Message from John, the Apostle, about the Preacher’s understanding of the book called “Revelations,” attributed to John. From The Gospel of God’s Love, page 305.
“I did write a book by that name, but not as contained in the Bible. In my time, and for a long time previous, Jewish writers, because of great troubles and the persecutions their nation was undergoing, were accustomed to write books in the nature of the one in the Bible (and they were also called ‘revelations’) for the purpose of encouraging the people to believe that all the wrongs they were suffering would be avenged by God, and their enemies made to suffer and become destroyed.
“These writings were accepted by the Jews as having the authority of Divine inspiration, conveying truth. The writings were always ascribed to some prophet, seer or man of God who had the special privilege of coming into contact with God through mysterious and sacred means of visions. These writings were intended to encourage the Jews to establish their faith in God and their belief that he would send them a messiah who would have the power to redeem them from persecution. Always these writings were prophetic, holding promises for the future, without ever attempting to fix a time for their fulfillment.
“So, as time went on, and the promises not fulfilled, hope continued to exist. The non-fulfillment was explained by further belief that the time had not yet arrived for their eagerly-wished-for expectations. This hope upon hope was a wonderful force in keeping up the beliefs and expectations of the Jews; and so effective was it that to this day, they remain in expectation of this coming messiah. But these prophecies, in the sense that the Jews understood them, have never been fulfilled, and neither will they be fulfilled in the future.
“This custom, as I may call it, contunued from these early times down to the time in which I lived and wrote. My book of prophesy was written , not with the purpose of establishing the Jews as a nation on earth, or causing them to believe that their hopes and longings would be fulfilled, but for the purpose of encouraging the Christians to believe that, notwithstanding their persecution and suffering and martyrdom, they would in the future life (when they would meet the Master and other angels) find joy and peace in heaven.” Amen
Read more in The Gospel of God’s Love.