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What’s the meaning of Revelation?

An Interview with Scott Duvall

March 25, 2025 - Noah Terry

As a Christian Studies major at Ouachita, I am enrolled in a course where we work exegetically through the book of Revelation, led by Dr. Scott Duvall, Fuller Professor of Biblical Studies. Each day we spend time studying a passage to discover what it meant to the original audience, and eventually how God’s Word to them speaks to us today. Dr. Duvall is, at heart, a pastoral theologian – someone who cares deeply about the responsible interpretation of God’s Holy Word, but also about applying its principles within our lives today.

I have greatly enjoyed discovering that the book of Revelation is not merely a prophetic end times code to be cracked. Instead, the book of Revelation is a book full of hope for God’s people, and it speaks clearly and decisively to God’s church today.

Studying this book with Dr. Duvall has impacted my life greatly and I was excited to interview him about his new book, “A Theology of Revelation,” released this month.

A Theology of Revelation book cover

Q: Your new book is your third on Revelation. What drew you to begin studying this book of the Bible?

A: I did my doctoral work on the epistles of Paul and the relationship between who we are and what we are supposed to do. So, in the work that I’ve done, there’s always been an application-oriented approach. When I took a Revelation course in seminary, the things I saw in Paul came to life in Revelation as well – God’s call for us to live Christ-like lives that aligned with his Word and who he is.

Something else that drew me to Revelation is that there is a huge spectrum among people who read it, from ignorance to obsession. Most either never want to read it, or they are completely obsessed with it and with deciphering all of the crazy imagery. As I saw this, I thought, “This must not be what the Lord intended for this book.” This is an amazing book that the church needs. I became convinced that people needed it and needed a more balanced approach to reading the book.

Q: How long did it take you to write the new book?

A: When I originally agreed to write the book, I asked for about four years because I typically have a full course load during the school year, and writing becomes a bit more difficult. I do most of my work during the summers. After four years of writing whenever I could, the book is finally finished! It took about a month per chapter because of the reading and research involved.

Q: How does this book differ from your others on Revelation?

A: My first book on Revelation (in the Teach the Text Commentary Series) is more of commentary on the Scriptures themselves for those who teach God's Word. I followed that with "The Heart of Revelation," which covers the main themes of Revelation for a wider audience. The goal there was that anybody in the church could read it and not have much trouble understanding the central themes within the book of Revelation.

I would not consider my new one to be an entry level tool for reading Revelation. It is essentially a comprehensive study of just about everything to do with Revelation – more of an in-depth, scholarly study of the book, so it may not be for everybody!

The new book has three main parts. The first contains mostly background information: authorship, date, situation, context, grammar, use of the Old Testament and literary structure. That’s a big chunk of the book – about 10 chapters. The middle part of the book is called a “literary theological reading of Revelation” and basically offers a short commentary on Revelation. The final part contains the major theological themes, about eight chapters worth. These are in-depth examinations of the key themes found throughout Revelation.

Q: What are some common misconceptions about Revelation?

A: First, there seems to be two groups of people when it comes to Revelation: most people know nothing about it – they’re afraid of it and don’t ever want to learn about it because it’s mysterious and feels weird. They’d rather live without it. The other group is often obsessed with Revelation, not necessarily to learn more about God’s Word, but to crack end-times codes and map out a timeline of when the world will end.

A major misconception today is that Christians will be raptured out of this world and should expect to miss out on suffering and tribulation. In America, we have been influenced a lot by the “Left Behind” series. The whole premise of these books is that one day the church will be removed by rapture out of trouble or tribulation. But among evangelical scholarship, very few take the view that Christians are going to escape trouble. The American church has often been prepared to escape rather than endure tribulation. Yet what we see in Revelation, and throughout church history, is that God's people are called to endure suffering, not be exempt from it. The challenge is to endure and remain faithful to Jesus in the face of evil, not to be removed from it all.

