Several weeks ago I wrote about my plan to read through Revelation in a year. Now about six weeks into it, I am behind by several days so I am doing two verses a day for a bit to catch up.
At the end of that post, I mentioned Revelation is not as hard and complicated as some people try to make it. Let me clarify why I say that.
First, God gave us this book to communicate what is going to happen. He wants us to be prepared mentally, emotionally and spiritually for these hard times ahead. He did not obfuscate the material because he wants it to be clear for those who will need it.
Second, with this in mind, I think it is important to read it as history that has simply not happened yet. It is not all symbolic. It is not all allegorical. The text itself explains the few symbols that do exist. Everything else is simple narrative.
The main theme of the book is Jesus return to rule the earth. Evil governments will resist and Jesus will destroy them. Believers will have sin and Jesus will purify and ready them to rule and reign with Him. It is easier to understand the terrible things that happen when viewed through the lens of destroying evil and purifying the Bride. Just as gold is refined by fire to remove impurities and reveal the pure metal, so too will humanity be put through hard times to reveal what is in individuals' hearts, whether evil or love.
Here is a brief outline for the book:[1]
- Chapter 1: John's calling
- Chapters 2-3: Letters to the seven churches
- Chapters 4-5: Jesus takes the scroll
- Chapters 6-22: Jesus battle plan
- Chapters 6-7: Seal judgments
- Chapters 8-11: Trumpet judgments
- Chapters 12-14: Second coming procession
- Chapters 15-18: Bowl judgments
- Chapters 19-22: Triumphal entry
Each of these last five sections follows a two-part pattern. There is description of significant events on earth. The narration is then paused and a parenthetical explanation is given. The storyline resumes, flowing into the next section.
I hope this road map helps put things in context as you read this wonderful book that is so essential to our spiritual growth.
Hi. I'm Harley and I have several interests, but the focus of this site mainly involves my thoughts on miscellaneous subjects such as religion, politics and anything else that catches my fancy. 
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are welcome but I do moderate them. This is simply to keep things wholesome for general family viewing. By default, comments will be accepted. The few things that will cause a comment to be rejected are:
1. It is too long even though it may be well-written and make interesting points. It's supposed to be a comment, not an essay. If you have that much to say, write a blog article and backlink to me.
2. It is nasty, impolite or uses language that is unacceptable.
3. It includes a a link that has a typo or is broken in some other way.
4. It should have been sent as an e-mail since it is clearly addressed to me and does not appear to have been intended for other readers.
5. It is blatantly self-promotional. This does not mean it can't be self-promotional at all, but it should add some value over and above the marketing.