Don't Be Afraid of Revelation

The last of the book of the Bible, Revelation, is one of the most studied and most ignored books in scripture. Some Christians are afraid to read it let alone study it. I must confess, I have been timid when diving into this book.

Why are some Christians afraid of Revelation? I do not a concrete answer on that but I do have some ideas. First, it can be confusing. We see a lot of imagery in Revelation that can get a little confusing if we are looking at it from a literal point of view. Second, bad teaching. Lets be honest, there is a lot of bad teaching from preachers/scholars who think they have mastered Revelation. Many have taken the images and apply it to modern images that we see today. Others may have said that God has given us a hidden code as to when Jesus will return. There is also the Left Behind series, which caused more confusion because they think the events in that series will happen exactly as written. Third, the news. People read or watch the news and they see similarities to the book of Revelation. We have let the news interpret scripture for us. Finally, it could be they do not want to think about the end. That's understandable and a normal feeling. Those who are young do not want to think about the end of time especially they are recently married. Most are getting their careers going and do not want to think about the end till they become success. Others just want to cross things off their bucket lists/

My hope for this post is not make anyone feel bad for ignoring Revelation, but it is my hope that you give God you fears as you engage in this wonderful book that gives a glimpse into the future and also heaven. We see Jesus is all His beauty and that all time is under His control. We see people from different tribes and tongues worshipping the Lord around the throne showing us heaven will be filled with people who are not like us, but are brothers and sisters because of Christ's finished work on the cross. Yes, we do see evil making one final stand against the Lord, but we see He wins in the end. Yes, we do see images from it that makes you want to scratch your head and ponder. Yes, there are many views on eschatology as to when Christ will return, but Revelation serves us as reminder and God's final authority that while things are bad, Jesus wins in the end.

We may not understand all the things in Revelation and may not hear a sermon series on it, but we do not have to be afraid of Revelation. It is God's Word for us in this world that seems to be falling apart everyday. What is happening in the world should not shock us, but it should reminds us of what Jesus said at the end of Revelation, "...behold, I am coming soon...'Surely I am coming soon'" (Revelation 22:7, 20) and we can say with the Apostle John, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20).