Revelation is a future prophecy
Its many visions and descriptions can be laid over past, present, or future events, but readers of all times and places tend to think Revelation is describing the prelude to the Apocalypse as being right now. Of course, this has been done for 1,950 years, give or take, and every evil dictator has been nominated by doomsayers as the Antichrist, right down to Napoleon, Hitler, Libya’s president Muammar alQaddafi (a big candidate in the 1980s), and Osama bin Laden.

Revelation already happened during the Roman Empire.
Some biblical scholars argue that Revelation isn’t about some future apocalyptic cataclysm at all. They say that the Beast referred to in Revelation is really the Emperor Nero, and that 666 refers to Hebrew numerology of Nero Caesar’s name. This is the Nero who famously fiddled while Rome burned, but more important, he was the first emperor to order official Roman persecution of the Christians.

Revelation is a road map that tells how to trigger Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ.
The formation of the Jewish state of Israel in 1945 was the first step to arming the cosmic trigger. Now that the Jews have come back to Jerusalem, all that’s left is for them to flatten the Islamic mosques currently occupying the Temple Mount and to rebuild the Hebrew Temple for God to set the Final Conflict in motion. This reason is why fundamentalist Christians strongly support Israel helping them will bring Christ back that much faster. It’s also a partial reason why Islamic authorities who are in charge of the Temple Mount categorically refuse to allow Israeli excavation under the mosques on the Mount, or to even publicly admit that there was ever any Jewish Temple up there to begin with.

Revelation is an allegory, and you need to always be prepared for The End in your heart.
Some Christian sects hold that Satan is being held in the wings by God, where he can be dragged out onto the cosmological and ecclesiastical stage whenever God chooses to bring about the End Times. So the best way to prepare isn’t to look for signs of The End in headlines or warring nations, but to live every day like it’s the last one.

No one

The Book of Revelation can be confusing to the modern reader because much of it was written using a symbolic style of language that is not used today But that should not keep us from reading it and understanding its main message.

The key for the reader is to try to see beyond the details to the main themes, which are tremendous truths. For example, the book of Revelation underlines the fact that this world is doomed, and our hope must never be in this world or its political systems and philosophies. It also points us to the great truth that some day God through Christ will triumph over death and evil, and Satan will be utterly defeated.

The Book of Revelation emphasizes that Christ will come again some day in great glory to establish His Kingdom of perfect justice and righteousness, “and he will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). Some day those who know Christ will be secure forever in Heaven, and “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Most of all, the Book of Revelation (like all of the Bible) points us to Christ. He is the Savior and Lord of all who trust in Him, and some day we will see Him face to face. Are you ready for that day? You can be, by repenting of your sin and giving your life by faith to Christ today.