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The reason why most churches avoid the book of Revelation, is that it confuses them. It is a mostly symbolic book, which requires a lot of study. If you look at the first verse, it actually says that it is “the revelation of Jesus Christ”, and if you keep that in mind while reading it, it makes a lot more sense. It really looks at the church history from the time of Jesus to the end of the world, from various perspectives, and throughout you will see Jesus involved in the conflict between Him and the devil. In the final three chapters we see that Jesus finally wins the war, and the devil, his demons, and all the wicked, are destroyed in the flames. Then it shows us a bit of heaven, and what it will be like for those who have accepted the free gift of salvation and eternal life from Jesus.
Revelation 1:1 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
Revelation 21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 22 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
Most people, when reading through the book, get bogged down in the beasts, the plagues, the tribulation, and other things which seem totally inexplicable, and then miss Jesus. The fact is that Jesus is there throughout history, including today and the future, looking after those that give their lives to Him. They may be persecuted, hunted down, even killed, but in the end they are resurrected and received by Him to live with Him forever.
If you really seriously want to study the book of Revelation, I would suggest that you buy the book “Revelation of Jesus Christ” by Ranko Stefanovic. It is 625 pages long and goes into detail, and makes the most sense to me, of any study on Revelation. It’s available from Amazon.
I hope that I have helped. God bless!
