Gazing at the book of Revelation

My mind, like I suspect many of yours, has been in a battle between spirit and human nature.  It’s between our desire for heaven and the pull of planet earth—or the things of God and the whirl of worldly activities, fascinations, and temptations. But in those worldly fascinations and temptations we will never find the understanding of the Word of God that we yearn for.

You see, in seeking to understand the end-times, and the book of Revelation, we must decide up front, from the beginning, to keep our eyes on what the book is actually about, or we will get caught in the timelines, judgments, the beast, his mark—and miss what the book is really trying to teach us.

So…what is it trying to teach us?

We find out the key character in the very first sentence of the first chapter of Revelation itself:

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. Revelation 1:1

This is a book that is like no other in the Bible. It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This is the key to understanding the book of Revelation: it is foremost about Jesus and His eternal plan that He is making known to His servants, the Church, also known as His bride.

We will cover all of Chapter 1 in several future articles and videos, but for right now, it is vital for students of the end-times and the book of Revelation to know Who the hero and driving force of the book is.  He is Jesus Christ, our Messiah.

OK, so then what?

Stay with me, because I want to jump to the end of the book now.

Ephesians 1:18 asks us to find out what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints or what is the glorious riches we have in the saints.  Paul is asking us to pray so that we can discover these riches and know them. Why? So that we can be rooted in our true identity from heaven’s point of view. 

Paul describes who we are in Christ and the blessings we have now. Those blessings are revealed fully line upon line in the books of Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, etc.  But the book of Revelation gives stunning detail to where we are going to live forever and with Whom.

There’s a second character in the story unfolding in the book of Revelation?

The second character in the story of Revelation is Jesus’ Church, His Bride. That is you and me. Jesus prepares a glorious city for us that is mind-blowing in both dimension and beauty. Of course, we must look at the middle of the story, and we will, in the future, but here is a good place to begin to feast on what we will share with Jesus after the smoke clears.

There is so much more than meets the eye!

Most people cling to the earth and the victory down here as though this was God’s eternal plan.  We must understand that this life is only a short trial or probation. 

Both 1 Peter and the book of Hebrews describes our life here as though we are strangers and aliens. This is not our home. We are only passing through. James tells us that we are but a vapor, or a mist that appears and then vanishes. We must begin to be freed from the traps of worldly success, pleasure, prosperity, and comfort that would deceive us into thinking we are really living the ‘blessed life’ now. 

And there is so much more coming….

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:2-4

Those who think that God’s word is speaking symbolically in this passage need to walk through the next twenty-three verses that describe the exact dimensions of this holy city of God and the materials used to build it. The finest structures on earth could not stand in the shadow of this marvelous city. Man-made beauty is limited by the fact it is man-made. God Himself is building a city made of the rarest materials that may be gathered. 

Next, in chapter 22, as if we have not already noticed, our true reward will be with us forever: we will see Him, and like the millions of angels and strange creatures that see God now, we will live forever exhilarated and filled with eternal joy. Personally, for me at sixty-seven years old, with many aches and pains, I am looking for my new body. A body that can fully carry the fullness of God and do endless handsprings, leaping higher than any world class athlete. How about being able to laugh endlessly as I fall before the throne of God again and again?

There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bondservants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:3-5 [emphasis added]

The knowledge of this truth is how we will be able to endure with patience

The only way that we will be able to make it through the incredible trouble that is coming before Christ’s return is to know Him deeply and to have our lives wrapped up in His purposes. We must live our lives free from offense, especially during the waves of accusations that will be bombarding us that will say, “If God were really good, would He allow...?”

People perish for lack of knowledge (vision)

If you take away nothing else from this brief article, take away this: our problem will not be inflation, the left or the right, or crooked politicians. God’s people will perish from a lack of understanding who He really is, what He has really said, and what He is about to do. The book of Revelation in the Scriptures is the revelation of Jesus Christ—Who He really is, what He has really said, and what He is about to do that concerns His beloved Bride, the Church.

May you find understanding as you set your gaze upon the beauties and mysteries in the book of Revelation!