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Read Introduction to Revelation

“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…”


We come to the sixty-sixth book of the Bible, the climactic ending to God’s program for time. Any prophecy begun in any other book finds its climax in this book. From Paradise Lost in the book of Genesis, we come to Paradise Found in the book of Revelation.

In the first three verses of Revelation, we find the prologue. The prologue frames the entire book. The third verse gives the structure of the total book. The key to understanding this book is its structure.

The first chapter of Revelation is a general introduction to the entire book; it is a book about the inimitable, sovereign Son of God.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

The word “revelation” means disclosure, uncovering, unveiling. The Greek word comes from two words: from and cover. A revelation takes off the covers. Much of what the Bible has hidden about Jesus Christ will now be revealed in the book of Revelation. Jesus is the cardinal subject of the Book of Revelation (22:6-21). The climax of the book comes in the Second Coming of Christ (chapter 19).

Since the Book of Revelation is unveiling, it is not intended to be an enigma, some puzzle hard to decipher. This is how most people like to represent the book. Revelation says of itself that it will clearly reveal Jesus Christ. Do you unintentionally negate the Book of Revelation in your mind because others have convinced you or you have convinced yourself that Revelation is a dark book too difficult to understand? Why not accept the challenge of understanding this great book of the Bible? It is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing if you read it.

We have seen the unveiling of a statue. The statue is covered with a sheet. At the dedication, the sheet is dropped for all to see the statue. This is the picture of the last book of the Bible. Revelation will unveil Jesus in a way other books of the Bible do not reveal Him.

Revelation presents a glorious reigning Christ. It tells of complete victory over Satan and sin. Jesus is the central theme of this book. Chapter one presents the glorified Christ. It is a message from and about Jesus. He is the overriding objective of the book and of prophecy.

The title of the Book of Revelation is the key to its contents. Revelation is more than a communiqué about Him; it displays Him in His glory. Revelation uncovers the matchless Lord of Glory Himself. In His first coming, the deity of Christ only presented itself occasionally. In His Second Coming, we will see Him in all His glory. We will see Him in the full-orbed wonder of His Majesty. This book sets the stage for knowing Jesus better. His person will shine forth into your soul if you open yourself to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit through this book.

Note that there is no “s” on the name of this book. Many people call “Revelation” the book of “Revelation[s].” This error fosters a misunderstanding of this book. Revelation is about the unveiling of Jesus Christ. Prophecy for prophecy’s sake is not the point of this book. The major argument of this book revolves around the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The gospels give a portrait of Jesus from four viewpoints. The epistles set forth logical analysis about His person and work. Revelation presents Him in His future glory. The New Testament is clearly Christocentric.

PRINCIPLE:

Jesus is the central object of prophecy.

APPLICATION:

Jesus is the center stage of prophecy. He is the celebrity of all creation. The purpose of creation is to glorify God and His Son Jesus Christ. We hold His Majesty, King Jesus, as our ultimate Luminary. God is in the business of unveiling Jesus. This should be our business as well.

The Devil loves the propaganda that we cannot understand the Book of Revelation. “I will leave the understanding of that book to the theologians.” That is like saying, “God wrote the Bible to communicate to me but He must have made a mistake in estimating my capacity to understand it.”

This book tells of the ultimate outcome of the Devil. He does not want us to know about his ultimate defeat (Revelation 12). If the Devil can discredit the last book of the Bible in our minds, he wins a victory. He wants us to discount it. That gives him an advantage in our lives.

if we think of the Book of Revelation as a fairy tale that does not truly exist, then we will not gain assurance of God’s ultimate victory in time. We will allow ourselves to think of the pain of the present as an end in itself. We will never gain a perspective on God’s purpose for time. We will never understand why He allows pain and suffering to come into our lives. Especially, since Revelation is all about Jesus, the Devil does not want us to understand it.

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