Revelation

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Tim recently began preaching thru the book of Revelation on Sunday morning to the congregation here in Tennessee. As this is not a book of the Bible we get to very often with Child Evangelism Fellowship® it has been a growing experience for him. He has been doing a lot of reading in commentaries he has not opened since his Bible school days. One thing kept bothering him as he studied. Why would God give the book of Revelation, with its promise of blessing to those who read and obeyed it (Rev. 1:3 & 22:7) if they would not be around to see the events prophesied in it? He came up with 5 reasons that I trust will be an encouragement to you here:

1. Friendship: in John 15:15 Jesus tells His disciples that He no longer calls them servants but friends.  “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (New Kings James Version). Friends share things with each other that they do not share with strangers, simply for the fact of friendship.  Not only is Christ our King, Lord and Savior, but He also declares Himself to be brother and friend to those who have placed their trust in Him. As friends, we are privy to information and news that strangers are not.

• Faithfulness to Israel: God has promised to keep His promises to Israel, in Romans 11 He reminds us that in time He will keep His promise to save all of Israel. Romans 11:26 says, “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION< AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB” (NKJV). So, in Revelation we are given a peek into the future when God keeps this promise to Israel, demonstrating His faithfulness.

• Satan’s Deceptions:  2 Corinthians 2:11 reminds us, “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (NKJV). We should not be ignorant of Satan’s devices so that he cannot gain an advantage over us. How better to see the “tricks of his trade” than by studying the actions of Satan at the end of history, when he is at his most deceptive.

• Understanding: Then we read that this revelation was given to Jesus to show his servants. Revelation 1:1 says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John” (NKJV). In Revelation 22:6 we see this purpose of the book repeated. It states, “Then he (the angel) said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place” (NKJV). God wants His children to understand His plans, His purposes and His victory which has already been won, just not yet realized by us from our perspective in our experience.

• Hope: Prophecy gives us hope. This hope is not because we know the future, but rather we better see the faithfulness of our God on display. Our hope rests in Him, not in our circumstances.

I encourage you to get into the book of Revelation, remembering that God gave it to us for the express purpose that His children would read it, obey it and be blessed by it. It’s interesting, since Tim started this series, we have discovered other churches, including our home church in Moses Lake, are delving into this fascinating but often neglected book. With all that is going on in the world today, I believe it is more relevant and important to understand what is coming. Remember, “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22: 20-21, NKJV. So, dig in!

Blessings, Tim & Mari