The Grand Finale: Intro to Revelation

We look around at a dark world today and wonder how it’s going to end. All we need to do is turn to the last book of the Bible, the Revelation. What we read there tells us it’s going to work out all right.

Hi everyone, I’m Tammy Becker.  Welcome to the Almighty God & Gospel Girl Podcast.  We are beginning a brand-new season, a brand-new year, and a brand-new series into the book of Revelation.  Revelation is going to be a ride of a lifetime…and it will take me all year to get through this book of the Bible in the way the Lord intends for me to do so.  So, if you love mysteries, thrillers, or sci-fi, buckle up because this is the book, the final book, the book that tells our end, our end to life on earth but the also the way to eternal life with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. 

John wrote Revelation as the first century was ending. Jesus had been dead for more than five decades, and the Christians were unsure about when He would return. False teachers tormented churches throughout the empire. Some churches were not doing so well. Jewish leaders were no longer persecuting Christians, but persecution by local officials and citizen groups was growing. Overall, Revelation was written in a time of great uncertainty and turmoil.

Revelation is the 66th book of the Bible—the last one. This means we need to know 65 other books before we get to this place. Having a working knowledge of all the background of the Bible will give Revelation context. If you know the facts and the feel of Scripture, that will help, too.  As I have said before many times in my podcasts, God gave us the Bible as a life manual and we must study it in it’s entirety.  And to understand Revelation you must understand Genesis and all that lies in between those beautiful pages of God inspired words.

Our God isn’t a God of confusion, so we should approach this book with an expectation that we can and will understand it, at the same time, we need to acknowledge the Lord expects us to approach this book with some preparation and care.

Imagine you selected a large novel from the shelves of a bookstore, opened it for the first time but turned to the last chapter, now I know some rare people that can do this but most of us cannot, and you began reading the final chapter…how much of the action would you actually be able to follow?

Wouldn’t you be thoroughly confused by what you were reading? And more importantly, wouldn’t you expect to be confused?  The answer is of course you would, which is why you would never dream of reading a book that way (assuming you wanted to understand it)

That’s how you need to understand the book of Revelation…it’s the last chapter of a novel called “The Bible”

The Bible consists of sixty-six books which are like chapters in a story about Jesus

• The story starts with Creation and the Fall 
• Then it moves through history, introducing characters and describing events that explain God’s plan of redemption 
• And in the final chapter (i.e., Revelation), all the loose ends are wrapped up and the story comes to a climactic conclusion 
• Because the Bible is truly one story, we can’t open the final book of the Bible expecting to understand it unless we have a good appreciation of what comes before
• The book of Revelation relies heavily on imagery and symbols that are introduced in earlier books of the Bible
• And the text is written assuming we are familiar with the Bible’s themes, storylines, and characters in the earlier 65 books
• So, if we don’t have that background, we will be lost

Take a listen to this:

Notice the tie between Genesis and Revelation, the first and last books of the Bible.

Genesis presents the beginning, and Revelation presents the end.

Note the contrasts between the two books: In Genesis the earth was created; in Revelation the earth passes away.

 In Genesis was Satan’s first rebellion; in Revelation is Satan’s last rebellion.

In Genesis the sun, moon, and stars were for earth’s government; in Revelation these same heavenly bodies are for earth’s judgment.

In Genesis the sun was to govern the day; in Revelation there is no need of the sun.

 In Genesis darkness was called night; in Revelation there is “no night there” (see 21:25; 22:5). In Genesis the waters were called seas; in Revelation there is no more sea.

 In Genesis was the entrance of sin; in Revelation is the exodus of sin. In Genesis the curse was pronounced; in Revelation the curse is removed.

In Genesis death entered; in Revelation there is no more death. In Genesis was the beginning of sorrow and suffering; in Revelation there will be no more sorrow and no more tears.

In Genesis was the marriage of the first Adam; in Revelation is the marriage of the Last Adam.

In Genesis we saw man’s city, Babylon, being built; in Revelation we see man’s city, Babylon, destroyed and God’s city, the New Jerusalem, brought into view.

In Genesis Satan’s doom was pronounced; in Revelation Satan’s doom is executed. Genesis opens the Bible not only with a global view but also with a universal view— “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Now in Revelation we see what God is going to do with His universe. No other book is quite like this one. Jesus tells the church, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning, and the End, the First and the Last” (22:12-13). “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (22:20)

As we get started there are a few things to cover you should know and perhaps deep dive on your own before I get deep into the verses.  First, there are four views that dominate the study of the book of Revelation. Some say all of Revelation has been fulfilled in the past, and it describes the events in the writer, John’s day. The purpose of the books was to comfort the persecuted church of that day and was written in symbols the Christians of that period would understand.  Another view holds that Revelation is going on continuously in the history of the church, from John’s day to the present time. It isn’t prophetic at all but talking about current events. Another related view says it has largely been fulfilled and contains only spiritual lessons for the church today. Another theory says the world keeps getting better and better, the church will convert the whole world, and then Christ will come and reign. (That viewpoint is almost dead today.)  And finally, the view which I will base this series on is called the futurist interpretation, it is the view held by all premillennialists. This view sees Revelation as primarily prophetic. It begins with the revelation of the glorified Christ. Then the history of the church is given. Then, at the end of chapter 3, the church goes to heaven and we see it, not as the church anymore, but as the bride which will come to the earth with Christ when He comes to establish His Kingdom—that thousand-year reign John will tell us more about. It will be a time of testing, for at the end of that period Satan will be released for a brief season. Then the final rebellion is put down and eternity begins. This is the viewpoint of Revelation I will be exploring throughout this new season and series on the book of Revelation.

The primary subject of this book is a revelation of Jesus Christ. In the Gospels you see Him humble, as He subjected Himself to His enemies on earth and died on a cross. But we discover a completely different Jesus Christ in Revelation. When the scene moves to heaven, we see Him in glory, in command of everything that takes place. He fills the horizon of the total Word of God. Keep this in mind as we study Revelation. The Bible tells us what Jesus Christ has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. This is the unveiling of Jesus Christ: He is the Lamb, at the center, around which everything else is drawn. He is the foundation on which everything lasting is built. He is the nail on which everything hangs. He is the object to which everything points. He is the spring from which all blessing proceeds. The Lamb is the light, the glory, the life, the Lord of heaven and earth, the source from which all fullness of joy is known. We cannot go far in the study of Revelation without seeing the Lamb. Like direction posts along the road to remind us that He, who did by Himself purge our sins, is now highly exalted and that to Him every knee must bow, and every tongue confess.

The Lamb is going to reign upon this earth. That is God’s intention and purpose.

As one of my greatest go to commentators Dr. J. Vernon McGee wrote; “Revelation is not a difficult book. Some try to make it symbolic and hard to understand, but it is actually the most orderly book in the Bible. John puts down the instructions given to him by Christ (1:19), then it divides itself in series of sevens. No other book in the Bible organizes itself like that.”

As John wrote in the opening: “Blessed are those who read and hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things written in it; for the time is at hand.”

As we go forward this year in this new series, know that God intends to bless you and that although we will not know the answers to all of our questions, God can certainly discern His intentions for our studies.  And as always do not take my word for anything, get into the Word for yourself and ask God to guide you along the way.  For corresponding notes and links in this podcast please visit my webpage at YOUministries.com.  This is Tammy Becker, May God bless you and see you next time, bye.