IMHO, speculation about prophetic Scriptures can cause a lot of dissension precisely because many try to obtain meaning with the mind instead of the Spirit. If prophesies were meant to be clear, they would have been written that way. Instead, like the parables, prophesies speak to the spirit, and thus are largely concealed from the mind.
I submit that the book of Revelation is vital to whole of Scripture. It affirms and magnifies the deity of Christ, the meaning of life, the purpose of this creation, this heaven and earth - and the next heaven and earth. It discloses God's righteous punishments and rewards.
It assures many of us - it unsettles some of us.
I submit that those who are unsettled by the prophesies in Revelation probably ought to spend more time in the Gospels and contemplating the meaning of life and creation - and then try reading it again - casually, not with a magnifying glass.
I agree. My wife raised an interesting point that many of the people of Jesus' time thought they had the correct interpretation of Old Testament prophesy. Unfortunately, they did not.