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         In this portion of our web site we offer a  view of Mme. Jeanne Guyon's interpretation of The Book of Revelation.  From her book titled, Christ, Our Revelation, we offer the publisher's commentaries on Mme. Guyon's intriguing background and her spiritual awareness of the inward journey.  An inward journey  led by the Spirit; a journey that perhaps began with  the scripture, "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God." (Mark 4:11).
         Mme. Guyon's  inspired interpretation has been superbly summed by The Christian Books Publishing House ⁽¹⁾, and we quote, "When John first penned the book of Revelation it was sent out to devout and holy Christians who were experiencing terrible persecution.
        Most interpretations of Revelation today are taken up with trying to discover futurist events in this book. The original intent, seen  through the eyes of the original readers, has been virtually lost.
        Here is an interpretation of Revelation penned by a, profoundly deep Christian-- who was being sought by the law at the very time she wrote this book.  And, like the original first century believers, she sees the book as a record of the persecution of Christians, in the church, being persecuted for their walk in the deeper Christian life.
        Fortunately Mme. Guyon lived two centuries before the present-- and very popular futuristic (prophetic)-- view of Revelation was even born! Unencumbered, then, by today's dull, orthodox view of Revelation, she comes forth with a dynamic, even fierce-- almost auto-biographical interpretation of Revelation. What we have here, then, is a very fresh-- even new-- view of Revelation.  Her book may not fit into your view of eschatology but first century Christians reading her book would find it far more applicable to their lives than perhaps all the present day books on Revelation combined. Be prepared for a whole new sight of John's Revelation of Jesus Christ.
         When Guyon's commentary on Song of Songs first appeared in English in 1890, her interpretation of that book was so fresh and novel it caused a re-evaluation of the then popular view of that book. Might she do it again, with Revelation?"
        The Editor's Preface from Christ Our Revelation is also illuminating and we quote, "Do not expect your usual interpretation of the Book of Revelation as you tread herein. Don't even expect to recognize the Book of Revelation as it is viewed in our age.  What  you are about to read was first written almost exactly 300 years ago (September, 1683). There has never been an interpretation of Revelation-- before or since-- like this one.  It is unique.
         Perhaps a little history of the different interpretations of Revelation is in order.  In the latter part of the first century and in the early part of the second century the Book of Revelation had essentially one interpretation: The Roman Empire vs. the Church of Jesus Christ! Revelation was a very current book to these people. The things recorded in it were happening to them at that moment. There was little in it that was considered futuristic. The message of Revelation was written for them in their present situation and they knew it!
        Interest in Revelation waned with the fall of the Roman Empire. That eclipse lasted essentially until 1790 . . . believe it or not.  Even the Protestant Reformation failed to stir much interest in Revelation.  Some few passages, yes, but not the book, nor eschatology (i.e., the study of last things) in general, although Luther was fond of depicting the Pope as the monster who ruled over "the city on seven hills!"
        It was the French Revolution that resurrected interest in Revelation. (Guyon had written her book over 100 years earlier!).  The French Revolution-- and the Reign of Terror-- scared the wits out of the whole populace of Great Britain, including its clergy.  The preachers of England and Wales saw some horrible thing about to happen to England. (It never came. They were wrong!) They literally saw Revelation as a book written for England, years 1790 through 1800!  Before you laugh too loudly, hear this: The next series of interpretations saw Revelation as a book written (exclusively! ) for the period between 1800 and 1840. Then came 1840-1880. World War I was a heyday for Revelation. So was World War II! There are those of us still alive who can remember the preachers of Britain and America proclaiming with all certainty that Hitler and Mussolini were the star performers of the Book of Revelation.
         And if you are reading this preface in the year 2999, it is a good bet your generation believes wholly in the futuristic interpretation of Revelation and that-- surely-- it was written solely for your day! This "today's headlines are in Revelation" gets to be a bit silly when stretched over 50 years of one's lifetime, but it does sell books!
         Here is our point: Today's generally accepted view of Revelation is only about 200 years old, yet it is so accepted and so ingrained in our minds that we accept it as final, incontestable fact!
        Today's view of Revelation may be popular? . . . true . . . but it is still only an interpretation . . . not inspired dogma, carved in stone on the foundational slabs of the New Jerusalem! The truth is, all interpretations of Revelation are speculations at best, and would be more wisely labeled as sheer guesswork! No one is certain what Revelation means.  (As one seminary professor liked to put it: "If the angels don't know when the Lord is returning, it is a sure bet no Baptist preacher knows!").
        When Jeanne Guyon wrote this book, it was 100 years before any clear ground rules for approaching Revelation had been laid down.  Consequently, she has a very original view! Guyon saw Revelation as a record of the believer's soul and what that soul must pass through to be transformed.  All the beasts, dragons, plagues etc. are forces that launch themselves against the truly pious Christian-- that is, the Christian following what Guyon calls "the inward way."
