The Spiritual Historicist View
A Sermon on the Spiritual Historicist View of Revelation
Originally preached March 18, 1955
Scripture
Sermon Description
How should one read the book of Revelation? Many do not even attempt to read it because it is confusing. In this sermon on the spiritual, historicist view, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones contends that the book of Revelation is not meant to confuse the reader, but just the opposite. Revelation is meant to unveil what was once hidden. It is intended to make something clear. Before he demonstrates how the book should be read, Dr. Lloyd-Jones addresses what he believes to be the ways people can misread Revelation. Examining various views, it is discovered that there are many problems with many modern approaches to the book. Dr. Lloyd-Jones proceeds to explain that Revelation is intentionally symbolic and that once the symbols are understood, the meaning of the book becomes clear. The book of Revelation is a telling of the story of redemption. The attack of the evil one, the final judgement, the overcoming of God’s people, and the conquering of Christ create the storyline. The story of God’s people is then told seven times throughout the book in seven different ways. It highlights one main point: since the coming of Jesus into the world, terrible forces have been attacking His people, but they will not prevail. The church will continue until final victory.
Sermon Breakdown
- The preterist view: Everything in Revelation has already happened.
- The futurist view: Most of Revelation is yet to happen.
- The historical view: Revelation started happening after John's vision and continues until the final judgment. This view has three divisions:
- The church historical view: Revelation is a prophecy of church history. Most Protestant reformers held this view.
- The continuous historical view: Revelation's visions depict sequential historical events leading to the end times. This view has issues, e.g. going back to Jesus' birth in Chapter 12 and demanding very detailed historical knowledge.
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The spiritual historical view: Revelation shows spiritual principles of the church's life, conflict, and triumph. This is the view the sermon will expound.
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Reading Revelation without theories gives some impressions:
- It's about Jesus and the church. It was written to and for the church.
- It's meant to reveal, though in symbolic language (e.g. numbers, lampstands, seals, trumpets). We must consider its symbolic nature.
- It's meant to edify, not just satisfy curiosity about end times. It's strengthened persecuted Christians.
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There are natural divisions in the text: -- Ch 1-3: Jesus among the churches -- Ch 4-7: Jesus controls history; shows the redeemed and lost; spans from Jesus' death to final judgment -- Ch 8-11: Warnings of judgment; the church; from Jesus as high priest to final judgment -- Ch 12-14: Jesus' birth to final judgment; the devil's opposition; the redeemed -- Ch 15-16: Heaven, Jesus, his people, bowls of wrath, final battle, final judgment, redeemed and lost -- Ch 17-19: Destruction of enemies; Jesus in glory; bride of Christ; final judgment; redeemed and lost -- Ch 20-22: Devil's doom; church's triumph; new Jerusalem; Jesus amidst his people
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There's repetition and parallelism across the sections, all showing the conflict between Jesus/church and the devil/opposing forces. This began with Jesus' birth and continues until his victory.
Sermon Q&A
Understanding Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Book of Revelation
What are the three main views of interpreting the Book of Revelation according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the three main views of interpreting the Book of Revelation are:
- The preterist view - that everything in the book has already happened
- The futurist view - that the bulk of the book is yet to happen
- The historical view - that the things prophesied in the book started to happen immediately after John was given his vision, and have been happening ever since and will continue until the final judgment
As he explains, these represent the primary schools of thought regarding how to understand this apocalyptic text.
What are the different subdivisions of the historicist view that Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies three main subdivisions of the historicist view:
- The church historicist view - which sees the Book of Revelation as a "precy" (précis or summary) of church history
- The continuous historicist view - which teaches that the visions given to John represent actual events that would happen in historical sequence, one after another in chronological order
- The spiritual historicist view - which teaches that the book presents spiritual principles concerning the life, conflict, and final triumph of the church, rather than exact historical details
He expresses his preference for the spiritual historicist view, finding serious defects in the other approaches.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones reject the continuous historicist view of Revelation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones rejects the continuous historicist view for several important reasons:
- The structure of the book doesn't support a purely chronological reading (e.g., chapter 12 goes back to Christ's incarnation after chapters 10-11 seem to describe the final judgment)
- It demands detailed expert knowledge of world history to understand the book, which would make it inaccessible to most Christians
- It produces endless diversity of opinion and disagreement among interpreters about which historical events match which symbols
- It tends to lead to confusion rather than clarity, which contradicts the purpose of revelation
- It opens "a very dangerous door" to attaching the symbols to specific people (like Napoleon or Hitler)
- It tends to turn people's focus from the spiritual to the political or material
As he states, "any scheme of interpretation which tends to produce such a result cannot be the true interpretation."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say is the primary method through which Revelation conveys its truth?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Revelation conveys its truth through symbols and signs. He points to Revelation 1:1 which says God "signified it by his angel" to John. He notes that the original word used is related to the word for "sign" or "symbol."
The book consistently uses symbolism through: 1. Images like lampstands, seals, trumpets, bowls, and beasts 2. Numbers (especially the number seven, which appears 54 times) 3. Symbolic time periods like "time, times and half a time" or "42 months"
He compares this method to how Jesus taught in parables - revealing truth but in a symbolic manner that requires spiritual understanding. As Lloyd-Jones explains, "It is a revelation. But it is a revelation that also seems to partly conceal. It's a revelation in signs and symbols."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the natural divisions of the Book of Revelation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies seven natural divisions in Revelation, each with similar characteristics:
- Chapters 1-3: Christ in the midst of the churches
- Chapters 4-7: Christ as the controller of history, breaking the seals
- Chapters 8-11: Christ as High Priest and the seven trumpets of warning
- Chapters 12-14: Christ's birth, opposition to Him, and judgment on enemies
- Chapters 15-16: The bowls/vials of judgment and the battle of Armageddon
- Chapters 17-19: The destruction of enemies and the marriage feast
- Chapters 20-22: The final doom of Satan and triumph of the church
In each section, he notes recurring elements: Christ is central, His church is present, there is opposition, and each section spans from the beginning of the Christian era to the final judgment with a distinction between the redeemed and the lost.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say is the true purpose of the Book of Revelation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that the Book of Revelation is meant for edification, not merely to satisfy curiosity or provide predictive details about specific events. Its purpose is:
- To comfort and console Christians facing persecution
- To provide instruction and exhortation
- To brace believers for what they must face
- To strengthen God's people during difficult times
As he explains: "It isn't merely meant to give us interest. It isn't merely meant to excite us. It isn't meant to play up to our curiosity and to our interest in current events and things of that kind." Rather, it's a book "that is meant unto edification" and has been "the strength and the support and the sustaining power of God's people in times of fearsome persecution."
Great Biblical Doctrines
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.