Many people, especially those who are Amillennial, are intent to take very little of the Book of Revelation literally, and want to affirm that it is nearly all figurative or symbolic, and say that "apocalyptic" writings have this characteristic as its genre. They will argue that the word "signified" in the above opening words of the Book affirms this. I totally reject that view and will show why. First, however, let me affirm what it means.
By "signifying" the things John saw and heard simply means that he saw and heard things and wrote them down. He saw literal things but when he wrote down what he saw, we are not ourselves seeing those things but descriptions of those things, much like when we watch a video of an occurrence. We are not watching the actual occurrence but a representation of that occurrence. The same is true of looking at a photograph of someone. When we look at the picture we are not seeing the actual person but a symbol or representation of that person. So, what John saw was like seeing motion pictures. Or, we may say that John was transported in time to see future events, and his description of those things are what it means that the angel signified them. He paints a portrait of future literal events, and the portrait signifies those events.
The verb “signified” in Revelation 1:1 is translated from the Greek verb “semaino.” This Greek verb is also employed five other times throughout the New Testament, and in every one of those times it is translated by some form of the English verb “signify.” Here are those instances:
John 12:32-33 – “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.”
John 18:31-32 – “Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.”
John 21:18-19 – “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.”
Acts 11:28 – “And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.”
Acts 25:27 – “For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.”
None of these instances denotes “a communication of information through symbolism.” Rather, in every one of these five cases, the verb means “a communication of information through description.” So, although the prophetic utterances of the book of the Revelation may indeed include some symbolism, the use of this verb in Revelation 1:1 does not mean that the prophetic scenes described are not literal. Jesus was literally "lifted up" on the cross, although those words could mean most anything. But they "signified" that he would die by crucifixion. The word "signified" may denote "this is what that means."
The word "tree" is a way to signify an actual tree, the word itself not being the tree, but it does point to or describe a literal tree. The word "signature" is derived from the word "signify" and etymologically alludes to a person's "signet" or "seal." A signature is a representation, but what it represents is literal.
If I say "it rained cats and dogs" it is understood that this is not literal. However, there is a literal truth conveyed by that language. People know it means that it is pouring down rain, being a common idiom. Likewise, when people are called animal names, we know that those people are not literally the animals they are likened to, such as when it is said "he is a dog," or "he is a fox," etc.
We are told that it was Christ's personal messenger (angel) who was given the task of bringing to John's eyes the scenes of the Apocalypse. "He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John."
Dr. J.A. Seiss, author of many good books, and of his famous book on the Apocalypse, said the following in his lecture on the opening words of the Apocalypse (emphasis mine):
"The proper explanation of the office of the angel is to be found in the words signified and saw. The word rendered signified, taken in connection with the fact that the things signified were matters of contemplation by means of the eyes, can denote nothing else than an actual picturing of those scenes—a making of them pass before the view the same as if they were really transpiring. The office of the angel, then, as I take it, was, to form the connection between John’s senses or imagination and the things which he was to describe, making to pass in review before him what was only afterwards to take place in fact. How this was done, I cannot say: but as the devil could take Jesus to a high mountain, and show him at one view “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,” I am sure that it falls sufficiently within the sphere of angelic natures thus to picture things to man; and that when commissioned of the Lord for the purpose, no good angel is wanting in ability to be the instrument in making John see whatever visions he describes in this book."
The angel "signified" the scenes of the Apocalypse by giving to the apostle John a vision of coming events. Of course, Christ himself appeared to John and spoke to him, dictating to him what to write, including what to write to the angels of the seven churches of Asia Minor. They were "signified" to John by bringing him to see things with his eyes. So the text says of him: "who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw." In fact the words "saw" or "see" are frequent in the Apocalypse. Notice these examples:
“What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia" (vs. 11), And "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw" (vs. 12), And, "when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead" (vs. 17) And, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this."
This is only what is in the first chapter of the Book. We see those same words many times throughout the Book. The things he saw were literal things. He actually did see beasts with seven heads, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, a Lamb before heaven's throne, a rainbow round the throne, etc. Of course the beast with seven heads and the horns thereof are not literal, but they are well known symbols of what is literal. We know that the four living creatures in Nebuchadnezzar's dream represented four present and future world empires. The seven good cows and the seven ill cows in the dream of Joseph "signified" that there would be seven good years of fruitfulness and seven years of famine, which are literal events. Of course there are symbols, figures, similes, or "similitudes" to reveal literal things. So God said:
“I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.” (Hosea 12: 10 kjv)
"If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream." (Numb. 12: 6 kjv)
A dream or vision given by God may make use of symbols, as we see in the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel, but those symbols represent literal things. However, some dreams and visions may have no symbols, and some may have a mixture of the two. Those symbols signify literal events.
So, beware of those who say that the word "signified" in the opening verses of the Book of Revelation means that the it is all symbolic, having nothing that is literal, for they will keep you from understanding that inspired Book. The new heavens and earth are literal. The New Jerusalem is literal.
Further, the symbols in the Book of Revelation are such as are easily understood, so that what they signify is not left to the whim of the interpreter. The other parts of the Bible inform us of what those symbols stand for and represent.
I believe that too many people, especially within certain denominations, take very little literally in the Book of Revelation, believing that what is literal in the Book of Revelation is non-literal, or symbolic or figurative. What then happens in far too many cases is that they 1) give up trying to figure out what each symbol or figure or vision in the Apocalypse represents and study it not, or else 2) to every Apocalyptic scene or occurrence in the Apocalypse they give wing to fanciful or far-fetched interpretations, giving their own private interpretations, or 3) put faith in what they are told to believe about the Book of Revelation by some pastor or teacher without testing those interpretations.
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