Introduction

I must admit from the outset that this study was given to me many years ago, but I can’t remember who originally put it together and wrote it. I found it very helpful and in many ways, the simplicity of the way the Book is approached made it so easy to understand. I’ve adapted it slightly, but the main thrust of the study is the same as when I received it.

The Book of Revelation was most likely written about A.D. 95-96 during the reign of the Roman Caesar Domitian, the Revelation was recorded by John, Revelation 1:1, while in exile, Revelation 1:9, to prepare the saints in Asia for the enormous persecutions they would soon have to face. It was written at a time when the faith of Christians was put to the ultimate test, as they were forced to deny their faith in the Lord and worship Caesar or face torture and death.

It informed them that although some would die physically, the cause for which they died would ultimately emerge victoriously, and the kingdom of God would indeed endure.

When it comes to the Book of Revelation, there’s no doubt that it’s probably one of the most spoken about, and in many people’s minds, one of the most intriguing books of the Bible and yet at the same time it’s one of the most misused and most abused books in the Scriptures.

Over the years many people have come to the Book of Revelation with ideas that God never intended for Revelation to convey and as a result of this, the book has become a launching pad for these types of ideas. Many people have used Revelation to ‘prove’ such things as past wars or future events, some say they have even found such things in Revelation as submarines and aircraft! But that isn’t what God intended the Book of Revelation to be about.

There’s also no doubt that the Book of Revelation has been abused over the years, in the sense that it has become a rich ground for many false prophecies. Sometimes those prophecies are things that people look back on in human history and say, ‘See, the Book of Revelation prophesied that!’

And of course, we get the other extreme where some claim that those prophecies are events that supposedly will occur in the future. For example, one advertisement suggested, ‘if you would like to find out about Armageddon, as well as Nostradamus and his prophecies concerning the years 2009-2012, look in the Book of Revelation.’

These types of things have nothing to do with the purpose for which the Book of Revelation was written in the first century, and they surely aren’t an application for us today either, but there are lessons to be learned. We must keep in mind that God gave the Book of Revelation to first-century Christians who were suffering greatly.

He intended it to be an encouragement to them so that they would ‘keep on keeping on’ and never give up. He wanted them to know
that if they would do that, then in the end they would be victorious.

Placing the Book of Revelation in its proper category within the New Testament helps us understand its purpose. For example, the books of Matthew through John were written to tell us about the life of Christ, Who He is, how He lived, and how He died for each one of us.

The Book of Acts tells us how to become a Christian. Once we learn about Jesus, Acts then tells us how to become a member of the body of Christ, a follower of Christ. Romans through Jude tell us how, on a daily basis, to live for Jesus, as well as what God expects of us once we have become Christians, members of the body of Christ.

Revelation, the grand ending to the New Testament, tells us how to die faithfully as children of God. Within it, we learn about Jesus, and we learn how to become a Christian. We learn how to live, and we learn how to die faithfully as a member of the Lord’s body.

Now please know it’s not my intention to go through the Book of Revelation verse by verse, but we will obviously go through some of the main texts and later we will go through chapter by chapter.

What I think would be useful is to:
1. Offer some main points that will help us go to the book and understand what some of the main images and ideas are.

2. Show you that the book is a very practical book, it doesn’t have to be a mystery.

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