End Times: Revealing the Book of Revelation
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to manifest to his servants the things that must soon take place; and he sent it and communicated it through his angel to his servant John.” (Revelation 1:1)
What is the purpose and specific prophetic message that this verse brings to us today?
In Revelation 1:1, we see that the Book of Revelation is given to the followers of Jesus Christ to “reveal” something that will soon happen. God the Father gave this revelation to his Son, Jesus, to pass it on to his servants (to all those who followed him or would ever follow him) so that they would realize the things that would soon come upon the earth.
Since God has a much broader perspective of time than we do, the word “soon” refers to this specific time in relation to the entire history of the world. Therefore, most Biblical scholars agree that the beginning of what we call the “End Times” began when Jesus became flesh and was born into the world and will culminate when He returns.
At first His followers did not understand this extended time frame. They assumed that Christ would return during his lifetime. However, as time passed, they eventually came to the conclusion that End Times would take place over a longer period of time than they had originally envisioned.
As a result, they also realized the importance of recording everything they had experienced regarding the life and teachings of Jesus so that it could be preserved for those who would be alive when He actually returned.
This was the reason why they were commissioned by God to bring the Holy Bible into existence. The entire Word of God, including the Book of Revelation, serves as the record of the complete history of God’s provision for the eternal salvation of mankind; Genesis to Revelation.
Jesus sent his messenger angel to make known the meaning of this revelation to John, the disciple and servant of Jesus Christ. This is the same John who established the record in the Word of God in the Gospel of John, which includes the testimony of Jesus and the account of all that John had personally seen regarding the life, death, resurrection, and Word of Christ. .
Revelation 1:3 promises that those who read and hear the words of this prophecy and hold fast to the things that are written on the pages of this Book, will be blessed (receive God’s favor and benefit from receiving these words) because ” the time is near.”
How does God intend to benefit us in the end times through the reading of this historic prophetic Book?
Elsewhere in Scripture we are given a clue through an illustration that depicts the End Times process as “a woman in labor” about to give birth. This is a picture of continuous intense waves of painful changes and periods of rest until the end, when Jesus Christ will suddenly return.
The Book of Revelation contains a blessing that will be revealed to us in time as we read the words of this prophecy and continue reading them. It is necessary to continue reading the Book of Revelation, because the “revelation” was given in symbolic form and this message was designed to require careful interpretation over the years, comparing it to historical events as they would unfold.
In essence, God is saying, “Just read it.”
Although we may not fully understand what we are reading, God wants us to read it for the purpose of putting together the pieces of a puzzle that will eventually come together in the end times.
Even the Disciple, John, did not understand the vision that was given to him.
Since this was a futuristic vision involving things John was unfamiliar with, it becomes obvious that he was trying to describe it in terms of the things he saw and didn’t understand, such as the type of warfare and military devices involved, which they had the appearance of insects with mouths and tails that could spit fire.
The Book of Revelation was clearly designed by the original Creator and Author to be obscured until a specific time in history when all would be revealed.
As time passed, things on earth would change. Mankind would become familiar with the players of worldly conquests, the various political and religious powers, and new inventions. Therefore, the blessing would come as this information was collected and assembled to form this important End Times message.
Even today, while we still struggle to understand the true meaning of the Book of Revelation, this “revelation” process is carefully timed and controlled by the Spirit of God to correspond with the actual end-time scenario so that believers can accurately determine precision. the times we live in and we begin to realize how far along this countdown process really is.
We find in 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 2, a warning about a “deceitful power” and another warning given by Jesus is found in Matthew 24 about a great “deception”, both taking place in the End Times. Only those who faithfully continue to personally feed on the entire Word of God and thus are indwelled by the Spirit of God will be able to correctly interpret the Book of Revelation and correctly compare what is written with what is actually happening.
Personal Bible study is not an option. The stakes are too high to risk being swayed by the opinions of mother men and religious icons. We must assume this responsibility ourselves and be personally fed in spirit by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.
If we don’t listen to him, he won’t listen to us. It’s as simple as that.
That is why Jesus gives us another warning at the beginning of the Book of Revelation, Chapter 2:4-5:
“Nevertheless, I have something against you, because you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works; if not, I will come to you quickly, and I will remove your lampstand from its place, if you don’t repent.”
Those who have left their first love, who do not remember, repent and do not do the first works, will be separated from their (presumed) relationship with Christ. Regardless of what we believe about the eternal security of a professing believer, we must all admit that this warning from the lips of Jesus sounds extremely serious and should not be taken lightly.
Most professing Christians believe that leaving first love has to do with our love for Jesus, but this is only part of the interpretation that depends on the multitude of worldly definitions regarding what “love” really is. Jesus said that there is an imitation “love” that calls him “Lord”, but that he is not really willing to give it prominence or genuinely acknowledge him as Lord. (Luke 6:46)
The rest of the real interpretation is found in the “hidden manna” throughout the entire Bible, as God defines these “first works” as the most important thing in life.
This warning is given at the beginning of the Book of Revelation because unless we are doing the “first works”, we will not be able to correctly divide the Word of God or accurately interpret what is written about the End Times in the Book of Revelation.
Because the Word of God makes it clear, in Ephesians 2:8, that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works, the “first works” mentioned in Revelation 2:4-5 cannot refer to any physical work, but to to specific works of the spirit that only true believers experience; it is not required to be saved but is evident when one is saved.
They are works that imply recognizing the preeminence of God and feeding on the “Hidden Manna”. They take place as a result of being saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and bear witness to our genuine relationship with Him.
It is this “Hidden Manna” that protects us from the great deception and allows the Book of Revelation to be accurately interpreted and revealed to the children of God so that we can overcome and persevere to the end.
“Repent, because if not, I will come to you soon, and I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth (Word of God). He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; to him who overcomes I will give him to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone written a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it.” (Revelation 2:16-17)
