How Did Jesus Signify His Revelation?

Revelation is often considered a difficult book to comprehend. Much of the imagery is hard to picture, even in the mind’s eye. The idioms are unfamiliar to most New Testament readers. With so many heads and horns of various beasts, how can we know what these mean? Where can we find information to help alleviate our confusion? First, we must consider why these things are written in this manner. Why has Jesus given us his Revelation in this way? He gives us a clue in the first line, Revelation 1:1-2,

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants- things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,²who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.”

What does it mean that Jesus signified his Revelation? Did he put into words those things which we have no language to describe? That is one possible explanation. However, we find a more plausible answer in John 12:32-33,

“I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” ³³This He said, signifying by what death He would die.”

Likewise, the words used in Revelation are meant to represent, to symbolize, or to signify what is being revealed.

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