Why study revelations

This is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. In the Revelation the Lamb is the center around which all else is clustered, the foundation upon which everything lasting is built, the nail on which all hangs, the object to which all points, and the spring from which all blessing proceeds. The Lamb is the light, the glory, the life, the Lord of heaven and earth, from whose face all defilement must flee away, and in whose presence fullness of joy is known. Hence we cannot go far in the study of the Revelation without seeing the Lamb.

Like direction posts along the road to remind us that He, who did by Himself purge our sins, is now highly exalted and that to Him every knee must bow and every tongue confess. To that grand statement I say hallelujah! For the Lamb is going to reign upon this earth. As I have said, the Book of Revelation is not really a difficult book. It divides itself very easily.

John does it all for us according to the instructions given to him. I was dead. I am alive for evermore. And I have the keys of hell [the grave] and of death. In fact, there is nothing quite like it. We are going to see that the living Christ is very busy doing things today.

Do you realize that He is the Head of the church? Do you know the reason the contemporary church is in such a mess? The reason is that the church is like a body that has been decapitated. It is no longer in touch with the Head of the church. After what things? After the church things. So in chapters 4—22 he is dealing with things that are going to take place after the church leaves the earth.

The fallacy of the hour is reaching into this third section and trying to pull those events up to the present. This gives rise to the wild and weird interpretations we hear in our day. He gives us the past, present, and future of the Book of Revelation.

As you will see by the outline that follows, I have used the divisions which John has given to us:. The Possession of Jesus Christ—the church in the world is His, chapters 2—3. The Program of Jesus Christ—as seen in heaven, chapters 4— The last section deals with the consummation of all things on this earth. This is what makes Revelation such a glorious and wonderful book. In the first division of the Book of Revelation we will see the person of Christ in His position and glory as the Great High Priest who is in charge of His church.

We will see that He is in absolute control. In the Gospels we find Him to be meek, lowly, and humble. He made Himself subject to His enemies on earth and died upon a cross!

We find a completely different picture of Him in the Book of the Revelation. Here He is in absolute control. Although He is still the Lamb of God, it is His wrath that is revealed, the wrath of the Lamb, and it terrifies the earth.

When He speaks in wrath, His judgment begins upon the earth. The person of Jesus Christ is the theme of this book. When the scene moves to heaven, we see Him there, too, controlling everything.

Not only in Revelation but in the entire Bible Jesus Christ is the major theme. The Scriptures are both theocentric and Christocentric, God—centered and Christ—centered. This needs to be kept in mind in a special way as we study the Book of Revelation—even more than in the Gospels.

The Bible as a whole tells us what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. The Book of Revelation emphasizes both what He is doing and what He will do. The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, closes with the mention of the Son of Righteousness which is yet to rise. It holds out a hope for a cursed earth, and that hope is the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Book of Revelation closes with the Bright and Morning Star, which is a figure of Christ at His coming to take the church out of the world. And the Book of Revelation will complete the revelation of Christ. Notice also that there is a tie between Genesis and Revelation, the first and last books of the Bible.

Genesis presents the beginning, and Revelation presents the end. Note the contrasts between the two books:. In Genesis the earth was created; in Revelation the earth passes away. In Genesis the sun was to govern the day; in Revelation there is no need of the sun. In Genesis the waters were called seas; in Revelation there is no more sea.

In Genesis was the entrance of sin; in Revelation is the exodus of sin. In Genesis the curse was pronounced; in Revelation the curse is removed. In Genesis was the beginning of sorrow and suffering; in Revelation there will be no more sorrow and no more tears. And the Bible closes with another global and universal book. The Revelation shows what God is going to do with His universe and with His creatures. There is no other book quite like this.

McGee, J. Thru the Bible Commentary, Vol. Reach out to Him. He'll be there and He'll see you through. He will help you grin as you rest in Him. He will help you speak when you're feeling weak. He will strengthen you when there's work to do.

