Revelations is not a book of prophecy.

Ok, I have been going to a catholic school for my whole life. I am 16 and an atheist now. I know the religion and faith, so I will do my best with this debate. I will address each thing you said one by one. 1. What technically is a prophecy? the foretelling or prediction of what is to come. something that is declared by a prophet, esp. a divinely inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation. a divinely inspired utterance or revelation: oracular prophecies. (Dictionary.com) So, in one sense, yes, it is a book that explains future events such as the Parousia. (Second coming of Christ) However, there is no evidence that these events will come true or that they were divinely inspired. It is said that John wrote revelations, but that's all we know. A guy named John "most likely" wrote revelations and it is "claimed" that it is divine prophecy. I could make a prophecy right now that says the world will end in 3 days, but I provide no evidence and there is no proof that it is a divine prophecy. Also, the prophecy is VERY vague. Saying that the world will eventually come to an end is like saying that someday we will die. Also, it says the on the day of the return of Jesus, the heavens will open, he will come down on a cloud, and God will judge the living and dead. Notice how there is no given date on this, so we could be waiting and waiting and waiting forever. The authors most likely did this so that their prophecies and claims to a higher power will never be denied. 2. Why do you believe that revelations is a prophecy that pertains to future events? Is it because you were raised that way and were always taught about "god" and the bible? There are thousands of religions in the world. We are brought into a certain faith by sheer accidence, so what makes us think that we have the correct religion over anyone else? It's because the child's mind is instinctively developed in a way that makes it listen and believe authority. That is why most people are the religion of their parents, the political ideology of their parents, and adopt similar lifestyles to their parents. Also, there is no evidence pointing to one of the thousands of religions over another, so as far as we know, every religion's bible is just a book of wishful thinking. Every bible was written by a certain group of people in a certain time era. The people who wrote it are going to put elements in it that relates to their time period and culture of the people in order to make sense of the world of things they cannot describe. So, in my opinion, bibles are just books, nothing more than that. I don't think revelations pertains to future events because every bible's prophecies are going to be different depending on the culture of the person who wrote in. 3. I agree with you that it is symbolic, not literal. Yes, it is one of the hardest books to interpret because it makes the most extraordinary claims. The Old Testament had some far fetched claims, but it also talked about some factual events that went on in the world. Revelations is purely symbolic and there are no proven facts in it. Since it is agreed among most people that it is symbolic, I think it's fair to say that it doesn't prove the legitimacy of the book. How can you legitimize something that is based solely on symbolism, stories, and future events without proof? You can't. Now I will address the 3 reasons that you think it's a difficult book to interpret. 1. You said that all books of the Bible must be interpreted with the author, time/date, to whom the book was written and cultural aspects understood and kept in mind. This means that the idea of one God for everyone and the same future for everyone is false. If writings and bibles are influenced by external forces like you mentioned, then that means everyone's take on the future is going to be different. Not all religions believe that Jesus will come again. Many religions don't even recognize God or Jesus at all because they had a different take on religion and fate in their eyes. The Greeks had many Gods such as Aphrodite, Zeus, and Apollo. That is because it was what made the most sense to them and related most to their culture. So, like you said, if the book is affected by the writers' culture, time, and date, that means the story will be different depending on who you ask. And that also means that different people have a different idea of God, creation, and destiny, which means that religions contradict one another, which in turn dismisses the credibility in revelations being a book of prophecy that pertains to future events. 2. Yes, what you said about John is "possible", but it's also possible that they weren't visions. It's possible that he didn't even write it, and it's possible that nothing he said was true, so the fact that it's possible doesn't give revelations credibility as a prophetic book of future events. You also said, "John had to use the best words of his language to describe things literally." Why would he have to if he was inspired by God? If God is truth, and he inspired by God(truth), then why would he need to use the best words of his language? He could have just said what God inspired him to say. 3. You say that God hides certain things from us and that we will find out eventually. Yes, he hides proof of his very own existence. Some people argue that our minds are not great enough to comprehend God. Well, if we were made by an all perfect, and knowing, all powerful, and all loving being, why would we not be worthy? I thought we were in his divine image. Also, the fact that we will eventually know is just another way of the writers keeping us in "faith" forever.If an all knowing God can't even provide a date for his son's return, or sheer proof his existence, then revelations doesn't sound like a divine book to me. It says we are not supposed to test or doubt God, but if God is all knowing, then he must understand that only a fool would follow something without evidence and not even question it. Lastly, you said, "It says directly in Revelations 1:1-3 that it is a prophecy. Rev. 1:3 "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy…" Well, you can't use the bible as evidence to support the bible. That's like me saying the world will end in 3 days, and I say my source is myself, because I was divinely inspired. It might say it's a prophecy, but that's not surprising because of course they want people to believe that, otherwise, their writings mean nothing if no one believes. So, my closing statement for this round. Revelations is just a book of wishful thinking that was written by someone who was trying to make sense of the world trough the culture they were raised and the society they were in. It is not a divine book of prophecy that foretells future events.