Time and again, Bible students have forced the symbolic nature of Revelation into conformity with contemporary events, organizing the book's details into a literal timetable of the future. This is not Turner's approach to understanding Revelation. He discusses Revelation as a book that was a product of its time, with a clear message of hope to Christian believers during that time. Understanding its message for those believers living late in the first century will reveal some lasting and powerful implications for the Christians and churches of today. However, Revelation is not an almanac for any later century, including the 21st.
Revelation speaks of a faith by which to live and die.
It is a book for all the ages. It is God's word to us of hope, strength, and home. We hear all sorts of claims about Christ's appearing in the future and the termination of the age. In times of crisis or change, there is always and upsurge of interest in the apocalyptic, and confident predictions are often made on the basis of its scheme of history. Unfortunately, the frequent erroneous predictions and mistreatments of apocalyptic writings have led to a lack of trust in these interpretations and a lessening of sensible interest in books such as Daniel and Revelations.