He will cast out fear as you persevere. He will direct your day as you continue to pray. Reflect on the battle that was won. You're dead to sin, alive to win. Let's claim the victory. Christ Jesus set us free to proclaim His wondrous story And give Him all the glory. Down the vale a stream flows south to join the Lycus near whose left bank Thyatira was situated , one of the chief tributaries of the Hermus, while its northern end is divided by only a ridge of small elevation from the Caicos Valley.

The valleys of the two rivers, Hermus and Caicos, stretch east and west, opening down from the edge of the great central plateau of Anatolia towards the Aegean Sea.

Nature has marked out this road, a very easy path, for the tide of communication which in all civilized times must have been large between the one valley and the other. The railway traverses its whole length now: in ancient times one of the chief routes of Asia Minor traversed it.

The implication, however, is that such is a possibility. On the basis of this some have considered the book of life not as the roll of those who are saved but rather a list of those for whom Christ died, that is, all humanity who have possessed physical life. As they come to maturity and are faced with the responsibility of accepting or rejecting Christ, their names are blotted out if they fail to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour; whereas those who do accept Christ as Saviour are confirmed in their position in the book of life, and their names are confessed before the Father and the heavenly angels.

John Walvoord. By contrast, those sealed out of the twelve tribes of Israel in clearly go through the time of trouble. This implies the rapture of the church before the time of trouble referred to as the great tribulation. Such a promise of deliverance to them would seemingly have been impossible if the rapture of the church were delayed until the end of the tribulation prior to the second coming of Christ and the establishment of the kingdom.

Mass evangelistic meetings attended by tens of thousands, use of other mass media such as radio, literature, increasing constantly. Vernon McGee. Dear Jane: I am writing to help you shake this feeling of uselessness that has overtaken you.

Several times you've said that you don't see how Christ can possibly use you. The church must bear part of the responsibility for making you feel as you do.

I have in mind the success-story mentality of the church. Our church periodicals tell the story of John J. Moneybags who uses his influential position to witness for Christ. At the church youth banquet, we have a testimony from All-American football star, Ox Kickoffsky, who commands the respect of his teammates when he witnesses for Christ.

We are led to think that if you don't have the leverage of stardom or a big position in the business world, you might as well keep your mouth shut. Nobody cares what Christ has done for you. We've forgotten an elementary fact about Christian witness, something that should encourage you: God has chosen what the world calls foolish to shame the wise. He has chosen what the world calls weak to shame the strong.

He has chosen things of little strength and of small repute, yes, and even things which have no real existence to explode the pretensions of the things that are, that no man may boast in the presence of God. He chose simple people like you. Some were fishermen, one was a political extremist, another was a publican, a nobody in that society. But these men turned the Roman world upside down for Christ. How did they do it? Through their popularity?

They had none. Their position? Their power was the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit. Jane, don't forget that we still need the ordinary in the hands of Christ to turn the world upside down. Ye call Me Light and see Me not. Ye call Me Way and walk Me not. Ye call Me Life and choose Me not. Ye call Me Wise and follow Me not. Ye call Me Fair and love Me not. Ye call Me Rich and ask me not. If you'd like more information or want to experience our conference in person, the website here.

What's Your First Domino? Church Leaders and Golden Main Stage Breakout — A Life Main Stage Breakout — The Christians in the Age of Integrated, Yet Still As followers of Christ, we are marked by whose we are—and we are His.

A weak gospel foundation leads to very fragile mission practices. We must have a solid biblical foundation and a true understanding of the mission He has placed us on if we are to boldly live for Him and impact the world for His Kingdom. Experience our full lineup of speakers, who will challenge you to grow in your relationship with God, to lead your team well, and to reach the world. If you'd like more information or want to experience our conference in person, visit the website here.

The Driving Force of Your Our Role in the Mission of God D. Are We Clear Enough for a Third Speaking the Truth in Love in This series through 1 and 2 Corinthians shows us how the cross should affect everything about the Christian life. Paul addresses everything from suffering to sexual immorality to marriage to leadership to spiritual gifts to the resurrection, and a number of topics in between. Because the Corinthians were being lured by the wisdom of the world, Paul had to remind them that there is no room for pride or divisiveness for those who belong to a crucified Savior.

