Where to Find Hope in the Book of Revelation
We live in a crazy time! Pandemics, riots, racism, the #Metoo movement, political chaos. We’ve had a little bit of everything.
Many of our pastors, teachers and prophets are pointing to the end times, and especially the Book of Revelation, claiming that this is what the Bible prophesied all along. But is that God’s intention? Is He the God of chaos and confusion?
I would like to suggest that the Book of Revelation was written to Christians just like us. They too were living in chaotic times. They were suffering persecution from both the Jews and the Greeks. The religious leaders from their past (the Jews) had teamed up with the all-powerful Roman government, and placed a bullseye on the backs of these young believers. Their world was literally turning upside down. Many were questioning God: Where is He? Does He care about us? Does He have a plan? Will things just keep getting worse and worse?
To these confused and tired believers Jesus sent a message of hope through the Apostle John. We call it the Book of Revelation. It has always been, and will always be a book of hope for every Christian.
The first and most important message from the Book of Revelation is that Jesus is Lord, and He reigns over the Kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5).
Throughout Revelation we see Jesus as the One who is worthy to open the scroll and break the seals (Rev. 5:5). He is the One who rules forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). By His authority the enemy has been defeated and cast out (Rev. 12:10-12). He is the One who defeats all of our enemies and reigns supreme (Rev. 19:11-21).
Too many people think that the victory of Jesus is in our future, but Jesus’ victory took place at the cross! When He ascended from the Mount of Olives to heaven, he sat down in His rightful place as the ruler of all creation. Yes, there is still evil in the world, but that doesn’t mean that Jesus isn’t reigning. The Apostle Paul taught the exact same thing when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:25, “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” (NIV)
No matter what happens in our crazy world, we must never lose sight of the fact that Jesus is Lord and He reigns over all. He always watches over His people. So, place your trust in Him, not in politicians, governments, the news or the media.
The second message of Revelation is that we reign with Jesus!
For many people this is a difficult truth to believe, but it’s true. Rev. 1:6 says that we are a kingdom and priests. Rev. 4:4 depicts the 24 elders surrounding the throne. (Elders in Scripture are always people, so here, they represent the church in heaven.) In Rev. 5:10 it says that we reign on the earth. And in Rev. 7:9-10 we see a picture of representatives of all of the church standing before the throne of God. Again, Paul taught the exact same thing in Eph. 2:6, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (NIV) John is simply communicating the same truths as Paul, but in a different style.
The final message from Revelation that I’d like to share is this: Something is about to happen!
You simply cannot read Rev. 1:1-3 without recognizing that John predicted something was about to happen. At least 10 times the Book of Revelation states that something must “soon” happen or the time is “near.” (Rev. 1:1, 1:3, 1:7, 2:16, 3:11, 22:6, 22:7, 22:10, 22:12, 22:20). Three different Greek words are used to express the same idea: Something is about to happen. The example in Rev. 22:10 is particularly interesting. John is told not to “seal up” the words of the prophecy. That’s an odd expression for us, but it goes back to the prophecies of Daniel. He was told in Dan. 8:26 (and 12:9) to “seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.” Biblically, something “sealed up” is reserved for the distant future, but something unsealed is for the near future. Revelation was written for the people of the First Century because something significant was about to happen in their day.
I would like to suggest that these three points relate directly to us today. No matter what happens in our crazy world, we must never lose sight of the fact that Jesus is Lord and He reigns over all. He always watches over His people. So, place your trust in Him, not in politicians, governments, the news or the media.
Second, because of the work of Jesus, we are seated next to Him in the Heavenly realms. We have access to Heaven. So, worship, pray and seek our heavenly Father about the things that concern you. He is a good Father who longs to give good gifts to His children (Lk. 11:11-13).
Finally, I’m no prophet, but I do believe that something is about to happen. Keep your eyes open. The Lord is up to something. Our job is to pray and watch so that we can catch what He is doing and join Him. Be filled with hope. God is one the move! As someone once said, Every thought that’s not filled with hope is fueled by a lie.
Jeremiah 29:11 “’ For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
