I Had No Idea

      The very first book of the Bible that I read was Revelation.  I was 12 years old.  Needless to say, when I had finished, I had questions.  Were these things real?  What did they mean?  What does it mean when it says "His eyes are like a flame of fire."?  I took my questions to one of my youth leaders that was at that time trust worthy and asked if he had the answers, he said he would get back to me.  I'm assuming that he actually had no idea and no aspiration to find out seeming as how 12 years later, I haven't heard from him.
      This semester however, I was afforded the opportunity to study John's Revelation, and I am better for it.  I can tell you what you need to know about the Apocalypse to survive... well, kind of.  Let me tell you a little bit of what I've learned.  The primary issue with misinterpreting the text is that people do not understand the concept of apocalyptic genre.  The purpose of apocalyptic genre is to ultimately comfort an oppressed people by using symbolic language to talk about real life people or situations, that a writer such as John would be killed for, in a way that encourages the audience by giving them hope in a time when the world will be put right, and the created order will return to its intended purpose.  Second of all, when we interpret the Bible, and more specifically the book of Revelation, we need to listen to Augustine.  Many of these symbols should not be taken literally, but should be read allegorically.  Thirdly, we need to simply read our Bibles, and read them carefully.  You would not believe what you would find if you simply read your Bible, it will literally change your life(it sounds cliche, but just freakin do it).
      I had no idea what I was doing or what I was getting myself into when I was a 12 year old boy trying to find the answers.  And although I may not know all of the answers to my questions, I feel as though I know something.  I'll let my critics tell me whether I know enough.