The book of Revelation is extraordinary in every way—not least in its hard-to-classify genre.1 It is prophecy (1:3; 22:19) while also belonging to the genre of apocalyptic2 writing (1:1), and it begins and ends with features that characterize the epistles of the New Testament (1:4–5; 22:21). Like other Jewish apocalypses, Revelation is filled with symbolic images from beginning to end. This allows for numerous possible interpretations of the book, and much diversity
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