Understanding the Book of Revelation with Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

What are the three main schools of interpretation for the Book of Revelation?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, there are three main schools of interpretation for the Book of Revelation:

1. The Preterist view - This view holds that everything described in Revelation has already happened, specifically within the first three centuries of the Christian era.

2. The Futurist view - This interpretation divides the book into three parts: "the things that thou hast seen" (the vision in chapter 1), "the things that are" (the letters to the seven churches in chapters 2-3), and "the things that shall be hereafter" (chapters 4 to the end). Futurists believe the last section describes events that haven't yet occurred and will take place immediately before Christ's return.

3. The Historicist view - This perspective sees Revelation as a prophetic overview of church history. It has three subdivisions: those who see it as a précis of church history (like the Reformers), continuous historicists who view it as chronological history, and those who interpret it as a spiritual view of the main elements in church history.

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones reject the futurist interpretation of Revelation?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones rejects the futurist interpretation for several reasons:

1. It robs the book of its value for believers in John's own time: "It seems to rub the book of its main value for the saints of John's own age."

2. It contradicts the purpose of prophecy: "The main function of prophecy is to strengthen our faith by showing us that the things which have been foretold rarely come to pass."

3. It destroys the unity of the book by artificially dividing it into three separate sections.

4. It wrongly postpones the kingdom to the future, when Revelation 1:6 and 1:9 clearly indicate believers are already part of the kingdom.

5. It ignores explicit time indicators: Words like "shortly" and "at hand" in Revelation 1:1-3 indicate the events would begin soon, not after 2,000+ years.

6. It gives contradictory interpretations of the same Greek phrase "meta tauta" (after this/hereafter) in Revelation 4:1.

7. It cannot account for Revelation 12, which clearly describes the incarnation of Christ - an event from the past, not the future.

8. It contradicts Revelation 22:10 where John is told not to seal the book "for the time is at hand" - indicating imminent fulfillment.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe is the purpose of studying biblical prophecy?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones firmly rejects the idea that studying biblical prophecy is investigating "the dust bins of biblical prophecy." Instead, he believes prophecy serves several important purposes:

1. To help believers understand the times they live in: "We look at these things because we believe that God has given them to us... that as God's people, we may have an understanding of the times."

2. To strengthen faith for present battles: "Above all, that we may be strengthened in our faith to face the enemy that is confronting us, the battle that we are already waging and the things that may be lying in store for us."

3. To provide comfort and uplift to God's people in all ages: "God's people, in all times of affliction and of adversity, have recognized themselves in these things, have found their strength from this book."

4. To demonstrate God's sovereignty by showing how prophesied events come to pass: "Prophecy is designed... that the people who see its fulfillment are strengthened. They say, here is something on which I can rest my feet as an impregnable rock."

Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that proper study of prophecy isn't about morbid curiosity or predicting dates, but about receiving "the full benefit of what God has graciously been pleased to give us" for spiritual strengthening.