The Book of Revelation is Not a Puzzle Book!

If Revelation is so clear, why do so many people have trouble with it?  And why is it so controversial?  We have trouble because we approach from the wrong end.  God is at the center of Revelation (Rev. 4-5).  We must start with him and with the contrasts between him and his satanic opponents.  If instead we try right away to puzzle out details, it is as if we tried to use a knife by grasping it by the blade instead of the handle.  We are starting at the wrong end.  Revelation is a picture book not a puzzle book.  Don't try to puzzle it out.  Don't become preoccupied with isolated details.  Rather, become engrossed in the overall story.  Vern Poythress, The Return of the King, p. 13.