Creator, Father, King #360

This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place.

JOHN NEARLY FAINTED.

You would’ve, too, if you had seen what he saw.

The old apostle, possibly in his nineties by then, was exiled on the small Aegean island of Patmos for his faith. One Sunday, the risen Christ appeared to him in overwhelming glory, causing John to fall “at his feet as if I were dead” (Revelation 1:17).

Jesus gently strengthened his disciple and gave him a marvelous vision, telling John to “write in a book everything you see” (verse 11) as a witness to a network of churches in Asia Minor. John’s vision is what we now call the book of Revelation—perhaps the most mysterious, debated book of the Bible.

Mystery? Debate? Sounds like the perfect topic for a five-day series of devotions!

What’s It Mean?

Revelation is a book of both prophecy (predicting future events) and apocalypse, which stems from the Greek term apokálypsis, meaning “unveiling,” “disclosure” or (drum roll, please) “revelation”!

In other words, through the book of Revelation, God not only reveals future events that will one day take place (prophecy), but he also has unveiled remarkable events that are occurring (and will continue to occur) in the unseen spiritual realm until Jesus returns.

The biggest question about Revelation is how to interpret it. Jesus gave John visions of cataclysmic disasters, mysterious creatures, wicked beasts, talking eagles, bowls of wrath, rivers of blood, and much more.

Phew!

What is literal and what is symbolic imagery? Have any of Revelation’s prophecies already been fulfilled? If so, which ones? How do we make sense of it all? It’s enough to drive a seminary student nutty!

While Bible scholars debate those questions, the following points are refreshingly clear:

• God will direct the end times perfectly according to his sovereign plan (Revelation 1:1; 5:1-14; 10:5-7; 11:16-18; 22:6).
• Through faith, obedience, and patient endurance, believers will achieve victory over evil (Revelation 2:26; 14:12; 21:7).
• One day, Jesus will return to destroy all evil and condemn the wicked to eternal punishment (Revelation 19:11-21; 20:7-15) while bringing the righteous to their eternal reward (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
• God will replace the current, corrupted universe with a new heaven and new earth, free of all sin and death (Revelation 21:1–22:5).
• God will reign forever in his perfect Kingdom, as believers worship him and enjoy his new creation always (Revelation 22:1-5).

Praise God for the book of Revelation!

Now What?

Read the book of Revelation.

Did You Know?

Apocalyptic literature such as Revelation, Daniel, and Ezekiel were particularly helpful to God’s people during intense tribulation because it strengthened their faith with future hope.