Revelation: Facing and Winning Life’s Challenges

I recently led a Revelation class via Zoom and am nearing the completion of a classroom study in my hometown.  Nothing compares to an in-person class setting for the quality of interaction between people. Yet the virtual class offers distinct advantages as well.  In our class, we had around ten participants, but among the ten, we had people from four different states.

This was my own presentation but we leaned on a commonly used title, Revelation for the Rest of Us.   I may change it to Revelation: Facing and Winning Life’s Challenges.  John’s original audience consisted of Christians at the end of the first century who lived under the threat of persecution.  Whether someone experienced it or not, Christians lived under the daily weight of knowing it might land on them or one of their loved ones.

There are many views of Revelation.  They are not created equal.  Some are highly popular, others are not.  Understanding Revelation, however, is not a popularity contest.  Our first goal is to wrestle with what the Lord intended to communicate through the apostle John.

Let me be quick to acknowledge the intelligence, sincerity, and faith of anyone who believes that Jesus Christ is the Lord.  If a preacher or teacher believes that Jesus will come again to judge the living and dead, and to reward his people with eternal life in a new heaven and new earth, then we agree on the most important truth.  If we disagree about what the right approach to  Revelation is or how the details play out, it is not to downgrade or put down other believers.  We simply agree to disagree agreeably.

If casual conservation is a barometer, the most popular view of Revelation is one that believes most of Revelation has not yet happened.  There is a gap approaching 2,000 years from the time of John’s writing in the first century until things kick in sometime in our future.  This view maintains that the events of chapters 4-20 are just around the corner but have not happened yet.  In other words, chapters 4-20 did not apply to the situation John’s audience faced.  Some believe this so strongly that to disagree is viewed as a sign of unbelief.  That is not true, but there is great passion among some about this.

My operating assumption is simple.  John’s audience lived with the threat of persecution.  They needed the whole book to apply to their situation.  They needed perspective on how to interpret their world.  Encouragement to stay faithful would play a crucial role when tempted to give in to the pressures they faced.  Convincing reasons for them to be willing to die for Christ if necessary were essential.  Constant reminders of their immediate reward upon death as well as their final reward in heaven would be the fuel to keep them going.  Interpreted from this perspective, we discover that chapters 4-20 are all about the circumstances and situations every generation of Christians must face, whether in the first, thirteenth, or twenty-first century.  It speaks to things we see all around us on a regular basis, confirming every day that Jesus knew what he was talking about.

Traveling down the road of this viewpoint means some of us find the book of Revelation just as convincing and convicting as ever.  But it also seems less confusing, more comforting, and less threatening.  I have heard so many Christians express their own fear about things to come based on Revelation.  Yet John’s audience lived with the possibility of persecution.  The last thing they needed was a book that gave them one more thing of which to be anxious or afraid.  My conviction is that the Lord gave them a book in which every chapter spoke to their situation, clarifying their understanding, sharpening their hope, and bringing comfort to their souls.  It can do the same for us too.

If the above does nothing for you, I get it. Some Christians whom I have respected the most have held the more popular view of Revelation.  If they are right, the Lord knows I am on board with however he works it out.  However, if you have been hesitant to get into Revelation, thinking it is a book that inspires confusion or fear, let me know.  For my distance readers, I would love to schedule a Zoom class.  For my Kokomo readers, we could do something locally.  In any case, if that’s you, drop me a note at [email protected].