Thoughts on Revelation

I finished reading the entire Bible the other day. (I don’t mean that it’s a book to ‘finish’, it’s one to be studied.) But when I told my daughter I finished Revelation and therefore the entire thing, she asked me the same question she asked me the first time I ‘finished’ it. “What was your main takeaway?” The first time, here’s what I noticed: the exodus of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land was A BIG DEAL. So big that it should affect my life too: It made me even more in awe of God, His power, His sovereignty, His mercy, His goodness, His love. But this time, when she asked me what my ‘big takeaways’ were, I had some thoughts on the book of Revelation, and as I read it, I kept thinking about Jesus’ relationship with John, his disciple.

When you read the book of John, John keeps referring to himself as ‘the disciple Jesus loved’. We tend to take that as maybe saying that John was Jesus’ favorite. But what if it was more like this: Jesus loved John, and John knew it. He believed it, he was certain of his relationship with Jesus. That is something that is available to all believers. We can KNOW that we are loved and treasured by God. John knew it, and everything else flowed out of that love.

So, after Jesus died and rose again, appeared to many and then went to heaven, John was exiled to the island of Patmos for his testimony about Jesus and for preaching the word of God. Suddenly, he had a revelation, and it was terrifying to him. He saw the Son of Man, but He didn’t look the same as He did when He walked on earth. He was awe-inspiring, beyond description, with a voice that thundered like mighty ocean waves. John was terrified, but Jesus put His right hand on him and said: ‘don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the living One. I died but look – I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.’ (Rev 1:17,18). He starts the revelation by reminding John of who He is, and that He is the same as the One who loved him back when He was on earth. And He ENDS the revelation the same way as He started it: remember who I am: you KNOW Me! “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.’ (Rev 22:16) John Himself wrote that Jesus was the light of the world in John 1:8. These words would have brought comfort.

So, if we keep in the back of our mind that Jesus is giving this revelation to a disciple that knew he was loved, I saw this whole book as a book written out of love. It’s a message of hope, and a message of warning. Who among us doesn’t warn those we love not to do things that will hurt them? What if we had a paradigm shift and saw love coming out of this book?

I’m just going to write about 3 things that jumped out to me from the last fewchapters of Revelation:

TRUST. You’re probably wondering where I came up with that, but I noticed that trust in God (or lack of it) is a big theme of the Bible. We are told repeatedly in the Bible not to be afraid, but to take our fears to God. Fear is a natural emotion, but uncontrolled fear turns us into cowards. And do you know who won’t be found in the kingdom of heaven? ‘But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars-their fate is the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.’ (Revelation 21:8).

A coward is too afraid to do what is right, difficult, or dangerous. Fear is natural, but God always wants us to bring our fears to Him. As King David said, ‘When I am afraid, I will trust in You.’ (Psalm 56:3) Instead of being cowards, we are made to be conquerors. And how do we do that? ‘We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.’ (Revelation 12:11) If you have a story of how God saved you, and what He saved you from, you will get stronger each time you share that story. My husband and I have a story of how God saved us both and saved our marriage. He often says, ‘the day I stop sharing my story I’m probably going to die.’ We laugh, but it’s true and he shares his story often.

LYING. This is another theme in Revelation and throughout the Bible. A lie is a false statement made with the intent of deceiving someone. Today I think we call it ‘gaslighting’. When you ask a child: ‘Did you do that?’ and they say: “No.’ But we both know they did, well, … I guess that’s where it starts. Our sin nature is wired for self-preservation. I’m guessing there isn’t a person on the planet who hasn’t told a lie: But I think this is talking about people who continue to do it, who make a practice of deception. Lying is at the center of all other sins. If we steal, we need to also deceive. Same with murder, same with sexual immorality usually. We end up hurting people that we love with our lies. When I walked away from my faith in God some years ago because of the hurt in my marriage, I became a full-time liar. I couldn’t be honest about who I was talking to, where I was, or what I was doing. I was living a lie. Here’s the thing though: I was trying to make myself happy apart from God, and that is impossible. So, one day, in His mercy, He came and got me. I could have refused Him at that time, but that would have led to a further hardening of my heart. Thankfully, I responded to His invitation to get to know Him. That was 8 years ago, and I am still on that journey. If you are in a spot like I was, I pray that you will respond to Him too and watch the miracle He does in your own life! 

SEXUAL IMMORALITY. This is another one on that list that jumped out at me.People who practice sexual immorality won’t be found in the kingdom of God. Sexual immorality can be defined as any sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman. That’s it: everything else is sin. In Revelation 17:2, the angel is talking about the great prostitute (or you can call it the corrupt world system that draws people away from God) who rules over many waters: ‘The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.’ What happens when people get drunk? They stop thinking clearly, they do dumb things, they wake up with regrets…. IF they wake up. In this case, the world is drunk in sexual immorality. They don’t see it as a sin, and that is deadly. In my case, when I was trapped in this area, I thought: ‘it’s not that bad.” If that’s what you’re thinking today, ask God to wake you up! He did that for me and now I am horrified at the way I allowed the enemy to deceive me. He made me believe that God was againstme, that I had to make myself happy no matter the cost, and the plans God has for me are not as good as the plans that I have for myself. Oh, and this one more of his lies: It’s too late. This is who you are now.’ Well, all that is a LIE. In fact, the exact opposite is true! One day I decided to explore this thought: ‘what if I am wrong and God is right?’ And when I approached His word with humility, He opened my eyes! He is so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for his help! (from Psalm 86- one of my favorite prayers). Let’s stop closing our eyes to sexual immorality! God asks in the book of Hosea: ‘how long will my people be incapable of purity?’ Well, that implies that we can be pure after we have been impure! Look at the way we look at our children and grandchildren: we want them to have their innocence as long as possible and that’s what God wants for us. If you are feeling miserable or even uneasy about your choices, that may be the Holy Spirit reaching out to you. Don’t refuse Him, today is the day your life can begin to change. Get to know God and watch Him open your eyes too.