        Guyon explains these assaults as experiences the soul must pass through on its way to total transformation.  As the soul passes through these dangers and catastrophes it is purified. These plagues of Revelation, she says, may be terrible, originating from evil men and dark forces, but nonetheless necessary-- and allowed by God-- for the sake of dealing with and changing the believer's soul.
       We are not far from the facts when we say that Guyon simply used the drama of Revelation as a conveyance to communicate to her readers her teachings about the passage of the soul on its long journey to maturity.  We recommend you view this book in that manner; in so doing you may find edification.  But if you come to this writing expecting to gain some new view of eschatology-- or to buttress an old one-- you will be totally disappointed.
       Lets put it in another way, this book is not an interpretation of Revelation . . . not as we understand that term in our day.   It is, rather, an almost allegorical pilgrimage of the Christian soul, with Revelation's drama as the setting.  Read this book as a modern interpretational view of Revelation and you will find nothing.  Read it to help you understand what may await you in the Christian walk in the way of suffering, persecution and transformation.  Read to be edified, then you may find no disappointment at all. (If you want a capsulation or summation you will find one in Revelation, Chapter 17).
  Guyon wrote this book under excellent conditions to write on Revelation.  She wrote it while fleeing persecution that came from her own church, originating specifically from the hands of church leaders who saw themselves as very pious Christians, walking properly in the way of the holiest saints of bygone days . . . and persecuting Guyon because she was not walking as they were.  Jeanne Guyon, on the other hand, knew full well that these people were not truly godly.  They opposed the godly and "the inward way" . . . and they -- and their kind-- had persecuted the Lord's most holy people in every age. Nor did this courageous lady mince words in saying so!
        But just how accurate is her approach to Revelation? Scholars will find the answer to that question easy.  She was utterly off base!  She is often simplistic. Her interpretations often have no bearing on what we perceive as the obvious meaning of a passage.  At other times her words are so unique they are refreshing.
        But is she correct? Well, if we submit her book, and all the other books on Revelation-- that are published this year-- laying them all before learned theological scholars . . . her book will very definitely come in last!
      But what if we submitted this same group of books to a gathering of first and second century believers?
       We might get a shock. We might be told in definite and certain words that the modern-day interpretations of Revelation are almost totally void of the issue of the spiritual state of the Christian. We might also be shocked as we are told that our present interpretation of Revelation is almost totally materialistic in its underlying emphasis.
        After all, first and second century believers really were not interested in what was happening in Russia, China, Britain, etc., etc. Most likely they had never heard of such places, and certainly didn't see them in Revelation, of all places! Rather, they might catch, in reading these present day books, an unspoken theme of: "Read my book and find out how to save your skin during the coming disaster." It is true, after all, that men today trade stocks, buy gold, store food and purchase cabins in northern Alaska based on the most recent insight into Revelation and the morning's news.
      Let us not blame Revelation for this state of affairs. Nor present day authors. Their views reflect our prevailing Christian mind-set which is, essentially, Christian materialism.
        In the 1790's when preachers of the British Isles, sons of a sophisticated, self-centered, provincial, protectionistic and materialistic society, saw their empire threatened by anarchy, when they saw their secure society crumbling, their traditional institutions flaunted, their caste system being undermined, they saw Revelation as a blueprint of Britain's future. (Just Britain's!) Be it ever so dire, here was a book telling the English their future. That same spirit is found in today's books on Revelation. The deeper Christian life does not even get consideration-- not addressed, nor even dreamed of --as interpreters approach that mysterious book, pen in hand.
        But how did the early Christian see Revelation? Quite differently! He saw himself as one walking in Christ, in the depths of Christ, even walking in spiritual realms. He saw the Christians he gathered with, first and foremost, as those who loved the Lord-- experientially-- and with a passion! Together they knew Him in the realm of the spirituals . . . not by accumulated head knowledge about Him.
         When those pious believers read Revelation they saw an assault on the depth of their walk with Christ, that assault coming from forces utterly blind to what they really were.
        After plowing through all the books about Revelation which will be printed this year, there is no question that Guyon's book would make more sense to a group of first and second century Christians than all the other books combined! For them, her book would come in first! Furthermore, you might make this test. The acid test. If you could choose any book on Revelation in print today-- but only one book-- which book would you pick to share a dungeon with?
        But we must ask the question again. Just how accurate is Guyon's commentary on Revelation?"

Rev. 1	Rev. 7	Rev.13	Rev.19
Rev. 2	Rev. 8	Rev.14	Rev.20
Rev. 3	Rev. 9	Rev.15	Rev.21
Rev. 4	Rev.10	Rev.16	Rev.22
Rev. 5	Rev.11	Rev.17	Concl.
Rev. 6	Rev.12	Rev.18

^{(1) Guyon, Mme. Jeanne, CHRIST OUR REVELATION, Gardiner, Main, Reprinted 1987 Christian Books Publishing House (Book is now out of print).}

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