Historicist

Preterist

Futurist

Idealist

Interpretation*

Records events which span from the apostolic period to end of the age

Records events which happened in the past from our vantage point

Records events which have yet to be fulfilled

Records events which are symbolic of the spiritual warfare between good and evil

Timing of Events

In process and are fulfilled over the course of history

Fulfilled during the age of the Roman Empire, shortly after John wrote Revelation

Will take place at the end of the age

May represent various historical periods rather than one specific event

Seven churches (Rev 2–3)

Seven periods of church history

Seven churches located in Roman province of Asia during the first century AD

(Possibly any one of the other views)

Any church which shares the same characteristics of the seven churches

Twenty-four elders (Rev 4:4, 10; 5:8)

The church—those redeemed by Christ and triumphant

God’s heavenly court, but not any specific group

Angelic beings or saints from the New Testament era

Angelic representatives of the old covenant (12 tribes) and the new covenant (12 apostles)

Sealed Scroll (Rev 5:1–9)

God’s purpose and design for the world and the Church

God’s sentence or judgment upon those who persecuted the saints

The title deed to the earth

God’s redemptive plan for the world

Unsealing of the scroll (Rev 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12; 8:1)

The demise of the Roman Empire, from the death of Domitian (AD 96) to the invasion of the Vandals (fifth century AD)

The execution of God’s judgment upon Jerusalem

The rapture and the beginning of the great tribulation

The outworkings of God’s redemptive plan throughout history, including wars, persecutions, and judgments

144,000 (Rev 7:4–8)

The church

Symbolic number of Jewish Christians to escape the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD

The remnant of Jewish people or the last generation of Christians alive when the Tribulation takes place

A symbolic number of old covenant Israel and new covenant Israel (i.e., spiritual Israel)

Seven Trumpets (Rev 8:7, 8, 10–11, 12–13; 9:1–21; 11:14–19)

A series of invasions of the Roman Empire by various groups (e.g., Vandals and Turks)

A series of Roman military actions against the Jews during the Jewish War

A series of disasters which will come upon the unrepentant during the seven-year Tribulation

A series of disasters which echo the plagues against Egypt (Rev 7:14–11:10). They express God’s judgment upon the unrepentant.

Two witnesses (Rev 11:3–6)

People who rejected the authority of the Papacy prior to the Reformation (e.g., Waldenses and Albigenses)

Prophets who prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of Jewish religious and political authority

Two prophets (possibly Elijah and Enoch or Moses)

The church throughout the church era

The woman (Rev 12:1–2, 5–6)

The church which endured persecution by Rome in the fourth century AD

Faithful Israel in the first century AD

Israel or the church which will be persecuted by the antichrist

The church through the church era

Red dragon (Rev 12:3)

Imperial Rome as a representative of Satan

A combination of the beasts in Daniel 7 which represent world empires

Satan

Satan

Male child (Rev 12:4–5)

The church or the Roman emperor Constantine

The church of the first century AD

Christ

Christ who ascended to heaven

Woman’s escape into the wilderness (Rev 12:6)

The church which escaped the persecution of Rome or the Papacy

Judaean Christians who escaped Edomite and Roman attacks during the Jewish War

Escape of Israel or the church from the coming persecution

The church which witnesses about Christ

1,260 days (Rev 12:6)

1,260 years of the authority of the Papacy in Rome

The period of the Jewish War (AD 66–70) or emperor Nero’s persecution of the church

The final 1,260 days (3 1/2 years) before the return of Christ

Symbolizes the era of the church

Beast out of the sea (Rev 13:1–4)

The Papacy

Rome, specifically emperor Nero

Symbolic of Gentile nations, namely, a revived Roman Empire

Government or political system which opposes God

Beast out of the earth (Rev 13:11–15)

The Papacy

The Roman emperor cult or a false prophet

The religious version of the first beast

False religion associated with the political system

666 (Rev 13:16–18)

The Papacy

Roman emperor Nero

Represents a form of currency in an economic system

Represents the name of the anti-Christian government system

Babylon (Rev 17:5)

The religious system and authority of the Papacy

Rome or Jerusalem

A false religion. Possibly the reestablishment of Babylon or Rome.

A system (possibly economic) which entices believers to turn away from God

Rider on the white horse (Rev 19:11–21)

Christ’s conquests and judgments upon His enemies

Christ’s victory over the pagan nations by His Word

Christ’s visible return to earth

Christ’s ongoing conquest of the anti-Christian system through the gospel