Another common mistake is that we skip right over the original setting and what the text would have meant to its original audience, and land on what we think it means for us. But Scripture cannot mean something to us that it never meant to them, so we must be careful not to ignore the historical, cultural or literary context. When we understand what the text meant to the original churches in all their struggles and challenges, then the words of Jesus will make sense. We can then apply that theology to our own particular context.

Q: What are some key takeaways you get from the book of Revelation?

A: Followers of Jesus are called to faithful endurance to Jesus, not escapism. While we are in this world, suffering should be expected.

Second, take Revelation seriously but not always or even usually literally. The images are set in a specific context, influenced by the Old Testament, and are meant to symbolize reality. One common misconception is that when you say, “this is an image, figure or symbol,” people think that it's not real. But these images do refer to realities. We take these images seriously but not always literally. Take, for example, the Lamb of God: Jesus was not a literal lamb, but it is a powerful picture that communicates truth in a meaningful way. Jesus came as the sacrifice for our sins. He died a real death but he is not a four-legged wooly creature.

Third, to those who faithfully endure, Revelation is both a message of hope and comfort: God will win in the end, God's people will be resurrected, and he will dwell in the new creation with those who conquer evil by relying on the finished work of Jesus Christ and on his Spirit. But to the compromising and unrepentant, Revelation is a message of warning and urgency: Christ will soon return, and those who are set against Him will experience the wrath of God.

God is sovereign, on His throne and in control, even amid great persecution, evil and suffering.

Q: So, the mark of the beast, what’s going on there?

A: The mark of the beast has some crazy interpretations. In Revelation, it is described as being on the forehead, but I am not seeing marks on people’s heads as I walk around, so I do not think that is a literal meaning, but instead symbolizes those who follow the dragon (Satan) rather than the Lamb. It represents those who are unrepentant and reject God and his people.

Q: What do you think is the main purpose of Revelation?

A: The end-all and be-all of this epic story and battle is that God wins. Like all of the epic movies we love, it’s a story of good vs. evil, and in Revelation, good and God win. How God wins is also something to pay attention to. It is much different than a lot of American culture would have us believe. God’s victory is not secured by political or military might, economic power or social media fame. The way God conquers evil is through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Revelation is saying what the rest of the New Testament is saying, packaged in much more colorful language: God wins through the death and resurrection of His Son, and His followers win by remaining faithful, dependent and obedient to the Lamb even unto death.

Q: Who are some authors you have benefited from reading?

A: The author index in the back of the book is a small window into the people I rely on most. Some of these include David Aune, Richard Bauckham, Greg Beale, Grant Osborne, Craig Keener, Robert Mounce and Dave Matthewson. Of course, I would not agree with everything each one of them says, but they are all scholars who have spent a lot of time with Revelation and have some great things to say.

Q: How should readers approach Revelation?

We must approach Revelation with a great deal of humility. Nobody has all of the right answers, and we should be willing to listen to others, learn from others and admit when we maybe got it wrong.

Q: What would be your advice to a pastor or teacher preparing to teach Revelation?

A: I would suggest checking out "The Heart of Revelation” book. It allows you to set some of the in-the-weeds stuff to the side and focus on Jesus, the Church, justice, worship, discipleship, salvation and the Holy Spirit. There is so much that you can know without getting all of the answers to your eschatological questions. Don’t get caught up in trying to perfectly decipher every image, but try to see the main themes throughout and teach them to your congregations.

It is also the place that speaks most about the new creation in the New Testament. You can build your theology of the new creation on what is found in Revelation: God defeats evil; pain and suffering are done away with; and God restores creation where he will live with His people for eternity

If you’re interested in studying the Bible at Ouachita, to prepare for ministry or as a Christian foundations double major, check out our Pruet School of Christian Studies.

Giveaway: The Pruet School of Christian studies is giving away a select number of signed copies of Dr. Duvall's new book. If you would like to enter to win, please visit this link to sign up. Entries close Tuesday, April 1.

Noah Terry