Revelation. Intimidated? Don't be. The final book in the Bible is an awesome study guaranteed to bless you. Really. Chapter 22 specifically says those who read and obey the words in the revelation will receive a special blessing. It was written by the apostle, John, after he was given a vision. His words were meant to admonish, exhort and encourage believers in Asia Minor.
Before we start, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Don't make it harder than it has to be. Yes, there are lots of sevens, and symbols and John tries to describe things that defy the imagination, but don't let those things throw you.
The Greek name for the book of Revelation is The Apocalypse. Culturally, we have a ascribed an idea to the word 'apocalypse', and granted some of the events described in the Revelation are horrifying, but the word simply means 'the unveiling'. (Think- yanking a sheet away and shouting "ta-da!") So who or what are we unveiling? Jesus Christ. Not the suffering servant, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Divine Warrior King who assumes His throne. In Revelation, we get a Mount of Transfiguration-type glimpse of Christ in all of His awesome glory. See that, study that, meditating on that.
The book is divided into three sections. Revelation 1:19 says that John is to "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this." Chapter 1 makes up the 'things which you have seen", chapters 2-3 make up the "things which are" (contemporary to John) and chapters 4-22 cover the "things which will take place after this." These sections have their own unique character so we'll take our time and look at each section separately.
Keeping these things in mind, let's look at the first section – Chapter 1, the vision of Christ.
- What do you learn about John?
- What symbols are given and how are they interpreted? (Verses 20-21 explain some of the symbolic things John saw.)
- What do you learn about Jesus? What does He say about Himself? How does He appear? Now, John knew Jesus personally and saw Him on the Mount of Transfiguration- how does he react to this vision of Christ? Keep track of these appearances of Jesus throughout the rest of the book. Note how He appears, what He says and does and how others respond to Him.
- How would our lives change if we saw Christ as He really was and not just our familiar version of him?
Next week – Chapters 2-3, the things which are.