What Do Lay People Believe about Revelation?

I asked a bundle of pastors and preachers what they know about their lay folks when it comes to what is believed about eschatology and Revelation. Dispensationalism in its classic form (Pentecost, Ryrie, Walvood, Thomas), not progressive dispensationalism (Blaising, Bock), and in the classic form that became popular imaginative books and maps and timelines, has over the last century captured the minds of many, if not most, of at least populist evangelicalism.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

One of its secrets has been the engaging, clear, and memory-sticking presentations in the movies, the books, and the sermons. A plan for history is presented, the plan is gripping and memorable, and we are off and running with millions who think dispensationally and graphically and literally about the Book of Revelation.

It is important for pastors, preachers, and teachers to know what folks think. There are a number of little landmines that can be stepped on if one has not listened to one’s audience.

So, I asked pastors what their folks believe. Here are the responses:

Dispensationalist, Left-Behind ideas

My experience in teaching is that most come of age or were taught the dispensational, rapture-type approach to eschatology and it impacts their reading of Revelation. Any other approach to Revelation can be very very confusing to them. These comments for me are what I would have expected and what I basically assume when I teach.

I do still have people who no matter how many times I try to disabuse them of it, still have been deeply shaped by the Left Behind stuff. I take every chance I have to undermine it, but it's deep. 

I now serve as a lead pastor in an Assemblies of God church. Many of the people I minister to share the experiences of my childhood [dispensatlonalism]. Though younger (or newer) adherents to our church don't have a very well-formed eschatology at all, those of us with more miles on the odometer are almost exclusively dispensational futurists. Many have been impacted most significantly by the "Left Behind" series. This was published while I was already in church ministry. (I was a staff pastor in another A/G congregation at the time.) I remember feeling like I was the only one in the entire church who hadn't read it. I still haven't.  :)

My assessment is that my congregation is predominantly dispensational, although a significant minority may be uncertain as to what they think. I do not believe any other viewpoint is significantly represented.  

At the church I pastor the people have grown up completely with either dispensational teachings, or seventh day adventist, and all believed in a rapture, and the figuring out of the beast that is so common with dispensationalism.

Our people primarily believe pre-trib theory although hearing increased popularity about Christians experiencing the tribulation and about how our efforts to reach the Jews with the gospel affect the timeline. (Confusing to me)

Our church is very much in the traditional evangelical camps, and folks who have a working understanding of eschatology have been heavily influenced by the “left behind” novels of of the last 35 or so years. Most understand the rapture and the doctrines of an Anti-Christ and world monetary system as central to controlling human values and morality. I have taught a verse by verse bible study of Revelation using the John Phillips “Exploring Revelation” as a help to create outlines and alliterations. It would take about a year or so on Wednesday evenings. That kind of discipline for weekly continuity over a year no longer exist in my congregation. The last time I taught Revelation as a book, about a year or so ago, I made it an eight week series. 

“I don’t know”

This has become more common today. Many grew up in dispensationalism, have chucked it, and have summarily ignored Revelation and all but the very basics on eschatology (when we die we got to be with God, someday God will bring justice, heaven is real, etc).

We have people all over the map. Some are consumed with dispensational theology, others take an academic approach and most just ignore it. 

Truthfully, they would say, "Huh?," if I mentioned the word "eschatological." If they were asked to explain how they understand the end-times they would give some version of an amillennial view, if any at all. [I have my doubts that many would give an amillennial view.]

I am not totally sure what system my church people believe. I like to think that they, too, understand that Revelation is not a book with the purpose of predicting the future -- but I'm guessing that we have lots of people who believe different sorts of things. Part of that is because the lectionary doesn't spend extended time in Revelation! Now I want to preach or teach on it!

My folks come from all over the theological map. I've got Pentecostals, Catholics, Baptists, UMs, and every kind of "grew up Christian but don't know much now," so they've got either no system or a muddle of systems. What they've been taught since they got to me is that God is patiently winning the world to himself, that Christ will return to earth and restore it to its intended creation, and that the enemy of our souls will ultimately be defeated (and in fact, has already lost the war). Stott says "the Christian dead will come with him and the Christian living will join them." That sounds right to me. You'll have to tell me if I'm wrong, but I'd say my teaching most resembles a pre-millennial system. I never use that term though, nor any of the others. We're just trying to go on toward perfection over here ... 

Mixed and Shifting

I believe this one: many churches have a number of views, that the pastors and preachers and teachers are in transition to something other than Left Behind, but that where they land is not yet determined. Instincts, I suspect, are still Left Behind for many.

When the teacher wants to “apply” Revelation it is either very dispensational or it becomes, as this first pastor says, idealist in that it is timeless and not some prediction about the modern State of Israel.

I've been here almost 19 years and I just preached through Revelation on Wednesday nights in 2019, so many of my people are with me.... which means they are not sure! I also waffle between amil and historic pre, but the truth is, I don't focus on that aspect of the issue when preaching through Revelation. I focus on the imaginative shape of the passage and how it makes the point again and again of the cosmic conflict, the certain victory for those who -- and this is key -- follow in the footsteps of the Lamb who was slain. Victory comes through "patient endurance" in the shape of the death and life of the Lamb. So, in my preaching, practically, it sounds a lot like an idealist approach, and I think that no matter what your stance on the millennium, you're going to have to preach it from an idealist perspective to some degree. 

Most of our people would hold some blend of preterist & idealist/allegorical approaches to Revelation. While we have a few people who hold strong futurist or historicist viewpoints, they are not the majority. Most of our folks would believe that understanding the historical context of Revelation is important, Revelation is filled with rich symbolism (not a magic crystal ball to isolated events in the future), it is best understand from a posture of the marginalized and it speaks to themes that are crucial to understanding God, his church & the world (God is about renewing the world, not destroying the world; God overcomes evil through the slain lamb, etc.)

Our church was fairly mixed. Calvary Chapel has had a significant influence on the church in Southern California so that certainly fed into a large swatch of dispensational premillennialism when I first took over. I would say there was a good mixture of that and amillennialism when I left - with generosity for different understandings. 

The people to whom I preach come from a variety of eschatological backgrounds. Only a few are strongly dispensational. Most have grown up with a historical premillennial approach. I find that the younger generation (thankfully) is by and large unaware of dispensational eschatology, although a few in their 30s were influenced by the Left Behind series (books and movies). 

I would say we are in the midst of a theological shift. For so long, I believe many in our congregation would fall back on an evangelical approach to the book of Revelation (systematic rapture and millennial reign, for example). After transitioning lead pastors, I would say that we are beginning to “realign the ship” to ask more significant questions about eternity. By looking at scripture through the lens of the overarching meta-narrative, our pastor seems to be exploring areas of theology that would ruffle the feathers of evangelical believers. Where that goes, however, is yet to be seen.

As I am in a new church, I am not so sure about the views yet of my people at this church. In my former church, we had a Sunday where people were allowed to request the hymns they wanted to sing. To a one, they were hymns like “I’ll Fly Away”, and other hymns that were about looking forward to heaven; that we will all die and go to heaven to enjoy our life everlasting in paradise. There was very little understanding of the possibility of “A new heaven and a new earth” or the renewal of life here on earth as part of the promise of the eschaton. I also believe that not too many of my people had/have a well thought out eschatology – just vague ideas that they had picked up here and there, from hymns or sermons or (gasp) Facebook Posts.