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There are three main methods of interpretation in the Book of Revelation.

The Preterist Method

The preterist method interprets everything in the book as referring to events or situations within the first three centuries after Christ, the time of the apostles and those most directly influenced by them. Using this method, the interpreter studies history to learn the historical setting, then looks in the Book of Revelation for obvious or even hidden, or encoded, references to the setting. Further, the interpreter may discover some intimation in the Book of Revelation that seems to shed light on how the first readers of the book would be feeling about and reacting to their current events and situations.

The preterist interpreter would not look to the future for "fulfillment" of "prophecy" in the Book of Revelation. He or she might look for spiritual lessons to be learned from how the early Christians interacted with their environment.

The Futurist Method

The futurist method interprets almost everything in the Book of Revelation (at least chapters 4-22) as referring to events in a future age, after the "rapture" of the "church." Using this method, the interpreter notices the order of appearances in Revelation, along with other Scripture passages that could have informed the Revelator's intentions. Then he or she seeks to imagine what the Revelator saw and match that picture with something technologically possible in a science fiction way.

The futurist interpreter would not look into the history from 300 to 2000 years after Christ for any clues to interpretation. He or she might spend some time the understand the historical setting of the apostles so as to teach the first three chapters of Revelation. The predominant spiritual lesson to be learned from a futurist interpretation seems to be, "Don't miss the rapture!"

The Historicist Method

The historicist method interprets a broad span of events from the historical setting of the apostles to the future denouement and much that lies between as having their part in the Book of Revelation. He or she notices many historical settings, many other Scripture passages echoed here, the chronology of the book, as well as other factors like poetry and repetitions. Martin Luther used this method which is credited with igniting the great Reformation.

The historicist interpreter must consider all three settings, the original, the historical span, and the future, before he or she is through. History must inform understanding. Spiritual lessons abound in this method, so that the Book of Revelation becomes a vital, vibrant aid to one's walk with Jesus Christ.

After all, it is "the Revelation of Jesus Christ."