Symbolism

Revelation uses a great amount of highly symbolic language. Gregory Beale contends that “made it known” (NIV) in Rev 1:1 is a rendering of the past tense of σημαίνω (sēmainō), which can mean to communicate by symbols (Beale, The Book of Revelation, 49–55). The particular nuance of this word in 1:1 is confirmed by its parallelism with “show” (δείκνυμι, deiknymi) in the first part of 1:1. The word “show” throughout Revelation always introduces communication by symbolic vision (4:1; 17:1; 21:9–10; 22:1, 6, 8; Beale, The Book of Revelation, 52). Therefore, John is not giving his audience photographs of heaven. Instead, he is communicating a message in symbols and metaphors. Consequently, the beast John encounters in Revelation represents a human force that opposes God rather than a literal creature. It is also noteworthy that in antiquity, even numbers were symbolic. The number seven symbolized perfection. Careful consideration should be given to what each symbol represents. It is possible that the author intended a symbol to have multiple points of comparison.