The apocalyptic-prophetic nature of Revelation can be defined as God’s revelatory interpretation (through visions and auditions) of his mysterious counsel about past, present, and future redemptive-eschatological history, and how the nature and operation of heaven relate to this. This revelation irrupts from the hidden, outer, heavenly dimension into the earthly and is given to a prophet (John), who is to write it down so that it will be communicated to the churches. The heavenly revelation usually runs counter to the assessment of history and values from the human, earthly perspective and therefore demands that people change and realign their views with the heavenly view; in this respect, people in the churches are exhorted to submit to the demands of the book’s message or else face judgment
G. K. Beale, The book of Revelation: a commentary on the Greek text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle, Cumbria: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1999), 38.
The book of Revelation