ROCK SOLID REVELATIONS FROM REVELATION

I began teaching the Bible class at our church last November and the book of the Bible assigned to me was Revelation. My first reaction to the request was not one of thrill or even simple acquiescence; it was more like, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Why would I want to do that?”

Of all the books of the Bible, I am not sure that any have more differing opinions offered than Revelation and the various views of the last days that it brings forth. For instance, families, churches and friendships have been destroyed over the understanding of when the rapture might take place. 

The rapture! Now there’s a term that is not found in the Bible but still brings forth the very worst in conservative Christians. Liberal Christians don’t really care because most of them don’t think there’s life after death anyway.

I have come to the conclusion that the book of Revelation (and this is a deeply theological thought and will no doubt leave some of you breathless with wonderment) is like a series of snapshots.

 

All of the snapshots that the apostle John presents in Revelation are absolutely beautiful. They are filled with amazing imagery and detail but, as the outsiders, we are left with an intriguing problem of how all these seemingly unrelated pictures fit together.

I am a fan of police procedural crime drama shows on television. I love to watch the police pull together all the info on a crime, all the clues, all the evidence and then, step by step, hunt down the bad guy. On many of the shows they have some kind of wall or marker board. They begin the investigative process by putting all the available info up on the board and then they try and make it all fit together so they can solve the crime.

Well, the book of Revelation is similar to a series of random clues about end-time events. These are what I call the snapshots. How do they all fit together?

One thing we have to understand is that the Revelation snapshots do not flow in an orderly chronology. Some of the events pictured in Revelation took place before time began, others have happened since the death and resurrection of Christ, and some have not happened yet.

One of the words used in Revelation to describe some of these difficult-to-understand events is “mystery” (see Revelation 10:7). In Bible language this means “not obvious to the understanding, or partially hidden.” Why would God give us some clues but partially hide others? It is my opinion that He does so because He understands our human nature. He knows that if we were to have too much information about the timing of the last days, we would get lazy and puffed up with pride, so (again, in my estimation) He withholds some of the critical points to keep us slightly off balance, hungry to seek Him for answers and awake/alert to what is going on in the world.

When asked by the disciples about the end times, why did Jesus, more than once, respond by saying, “Stay alert, be on guard, be watchful”? He knows that if we get too much information we won’t be on guard as we should be (see Luke 21:34, 36; Mark 13:33, 35, 37 and Matthew 24:42, 44).

What are several of the irrefutable things I have learned from the Revelation?

1. For all who truly love the Lord, the book of Revelation is a book of triumph—great victory—for the followers of Christ. We watch as Satan and his army is defeated. We get a glimpse into heaven and into the throne room of our heavenly Father and we get just a brief glimpse into the new heaven, the new earth and the new Jerusalem. What amazing snapshots these are!
2. God is constantly showing His Father heart to His people. Everywhere we look we see God caring for His children, protecting them, providing for and guiding them.

One of the passages that powerfully spoke to me was Revelation 7:15-17. When John inquired of one of the elders about what he was seeing, the elder responded, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14, ESV). But it’s what the elder says next that impacted me so deeply. I absolutely became Pentecostal when I read, “He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence” (verse 15). This is the picture of a Father who is consumed with love and concern for His children.

3. No matter what happens, no matter when the rapture takes place, no matter if we go through some of the Tribulation or none of the Tribulation, we have the promise of Jesus that He will be there with us. “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He does not leave us by ourselves . . . He is always there with us!

And these are rock solid revelations!