Une étude de l'Apocalypse

Revelation is the only book in the Bible that contains a blessing for those who read and obey it. It's God's way of saying it's well worth your time! Although it is difficult to understand every detail, the main themes are clear. Verse 1 says it is a "revelation of Jesus." More than anything else, this book is an account of how Jesus will be revealed to all. And it's exciting. There will be no more atheists who scoff at the idea of ​​a God. Everyone will see Him. Everyone will bow to him.

Revelation prophecies give us hope. All the trials, difficulties and temptations we face now pale with what God has in store for us in the glorious future He has prepared for His church. It is a record of the cosmic battle between good and evil. And in the end, Jesus wins.

Revelation excites the imagination. It presents bright visions of a coming Day of the Lord. These visions are expressed through many symbols, including people in the form of animals or monstrous beasts, colors and numbers that have secret meanings, and predictions of when God will end the world.

The author of the book was very familiar with the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament). More than half of the verses in Revelation are directly or indirectly based on passages from the Old Testament. This is important to understand the meaning of the book.

Revelation uses many numbers as symbols, such as the number seven, which represents wholeness or perfection. Other types of symbols are also used. For example, the main symbol of the powers opposed to God is the city "Babylon". Christian readers knew it really meant Rome, and they also knew that when the book says "the Lamb," the author means Jesus Christ.

Now consider what would happen if you picked up a novel off the shelves of your local bookstore and decided to read only the last chapter. What part of this last chapter would you understand? Most likely, you would be completely confused. Naturally, only after reading the whole book would the last chapter make sense.

Likewise, we could see Revelation as the final chapter of God's 66-chapter novel called the Bible. Just as we must read a novel cover to cover before we can understand it properly, Bible students must understand the first 65 books of the Bible before we can truly understand its last book.

The Book of Revelation has fascinated the world throughout the ages. The very name of the book suggests that it can tell us the deepest secrets of the universe and of history - and indeed it can! This marvelous book takes us to the very heart of all history, to the very heart of the universe where we find the LORD Jesus Christ sharing the throne with his Father, surrounded by the Holy Spirit. At the center of reality, behind all the seeming confusion and chaos of this passing age, the Living God reigns through Jesus, the Lamb and Lion of God. Jesus and his bride, the Church, sit in heaven far above all the powers of this age as we await that day of judgment and new creation.

After studying history in college, he taught English and history at a small college in southern China. Returning to London, he worked for six years among international students at All Souls, Langham Place where Richard and Paul were colleagues.