Mon.’s Devo - Revelation

Read Revelation 1:1-3 I don’t know any more daunting a book as Revelation. I read it every year but avoid teaching it like the plague. For one thing, I don’t understand it completely or even remotely, but I know there is a blessing to those who read it. Let’s just rely on the Holy Spirit to teach us something we don’t already know and be content knowing that God will open up this book when he is ready. Revelation is the consummation of all previous prophecy. Daniel prophesied the coming of Christ, the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, and the last Antichrist. But John's Revelation fills up the period in between, and describes the millennium and the period beyond Antichrist. Daniel views the history of God's people divided into four world kingdoms. John, as an apostle, views history from the aspect of the Christian Church. Daniel was told to seal and shut up till the time of the end, and now John, (Re 1: 3), is directed to take away the seal and invites us to look. Jesus Christ, not John the writer, is the Author of the Apocalypse. Christ taught many things before he left but it was not time to tell about the end times in detail. Joh 15: 15, "All things that I have heard of My Father, I have made known unto you"; also, Joh 16: 13, "The Spirit of truth will show you things to come." Revelation is the book of His second coming. Revelation was penned by John, Jesus’ closest disciple, at a time when the Christians were being severely persecuted by Nero. A great fire had nearly destroyed Rome in A.D. 64. This persecution continued until Nero’s suicide in A.D. 68 and got even worse after his death. It was during this time that John had fled to Ephesus. The first thing that leaps out at me is the fact that God gave this revelation to Jesus and Jesus gave it to his servants on earth via angels. I don’t understand the trinity and it’s verses like this that confuse me even more. Then, he says that these things are going to take place soon. “Shortly come to pass” in Biblical terms means “forever” in human terms. Apparently this was a vision, not just a foretelling of things to come because John said he saw them. He blesses anyone who reads it or hears it read or takes it to heart, because it is going to happen. Actually that word “blessed” means “supremely blest, well off, and fortunate”. It’s like this blessing is coming from God himself and is better than other blessings. So, whether we figure it out, we are going to be blessed just for reading it and taking it serious. I’ll take that! Lord, open our eyes to your revelation as we study this book.