We continue to need this cross-shaped message in our own day. The Cross and Christian The Cross and the Christian's The Cross and the Christian The Cross and Christian Gifts What should the church, the family of faith, be about? David Platt and the pastors at The Church at Brook Hills walk the church through the following purpose statement: We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. This four-part series breaks down each aspect of that purpose statement, and as we'll see, every member of the church was meant to be a disciple-maker.

Payne, and Jonathan B. As followers of Christ, we are recipients of a new covenant. He has bought us with His blood and sealed our salvation for all of eternity. As a result of each of us being in Christ, we are also members of a new community. In a very real sense, we belong to each other. The covenant that unites us to God also unites us to one another. This separates the church—the body of Christ—from any other institution, organization, club, or relationship that we might have.

We literally have an eternal bond with one another. In God's covenant with us, He has designed a covenant community that will display His character to a watching world.

The Importance Of Covenant in Baptism: Identification With David Platt 1 HR 5. The Lord's Supper: Celebration David Platt 1 HR 6. The IMPACT sermon series reveals the biblical basis for commitment to membership in the local church and the missional purpose for that membership.

A personal commitment to the local body of believers, the church is consistently revealed throughout the New Testament. Defining the Church as the people for whom Christ died and the people that are created by the salvation which Christ brings, Dr. Platt explores the scriptural picture of the local church. In his teaching he emphasizes the importance of a personal membership commitment in the local church and the biblical directive for the local body of believers to worship biblically, make disciples and have a global impact by sharing the gospel message.

The Gospel and Church From beginning to end, from creation to new creation, the Bible is telling God's story of redemption. This year-long series takes us from Genesis to Revelation in order to help us see that all of Scripture points to Jesus Christ as the climax of God's saving purposes for all nations. Chapter 3: Holy, Hurting, Chapter 7: The Wonder of Chapter 9: Love God, Love Chapter Courage that Chapter Depravity and This is not a case where a person proposes to take a particular action and the Spirit either confirms or restrains.

This is a case where revelation comes when it is not being sought and impels some action not proposed. This type of revelation is obviously less common than other types, but its rarity makes it all the more significant. Except for this type of impelling revelation, my grandmother and the children she was tending would have been lost in the river.

Before concluding, I will suggest a few ideas about revelations that are not received. When one person purports to receive revelation for another person outside his or her own area of responsibility—such as a Church member who claims to have revelation to guide the entire Church or a person who claims to have a revelation to guide another person over whom he or she has no presiding authority according to the order of the Church—you can be sure that such revelations are not from the Lord.

We do not always receive inspiration or revelation when we request it. Sometimes we are delayed in the receipt of revelation, and sometimes we are left to our own judgment. We cannot force spiritual things. It must be so. We must make decisions and experience the consequences in order to develop self-reliance and faith.

Even in decisions we think very important, we sometimes receive no answer to our prayers. This does not mean that our prayers have not been heard. It means only that we have prayed about a decision that, for one reason or another, we should make without guidance by revelation.

Perhaps we have asked for guidance in choosing between alternatives that are equally acceptable or equally unacceptable. Similarly, the Spirit of the Lord is not likely to give us revelations on matters that are trivial. If a matter appears of little or no consequence, we should proceed on the basis of our own judgment. If the choice is important for reasons unknown to us, the Lord will intervene and give us guidance.

Because we are all too easily duped, we desperately need the renewed vision Revelation offers. Not only does Revelation show us that apparent victory i.

Instead, it will seem more like defeat compare Rev. The expected Lion of Judah appears as a slain lamb Rev.

Faithfulness unto death leads to eternal life. Because we often suffer and struggle and doubt, we desperately need the understanding of true victory that Revelation offers. In the end, Christ will come not as a suffering servant but as a triumphant king, defeating his enemies and vindicating his people Rev.

Because our gaze is often locked on the here and now, we desperately need the compelling vision of our final future that Revelation offers. Revelation will not let us forget it.

For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Why study the Book of Revelation? Stephen and his wife, Emma, have three young children.