The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope. In other words, it is the way you interpret scripture. Revelation 2020 verse by verse ministry international. There is not just one place in the book of revelation to accurately pinpoint exactly where we are. Here is what we know about the book and the reactions to its reported content. The author of revelation mentioned his name, john, four times throughout the book revelation 1. Is coronavirus one of the plagues in the book of revelation.
Revelation is a book written to reveal the future, and jesus christ is the one who does the revealing. A simple outline for the book of revelation is found in revelation 1. This article will conclude our series titled who wrote the new testament. The most mysterious, controversial and disturbing of all of the books of the new testament portion of the christian bible is the book of revelation. Book of revelation for dummies cheat sheet dummies. The book of revelation the revelation on jesus the book of revelation the only new testament prophetical book is the revealing of the complete identity of jesus christ. The book depicts him as the risen, glorified son of god ministering among the churches 1. Revelation was written to provide comfort and encouragement to those first century christians who were being persecuted and killed by the roman empire. The book of revelation is johns record of that vision revelation 1. In the same way that we must read a novel cover to cover before understanding it properly, so must bible students have an understanding of the bibles first 65 books before they can truly understand its final book. To understand the book of revelation, we need the same things that help us to understand the rest of the bible, including wisdom from god and assistance from those who. Revelation definition of revelation by merriamwebster. How can we hope to understand this beautiful book if we ignore those clearly stated time frames for its fulfillment. Revelation is first and foremost a revelation about jesus christ 1.
I even want to suggest that the book of revelation is one of the most important books in our bibles. Revelation is apocalyptic, a kind of writing that is highly symbolic. Revelations mark of the beast exposed 22 revelations ancient discoveries duration. The book of revelation starts with this is a revelation from jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. The first verse of this book announces that it is the revelation of jesus christ, which god gave him revelation 1. How will we know when the book of revelation is here. Although its visions often seem bizarre to the western reader, fortunately the book provides a number of clues for its own interpretation e. The lord jesus christ began opening the seals shortly after he went into heaven to sit with his father on the throne. And, as we venture further into the storyline of the book of revelation, we will learn that it is because the very means through the nations are redeemed is. Christ tells john to write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
The book of revelation is addressed to believers, his servants, of the churches in seven cities of the roman province of asia. But, who was it that penned the word of revelation. Book of revelation explained scripture by scripture. Likewise, we could see revelation as the final chapter in gods 66chapter novel called the bible. The revelation of jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servantsthings which must shortly take place behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him. She says we are to look behind the symbols rather than make a fetish out of them. It starts out simply enough, it is a revelation in greek, apocalypse from jesus christ, it is a prophecy, and it comes as a letter to seven churches. Most of these revelationfocused prophesiers dont see coronavirus as heralding the second.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. The book of revelation is the final book of the new testament. Keys to understanding revelation united church of god. We dont know why john was exiled to patmos, but it may have been for refusing to worship the roman emperor domitian, who had declared himself a god. In addition, the following articles may offer more encouragement for all to remember as we face the trials of covid19 together. In the first chapter, the risen and exalted christ is speaking to john. And then there are those who think that the events of the book happen throughout church history. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant john. The apostle john wrote the book of revelation around the year ad 95 from his exile on the island of patmos. Hitchcock said we are not in the end times yet, since the. Satan is described in the revelation as a great red dragon who is enraged at israel and christians. What bolton says citing multiple people who had seen the unpublished manuscript, the new york times reported that. End time notes of reference as to where we are now in the book of revelation. However literal the prophecies may or may not be, the point is clear.
We shall here profile some other ways that the book has been read by those who want to apply it to their own times. The revelator said, there was war in heaven rev 12. If we did not realize already that it takes a lifetime to understand the bible and thats a good thing, the point is driven home when we get to the last book in the biblerevelation. We will look at one chapter of the bible to see how that chapter alone unseals. Revelation 1 new international version niv prologue. Many verses in revelation apply to life today, whether we are living in the midst of one of the. The following historical events were significant to john the apostle and his audience. Are the seven seals of the book of revelation unfolding. A time of tribulation and ultimately the end of the world. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online. A picture book the importance of symbolism in revelation. The book of revelation has been known for centuries as a prophecy of jesus return to earth. Christians throughout history have given almost unanimous affirmation to the identity of the books author as john the apostle, who had been exiled to the island of patmos by the authorities for preaching the gospel in asia.
Many christian evangelists and conspiracy theorists believe these events are already. The book of revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the. Jesus himself said, now learn this parable from the. We may never have thought of it in this way, but the book of revelation is a picture bookone that uses signs and symbols to communicate the message of the end times. Revelation 1 niv prologue the revelation from jesus. Were like moths to the flame of its values, lifestyles, entertainments, humor, and fashions. This is not the end of the world, say those who study christian. In addition, the majority of the endtime puzzle pieces are appearing and its just a matter of. So, the divine author of revelation is jesus christ and the human author is the apostle john. For an adequate understanding of revelation, the reader must recognize that it is a distinct kind of literature.
He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, 2 who testifies to everything he sawthat is, the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ. The book of revelation speaks about seven seals that represent different eras in church history. In addition, the majority of the endtime puzzle pieces are appearing and its just a matter of time before they are all present and align. John was a christian leader of jewish origin who was in exile on the roman prison island of patmos. It can conquer us either through scorn or seduction. The book of revelation is the final book of the bible in which john the apostle outlined his visions of the end times. That may be the default way that we often think about the book of revelation. The book of revelation was written by john of patmos, and its not about the end of the world at all. The key to bible interpretation, especially for the book of revelation, is to have a consistent hermeneutic. And that same message is still relevant for us now. The scripture reveals many terrible events that will supposedly precede the second coming of christ, including plagues, earthquakes and locust swarms. The end time in the book of revelation united church of god. And that is one very good reason to study the book of revelation because it shows us that this situation is.
I would say thats where we are in the book of revelation today. In each case, the difference is how the historical content of revelation is. While most christians are led to believe that all books of the bible were compiled by some sort of divine mandate, the book of revelation was not an inevitable addition to the canon. Chapter 8 i dont know if you want to believe that or not, and probably weve moved on from there since then. The things john had already seen are recorded in chapter 1. Book of revelation overview insight for living ministries. As the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth 1. Hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation. Christ has loosed those sealsbut he didnt do so in the book of revelation itself.
Those churches were in ephesus, smyrna, pergamum, thyatira, sardis, philadephia, and laodicea. John, who wrote the bibles book of revelation, was the longest living apostle. We hope it can direct you toward scriptural truths about plagues and a study of the book of revelation. However, below are a few things that have occurred. First, we canand shouldhave a good, general idea of where we are in the order of prophesied events. The book of revelation often called the revelation to john, apocalypse of john, the revelation from jesus christ from its opening words, the apocalypse, the revelation, or simply revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the final book of the christian bible. A few years ago, during an apparition somewhere in europe, someone asked the blessed virgin where abouts we are in the book of revelation, and she said simply. While revelation holds mysterious and frightening images of the endtimes, the book of revelation was written to be an encouragement to christians of all times. The first seal represents the early church and the seventh seal points to. This is it, said jeff kinley, a writer of books on biblical prophecy who lives in harrison, ark. The second category would be those who think that the book is speaking prophetically about events that will happen in the future when jesus returns. This spiritual war is seen in the persecution of gods people.