Introducing Revelation

Revelation is the final book in the Bible and it tells the end of the story. After sixty years of serving Jesus, elderly John is imprisoned on the island of Patmos when he gets to see his beloved Jesus again. This book is the revelation of Jesus Christ! It begins with a glorious and overwhelming presentation of Jesus, the beginning and the end, the One whose resurrection transforms everything. This Jesus gives letters to seven local churches to urge them to live out their present calling in light of their eternal future. By the end of the book John is allowed to see the end of the story – the glorious return of Christ, His reign and the New Jerusalem descending to the New Earth. With sinners fully and finally judged, and the sin problem completely answered, redeemed humanity has a glorious future dwelling in the presence of God! Yet Revelation is often neglected, perhaps because of the debates swirling around the meaning of the evocative imagery used. The bulk of the book consists of series of judgments pouring out on the earth from heaven. Is this strictly symbolic, or in some way tied to history? Were these somehow descriptive of historical events and persecution in the first century? Do they represent an ongoing spiritual battle throughout the age? Or are they specifically describing the final events leading to the return of Christ to the earth? Revelation may spark debate as to its meaning, but it promises blessing to the one who reads it. Read it, be blessed, find hope in the midst of a hopeless world, and allow your eyes to be lifted from today to the future, to the day when we will be with Jesus! Maranatha, even so, come quickly Lord!

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