The Book of Revelation

by Pastor Richard Church

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, is perhaps one of the most popular portions of the Holy Scriptures. In many Christian book stores you will find more books about prophecy and the book of Revelation than about any other topic. Best-selling works of fiction, like the Left Behind series, have become popular even outside the Christian market.

But while the Revelation may be very popular, it is also probably the most misunderstood portion of God's word. Some believe that the seven churches in Chapters 1-3 are literal churches, while others think that they describe seven ages of church history? Some claim that it describes historical events that have already come to pass, others believe that it describes future events (the most popular view), yet still others think it is merely an allegory for the battle between good and evil. Some believe that the thousand years described in Rev 20:2-7 are a literal Millennium, while others believe they are only figurative.

How do we resolve these various opinions and get at the real truth of God's word? The first time I really sat down and did an in-depth study of the book of Revelation, I was surprised at how little "new" information it actually contained. The apostle John, writer of the Revelation, gives us a few new details and helps us to see the order of events, but most of the prophecy is merely a restatement of things foretold hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament.

This is the only way to understand the book of Revelation: to understand that John's prophecy is a continuation of the writings of Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Hosea, etc. Now when was the last time you saw a best-selling book about Zechariah?