As I was teaching through Revelation in a children’s Sunday School class, one boy raised his hand and asked, “Can I tell everyone how the world ends?” Not sure what his particular theology was based in, I quickly said no, we didn’t want any spoilers. We’re fascinated with the apocalypse. Books and commentaries and novels and movies have all been written about what’s featured in Revelation. But how often do we actually read Revelation?
Revelation is a daunting book of the Bible. It features different genres of literature, bowls being poured out, dragons, streets of gold, and a lot of unusual creatures. Not to mention it’s about the end of the world—something none of us have ever experienced. If we read it at all, we read through it confused. We ask what everything means and get stuck on the symbolism and forget that ultimately Revelation is a book about God.
Like every book and passage in the Bible, Revelation should be read through that lens—what can we learn about God from this segment of Scripture? What can we learn about ourselves in light of that? How should I change knowing this about God and myself?
Revelation is about the end times. The book tells us about the apocalypse, the plagues, the famine, the destruction. But it also tells us about a God who saves His children and has overcome the enemy and is making all things new. As I’ve been reading through Revelation in the Know His Word reading plan, I’ve been struck by how many times John repeats the phrase “many peoples, nations, languages” or something similar.
What does this teach us about God? Revelation teaches us that God is the God of the whole earth and everyone in it. He doesn’t limit Himself to the United States of America or Israel or anywhere. Anyone who believes in Him, repents of their sin, and trusts in Him as Lord and Savior will be in heaven one day, crying “Holy, holy, holy” with all of the saints.
Revelation teaches us that God is all powerful. He has defeated death and evil. He will rescue His people. He will make everything wrong right again. Because He is God, Lord of the universe. We see this in Revelation 12:
9So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
for they did not love their lives
to the point of death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short.
Revelation teaches us that God is holy. In Revelation 5, we read of a scene where no one is worthy to open the scroll except the Lamb of God. Over and again, we see God described as holy throughout the book. Revelation 4:8 is one example:
Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying,
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is to come.
Revelation also teaches us that God desires to be with His people. Revelation 21: 3 says, “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.” Throughout all of Scripture, we see God continually rescuing His people and coming to them so that they may dwell together. He was with them in the garden of Eden, in the tabernacle, in the temple, through Jesus Himself, and He’s right now in each of us as believers through the Holy Spirit.
Revelation teaches us that God is faithful to fulfill His promises. In the final chapters of Revelation, we see the end of the world as we know it. Satan is defeated and a marriage feast is spread before the saints. God has been promising to defeat Satan since Genesis 3 and we see that promise fulfilled in Revelation. At the very end of the book, He makes one more promise that we can be sure will be fulfilled:
He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Revelation 22:20
We learn all of this about God in the last book of the Bible, and that’s without even getting into the tricky terms like pre-tribulation and postmillenialism. It’s fine to study those things if we want to know what others think about this book, but we don’t have to know all the answers to the many, many questions Revelation brings to know God better by reading its pages. As we finish our reading through the different sections of the Bible this month, let’s keep in mind the main goal of reading Scripture—to know more of our God.
Elizabeth Hyndman is a content editor and social media strategist for Lifeway Women.