Through the centuries since its writing, the book of Revelation has captured the fascination of the Christian church. The earliest Christians were unanimous in understanding it along a premillennial view of Jesus' second coming, but other hermeneutical approaches began to emerge in the third century. These clouded, and added complexity to, the task of explaining the book’s meaning. For most of the Christian era, consequently, many readers have viewed this last of the NT writings as though it were hopelessly embedded in an aura of deep mystery. An avalanche of interpretive literature has evidenced remarkable interest in the book’s contents, but along with the interest has come widespread bewilderment.