown by the armies of Cyrus, and its king made an abrupt descent from world rulership to shameful defeat. Thus, a fall from heaven can refer to losing a high position and falling into ignominy.



Thus, two opposing organizations have come clearly into view—Jehovah’s heavenly organization as pictured by the woman and Satan’s demonic organization that challenges God’s sovereignty. The great issue of sovereignty must be settled. But how? Satan, still dragging the demons along with him, is like a vicious beast of prey eyeing a potential victim. He is waiting for the woman to give birth. He wants to devour this expected infant because he knows that it poses an ominous threat to his continued existence and that of the world over which he exercises rulership.—John 14:30.





Jesus had just chosen 70 disciples, and he “sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come.” When the 70 returned, they were rejoicing over the success of their mission. “Lord, even the demons are made subject to us by the use of your name,” they said. At that point, Jesus said: “I began to behold Satan already fallen like lightning from heaven.”—Luke 10:1, 17, 18.

At first, it may seem that Jesus was referring to an event that had already taken place. Yet, 60 years after Jesus uttered the above words, the aged apostle John employed similar language, writing: “Down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.”—Revelation 12:9.

When John penned those words, Satan still resided in heaven. How do we know? Because Revelation is a book of prophecy, not history. (Revelation 1:1) Hence, as of John’s day, Satan had not yet been cast down to earth. In fact, evidence shows that this did not occur until shortly after Jesus was enthroned as King of God’s Kingdom in 1914.—Revelation 12:1-10.