What principle should you keep in mind when reading about Revelation events that seem unusual or new?
As you study Revelation, keep in mind that many events, though on a grander and greater scale, have happened before. This is not the first time Scripture records something like the earth opening up and swallowing, so compare unusual events to earlier biblical patterns.
Les teaches that when studying Revelation, you should constantly remember that many of its events, while occurring on a grander and greater scale, are not entirely new. They have happened before in Scripture. For instance, the earth opening up to swallow the armed force of the Antichrist is presented as a repetition of a prior biblical event: Scripture already records the earth opening and people falling in, as when the false fire was offered. So the principle is continuity—familiar divine actions recur, only larger and greater in Revelation.