Understanding the book of Revelation

Wow I never knew that Osama Bin Laden was a tree! Oh gosh look at that! I never knew that Saddam Husein was a turkey. The tree and turkey with human heads, now that's amazing! I didn't know that George W. Bush actually rode a donkey! I wonder where the road "Common Sense" is in the world I would like to travel there someday!

If you don't know me you're probably thinking that I'm off my rocker, but I give you these to illustrate how ridiculous it is to interpret symbolic pictures literally! We all know that there is a true literal meaning behind the symbolic pictures but to look at these symbols and think they are true in reality would be a great mistake. For example, someone obviously thinks that George W. Bush is not using common sense in his decision making.
Many people interpret the book of Revelation the exact same way and it doesn't work! First and foremost we must understand that Revelation wasn't written to us 21st century Christians it was written to persecuted Christians of the late 1st century. The letter that was circulated in the ancient world had a message for the people whom the letter was originally written to. This is a foundational principle with regard to all Biblical interpretation. Most popular theories about Revelation would leave the original audience scratching their heads with no message. But that isn't the truth! This letter was a strong encouragement to the believers to persevere in the face of suffering for Christ and the message still applies today.
I just want to point out the fact that John (the writer of the book) gave clues as to how to interpret the symbols in the book. In the very first verse John writes,
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John..." (NKJV).
I chose the New King James because it translates the word σημαινω (semaino) as "signified." The greek word semaino is related to the noun "semeion" which is a "sign, or a distinguishing mark." The angel put the message of Jesus into "signs" for John to write down. Don't forget that John didn't just write down things that he was told to write he was told to write down what he "saw."
There are several clues throughout the book that further support the fact that John's visions were symbols of reality but not reality in themselves.
Revelation 1:12, "And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands..."
Revelation 1:16 "In his right hand he held seven stars..."
What in the world is Jesus holding in his right hand? What are the golden lampstands? Jesus explains the symbols to John at the end of the first chapter! Revelation 1:20, "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." Wow! That was simple enough. These aren't the only glimpses we see of symbolic language though. Look at these passages: Rev. 5:8 (what are the bowls of incence?), 12:9 (the dragon?), 17:9.

I will tell you right now with complete honesty that I am clueless when it comes to much of the imagery in Revelation but I am learning more and I believe that this is the correct approach to understanding the book of Revelation.