98 Revelation

- Book of Revelation the last book in the bible.

I told mom I was writing to you about the last book in the bible. Revelations she told me to tell you about the ending and the good times to come. About Jesus coming back for 1000 years and then God transforming the earth - no sea, no night, no sin, no pain, blossoming deserts, all bad thoughts while we are here, are gone, we will never grow old or tired, etc, The New Jerusalem city coming down to earth and us knowing every one when we get there. She said.. if and when you read it you will find out all the bad stuff in time. To me that is not telling the truth.. So I'm going to again.. briefly tell you so it might peak your interest for you to dig deeper someday.

Understand the Use of Symbolism

Dreams and visions communicate with pictures rather than words. So, objects, animals and even people can be symbolic of something else. We see this in some of our most famous bible stories, like in Joseph’s case where sheaves of wheat represent his family, and a herd of skinny cows symbolized a famine. Or for Ezekiel, where a graveyard of bleached bones referred to the death of his nations’ hopes. You need to interpret the symbolism in order to understand the message.

When we apply this understanding to the symbols of Revelation, the message becomes clearer. We see that the lamp stands of chapter 1 represent God’s church, the blood-stained lamb is symbolic of Jesus and the dragon of represents satan. The seals, trumpets and bowls signify judgement. The wedding supper of the lamb marks God’s reunion with his people. Even numbers are symbolic with plenty of sevens representing perfection, in contrast to six, the number of man. Some symbols we may miss because we don’t know the Greco-Roman culture so well, but a little investigation helps us, for example, with the beast with seven heads well-known in that day as a clear allusion to the Roman empire.

Consider the Context of Revelation

It’s impossible to understand the general meaning and purpose of Revelation’s message without considering the time and setting in which it was given. The Apostle John’s prophetic message was delivered to seven churches in Asia Minor. While each church had its specific challenges, the most worrying threat was growing persecution from the Roman Empire. The new Christ-followers were under pressure to bow to the emperor-cult and to engage in idolatrous and immoral practices. Some had already lost their lives for their faith.

It’s in this light that readers first understood the words of John’s revelation. They were in the midst of a great spiritual battle as the kingdom of God faced off with the kingdom of the world. It was God’s way versus man’s; the self-sacrificial manner of the lamb versus the violent and oppressive ways of the beast. The Spirit was calling them to overcome evil by following the way of the lamb and using his weapons – the sword of God’s word, prayers that filled bowls like incense and the power of their testimony. In the end it is the lamb who would triumph over the beast!

Whatever your theological position of the future, the message of Revelation is a powerful encouragement today as it was to those in the First century. Like the early church, the Spirit exhorts us to follow the Lamb. Whatever hardships we face, we are called to endure faithfully without resorting to the ways of the enemy, because in the end justice will be done, we will be reunited with Christ, and we will enjoy his presence on a glorious new earth.


God spoke once for all, and His Word has been preserved through the ages, people have been passing the word on for over 2000 years.. that should tell you something right there.. it’s the truth.. if not it would be long gone by now and people wouldn’t be talking about God anymore.
Revelation is the last book in the Bible. It includes many ideas that we can find in other books in the Bible. It tells us about all the future events from John’s time, until now, and until the end of this world. Revelation tells us that all Christians will have troubles during their lives on earth. So they will need to be patient and strong. We think that John wrote this book down about AD 95. That was more than 60 years after Jesus Christ lived on this earth.