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The key to understanding the book of Revelation is in the first four verses. Verse 4 addresses the book to the seven churches of Asia made of people living in the 1st Century AD. Verse 1 states that the events would shortly come to pass. So the book is concerned with events soon to occur to the seven churches of Asia in the 1st century. Nothing happening today has any effect on those people 1,900 years ago who were about to face a stern persecution from the weight of the Romaan Empire. People trying to see modern events in that book are wasting their time. The book of Revelation was addressed to people 1,900 years ago, not to us. The lessons we are to get from it concern how God provided for the spiritual victory of those early Christians who overcame the beast of Roman persecution.

People trying to see modern events in that book are wasting their time. The book of Revelation was addressed to people 1,900 years ago, not to us. The lessons we are to get from it concern how God provided for the spiritual victory of those early Christians who overcame the beast of Roman persecution.

I agree with that for the most part. The same can be said of the Olivet discourse. However, I think some part of Revelation may be about future times. At 20: 7, Satan is unbound as Christ's millennial reign ends. That could well refer to a time not too distant.

Verse 1 states that the events would shortly come to pass. So the book is concerned with events soon to occur to the seven churches of Asia in the 1st century.

In part, yes, but to claim that all or Revelation is about what happened in the first century is ridiculous.

A major problem is that there are parts of the book which are unequivocally predictive of future events--events which have not yet occurred.

Chapters 21 and 22 are unquestionably future predictions that have not yet been fulfilled. The new heaven and new earth have not yet made an appearance. The New Jerusalem has also not been seen as of yet. The elimination of death, sorrow, crying, and pain in 21:4 has obviously not yet occurred. We have not yet been spared from everything that defiles or causes a lie or has to do with unbelievers (21:27). No church on earth has those qualities, much less the world at large. Chapter 22 follows chronologically after chapter 21 and explains the presence of the tree of life, another thing which has not yet come to pass. Moving backward from chapter 21, we see also many features of chapter 20 that prohibit it from being interpreted as a record of now-past events. Satan does not seem to be bound in any way during the present age. However the 1000 years are understood, either literally or as a very long time, it is apparent that Satan has not been on any kind of severe restriction for that length of time. There is a first and second resurrection (the first is mentioned in 20:5b-6, the second in 20:5a and 20:12), yet there have been no mass resurrections of dead people in history up to this point. The Great White Throne judgment has not happened. When it does, something very serious will happen to the old heaven and earth (20:11). Also, many dead will stand before God and be judged. The unbelieving among them (it turns out that all who appear there will be unbelievers, but let us not get hung up on that point) will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (20:15). None of this has yet happened.

This doesn't even take into account the idea of things like the seas turning to blood or "like blood" and killing all living creatures in the sea, or an earthquake or quakes so big that every island goes away and the mountains flatten out (Rev. 16:20).