Revelation!

Up until recently, the book of Revelation caused two very specific reactions in my heart. The first was terror. There’s some scary sounding stuff in there! I guess a part of me worried that if I really read it, it might actually happen. (As if all the Lord was waiting for to usher in the end of time was for me to read about it. Heh.) The second reaction felt more like an airplane whizzing right over my head. I just assumed that I wasn’t smart enough or spiritual enough to understand whatever it was God was trying to say in this cryptic book. Then I decided to get serious about studying the books of the Bible I’d never read before. Books like . . . Obadiah, Nahum, and yes, Revelation. I want to know and understand all of God’s Word. That means there can’t be giant chunks of Scripture that I gloss over or totally ignore. So I broke the binding on a part of my Bible that had previously been untouched. I spent several weeks combing through every chapter and verse of Revelation. You know what I discovered? Revelation isn’t scary! It’s fantastic.If you’re like me and have avoided this section of your Bible out of fear your brain doesn’t have the processing power to compute it, let me give you three good reasons to make plans to read this book soon. (All verses come from the KJV Bible).1. Revelation is about what’s happening right now.Some people think Revelation describes events that have already happened. Some people think it predicts what is coming. There are smart, Bible believing folks on both sides of the debate.But open your Bible to the book of Revelation and scan the first few chapters. You will see that John (the author of Revelation) addresses seven churches. These churches: Have forgotten their first love for Jesus; Need to repent; Are enduring trials; Are dealing with sexual immorality; Have false teachers in their midst; Are a pillar of truth in a lost generation; Gravitate toward lukewarm faith that requires nothing of them; Don’t always recognize their own sin.Recognize yourself or your church in that list? Me too! John wrote this letter to churches that existed 2,000 years ago, but his words still apply to us, the Church, as we strive to know and serve Jesus right this moment.There are other things in the book of Revelation that, I must admit, read like some mashup of a sci-fi novel and zombie apocalypse movie, but so much of what is written in this book applies to all of history. As I studied Revelation, I realized that so much of it is not about what has happened, or will happen, but in many ways applies to what is happening right now.Check out verse 1:19, “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.” It was right there in front of us the whole time! Is this a book about the past? Yes! Is it a book about the present? Yes! Is it a book about the future? Yes! God’s Word is timeless. It applies to every generation that has ever been and every generation that ever will be. It speaks to your past, your present, and your future. Revelation will always be relevant.Good will always be at war with evil. Light can never coexist with darkness. And truth and justice will always ultimately prevail. Which brings me to the second reason to read this book . . . 2. Jesus wins!If you look at today’s headlines, you might think that evil has the world in a chokehold. Before I studied Revelation, I had the idea that throughout history good and evil were in some sort of cosmic chess match. Satan and his demons would make a move; Jesus would counter. It would be neck and neck this way until the end of time, when Jesus would make one right move and then . . . checkmate, God would win by the tiniest of margins. That kind of ending makes for exciting football games, but it makes it hard to be hopeful in real life. When I read Revelation, I realized that darkness won’t come close to winning. Satan won’t cross the finish line a nanosecond after Jesus. It’s true that evil is alive and well in our world, but ultimately God wins—big time.Listen!Revelation 7:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,Revelation 7:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.Revelation 7:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.Revelation 7:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.Satan comes at God’s people with an army so large that the Bible compares it to the grains of sand on the sea, yet God’s people don’t win because we slightly outman the enemies of darkness. The battle isn’t close. When Satan and his armies are still on the approach, God consumes them.It’s a TKO. (That’s boxing talk for total knockout).When you’re up against the ropes, when life has you pinned to the mat, when reading the world news makes you feel beat up and defeated, you need the reminder that the end of the story is no contest. Our God will be victorious and we will be a part of the victory parade. In this context, I understand why the Bible calls us “more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37)!3. This is a Rescue MissionRevelation ends with a prayer. In Revelation 22:20 John writes these words: He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.Jesus is the one who testifies and He promises He will come soon. I echo John’s prayer . . . “C’mon then, Lord! We are ready for you!”Knowing that Jesus is coming back helps me not get too caught up in temporary things. It helps me keep my eyes focused on what will last forever, and it gives me hope beyond my current circumstances.Like a princess locked in a tower, we have hope that our Rescuer is coming! He will keep His promise. He will come for us. We can watch and live with great expectation. Revelation has become one of my favorite books in Scripture. It’s jam-packed with hope for a bright future, promises from a loving God, and perspective beyond the right now. Have you read it? What did you think?In addition:Many churches stay clear of the Book of Revelation on a verse by verse study, because they teach you’re going to be gone anyway at that time. They also say, It's not to be understood yet. Some are taught to be afraid of it. This is odd because the very word "Revelation" means to "to reveal" or "unveil" something. When you unveil anything, you make it known.The book of Revelation is a sister book to the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. Both of these books were written to the people who live in the final generation (the latter days or the end times; now). Daniel was told to “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:" (Daniel 12:4). He was told by God; "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand: but the wise shall understand." (Daniel 12:10)The wise are those who actually study God's word just as we are commanded to do in the next verse:2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.So, be very cautious of any group that would tell you not to study, or to throw away part of God's word. Those are words Satan would use.