The third vital truth that we cannot miss in reading the book of Revelation is that it is a book written in symbols. Rev 1:1, “…and He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.” The word can actually be broken down as “sign-i-fied”, which is in perfect keeping with the Greek text. The Greek word used here, semaino, is derived from the root word, sema, which literally translated is “a mark of uncertain derivation.” This is not a book describing events in literal terms, but rather in “uncertain marks”!
Realize this is not the first time symbols are used in the Bible. Jesus uses them on several occasions, referring to Himself as a gate, a vine, the bread of life, etc. Was Jesus a literal gate? Was He a literal loaf of bread? No, these were all literal terms used figuratively to represent other concepts. It should be all the clearer in the book of Revelation because, whereas Christ never began His metaphors with a disclaimer, He does so in this book. The very first verse states that the following message will be in the form of signs.
There are a few notes we need to make up front about the use of signs. Refer back to the second vital truth. It means to us what it meant to them. As we search for the meaning of these signs, it is going to be critically important to look through 1st century eyes. There are signs that will give us trouble, and some we may not come to a 100% understanding of, that would have been crystal clear in the 1st century. Whether they would have known through colloquialisms, religious teachings, word of mouth, or otherwise, they were much closer to the action than we, and we’ll have to work to get there. The fact of the matter is that signs come and go with their times.
To demonstrate, look at this symbol below:
This symbol was developed (in some form or fashion) in 1971. Prior to 1971, one could have passed this on the street and thought nothing of sporting goods, shoes, Michael Jordan, etc. It has no wording on it, yet the vast majority of us who look on the symbol now will automatically know its associations. Now look at the next symbol:
Do you know what it is? I mean beside the fact that it’s wearing a Coca-Cola bottle cap and holding a Coca-Cola bottle. Would you know anything if it wasn’t pictured with those items? If you’re my age, then the answer is probably no. This is Sprite Boy, introduced in 1942 to promote Coke. He has nothing to do with the drink, Sprite, which was introduced in 1961. Erase the wording on his cap and remove the bottle, and I bet most of your grandparents could still recognize him. Show him to a kid in high school, and they probably don’t even know what a sprite is. Sprite as in elf – not soda, that is.
The point is that symbols come and go with their respective times. Understand that as we go through this study, we must find the meaning that this letter held for the 1st century Christians, and a large part of that is going to be seeing the symbols through 1st century eyes. And that is going to be a bit more difficult than identifying Sprite Boy.
So, why signs? Why not just lay it out in plain language for us to be sure of the meanings? Well, imagine the following:
You’re a messenger in time of war. One of the great generals in your army has been captured, but you’ve been allowed to visit him in captivity. As expected, the general has some important messages regarding war against the enemy, and he even gives the best message of all – victory has been guaranteed. However, your task is now a daunting one. Take the messages back through the prison checkpoint, across enemy territory, and to the intended recipients. Is this even possible? It’s not if the messages aren’t encoded.
No wartime general would be so ignorant as to send critical messages in plain language. Neither would Christ. As John penned this letter regarding future events in the lives of the persecuted faithful and their persecutors, it was absolutely critical that it was written in symbols. Many of the symbols employed do not make their debut in the book of Revelation. We find them in the writings of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and several other Old Testament prophets. They even are mentioned in the teachings of Christ. Any Roman official reading the book would have checked John’s residence for hallucinogens, but any Christian reading it would have had a proper frame of reference in Old Testament prophecy and the teachings of Christ for understanding exactly what all the symbols meant.
So, put on that 1st century decoder ring! Remember, it means to us what it meant to them.
Jordon,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your posts. I think the point you make about the importance of first century message is an essential part of understanding the book. I really enjoyed your comments about the coming and going of symbols, etc. Your comments illustrate the point you're making well.
I wanted to caution you against dissecting the Greek in the manner you have. The meaning of any Greek word, much like in English, has everything to do with how it is being used and almost nothing to do with etymology or how the term is used elsewhere. So, for example, in English, you would hardly have greater insight into the contemporary meaning of “gay” by knowing its historic meaning. Similarly, knowing that egregious once meant something done well would hardly clarify its contemporary usage.
To understand the meaning of σημαίνω, I would encourage you to consider other texts that appear to convey the same concept that the context suggests here in Rev. 1:1. Furthermore, the idea that the meaning of a Greek word can be clarified by the structure of one of its glosses is a stretch. To suggest that σημαίνω means to convey as through signs (I’m not actually sure the gloss you were suggesting), you must first find another text in which the context unambiguously suggests that meaning of the term and then demonstrate that is the meaning here. The word here is best understood as “to convey, communicate” and little more.
Biblical semantics are not taught very well from the pulpit, unfortunately. It is common for preachers to suggest some hidden meaning in the text that is only revealed by knowing the intricacies of Greek grammar and etymology. But, more often then not, if a Greek word’s so-called “true meaning” is not made clear from one of the standard English translations, its not the word’s true meaning. A concept so well hidden that it escapes the meaning of several English translation would no doubt have been hidden from its original audience.
I also wanted to comment on the text’s use of highly symbolic language. It is not uncommon to suggest this was code. This belief is likely a product of a 21st century audience being unfamiliar with the genre being used in Revelation more than an attempt at hiding the meaning of the text from the Romans. It would be like saying you wrote a poem to your wife, instead of speaking plainly, to hide your feelings for her from others. That’s probably not the case. It is more likely the case that you chose a poem because of the genre’s ability to capture something typical prose cannot. That is more likely the case here with Revelation. Apocalyptic literature, as it is often referred, conveys cosmic significance to otherwise ordinary events. It is also able to readily evoke images from elsewhere, drawing on stories described elsewhere.
Furthermore, during the time of the typical dating of Revelation (either with Nero c. 60s, or Domitian c. 90s), there were no known systematic persecutions of Christians or the church (the brief persecutions under Nero was localized to Rome), making it even more far fetched that a Roman official would be interested in deciphering the clandestine sedition of Christians by intercepting a message sent by John.