Is Revelation Strictly Jewish?

It is a common interpretation of Revelation to focus on the Jewish influence, with only a small amount of Christian influence on it. In fact in the Anchor Bible Commentary on Revelation, it is claimed that the book was written by John the Baptist, who only had a marginal idea of who Jesus was. And Revelation certainly has a strong Jewish influence, just like all the other New Testament books, having approximately 2000 references or allusions to the Hebrew Scriptures.

However, Revelation also is strongly influenced by Jesus teaching, as seen in the gospels. It reflects the same theological themes as Jesus, and even borrows from the gospels wholesale at times. For instance, both Jesus and John the prophet focus on persecution in a way that the Hebrew Scriptures do not. They both have a salvation by martyrdom theology, which can only be found in Deutero-Isaiah. Both reflect a dependence on God for vengeance, rather than taking up the sword oneself—a clearly Christian theme. And, more telling, the central part of the book of Revelation—seals, trumpets and bowls—reflect in its subject a borrowing from Jesus’ apocalypse, in the same order as Jesus. Thus, Revelation, while clearly Jewish, is strongly influenced by Jesus.

The Mystery

Jesus gives John an indication that what he is seeing is not all literal. The stars are not literally stars and the lampstands are not literally lampstands. Rather they represent other things. Some things in the visions are explained, while others are not. We are to be wise in making determinations about what means what, but we need to remember—what is seen is not always what is real.

Another interpretation point I think is very important: If a symbol is explained, then the explanation is the literal understanding of it. The explanation is not as yet another symbol that needs to be interpreted. The harlot in later chapters is a city-- the city is not a symbol for something else. Sometimes, like the lampstands, there can be two explanations for a single symbol, either because we are not clear or because two items are closely related. But interpretation of symbols must stop at some reality, somewhere. We can't just keep guessing until we find something we like.