Revelation Revealed: From Fear to Victory

Hey guys, hey, welcome back. We are still on

rethinking the end times and this week we're

jumping into understanding the book of Revelation

I hope this would be a shorter one. It may not

be maybe my typical I think roughly around 30

to 40 minutes is what we usually run but I want

to talk about understanding the book of Revelation

you see many people were taught that revelations

mainly about the end of the world that predicts

modern events and should make us afraid a lot

of times. A lot of people, if you ask them if

they've read Revelation and kind of how they

feel about Revelation, a lot of times you're

going to hear things such as confused, scared,

overwhelmed, that type of thing. But Revelation

was written to encourage suffering believers

not to confuse future readers, so not to confuse

you and I. And I want to read to you just the

opening up of Revelation just to help us understand

something. It's Revelation chapter 1 verse 1.

Revelation 1:1

And as soon as I get there, I'm going to read

this verse to you. It says, this is the unveiling

of Jesus Christ. So the first seven words of

Revelation tells you what Revelation is about.

And it says, which God gave him to share with

his loving servants what must occur swiftly.

So what kind of book is Revelation? And again,

I wish I could put slides up. I've not figured

that out. This is still very new to me. For the

podcast part, it's very simple because it's just

voice. But I wish I could do more visually. I'm

just I'm still learning. I'm on a very learning

path. This is all new for what I'm doing and

all that but This is this is critical revelation

is not a newspaper It's not science fiction.

It belongs to a special kind of writing called

apocalyptic literature And it simply it uses

things like symbols visions numbers images cosmic

language not because it's fake, but because it's

symbolic storytelling about real events. I want

you to think about, I teach teenagers a lot of

times and a couple of them play football and

that kind of thing. If you go to a football game

and you say the team crushed their opponent,

did they literally crush them? No, it's symbolic

language and that's the same way that Revelation

works revelation is picture language and not

always literal language i want you to think about

um i may mention this later but i want you to

think about john is writing this and it's going

out in in scrolls and letters and all that and

it's these people may be stopped by the roman

army and so when they enroll this and they read

stuff like beasts and stars falling they they're

just thinking you know, these weirdos, whatever,

continue on. But those people that received these

letters would have understood exactly what John

was trying to say. The analogy I used when I

taught this in our Bible study, I used one of

our teenagers who plays football. I said, give

me a play that you guys use that if you were

to say the name, the other team would not know

it. And he gave me the name, I can't remember

what it is now. But it's the same way as that,

because when they call that play, when they're

going on that field, their team knows what they're

saying, but the other team would not have a clue

as to what that meant. Now, he told me, he said,

some plays are kind of similar across all football

teams. that each football team has certain plays

that's special to them that they run that they

know the name of and that's what it is it could

be something and i can't remember the name of

it exactly but it could be like catapult okay

let's just use catapult if your team knows what

catapult means and you're on the field and you

want to play that and you just yell that the

other team does not know what that means but

your team does it's the same way revelation works

in a similar fashion So who was Revelation written

to? So it was written to seven churches in Asia

Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatria, Sardis,

Philadelphia, Laodicea. These were not imaginary

people. These were actually real believers under

pressure. And so if Revelation was written to

them, it had to make sense to them and not to

us 2 ,000 plus years later. So Revelation was

written for us but was first written to them

and that order really matters when you're trying

to read and study a lot of this. So why Revelation

uses symbols? This is one of the most important

parts because Revelation uses a lot of symbols.

It connects to a lot of Old Testament imagery.

If you remembered when we talked about how Daniel

and Daniel I just drew a blank. Daniel, Isaiah,

some different books like that use a lot of imagery.

It's tying back into that same thing so that

the people writing it would understand the language

because they knew the Old Testament. They knew

what that symbolism was for. So Revelation contains

hundreds of Old Testament references like beasts,

horns, stars, thrones, fire, etc. These images

already meant something in Jewish prophecy. Give

me just a moment. Let me check something here.

Sometimes your wife messages messages you while

you're doing a teaching and your wife is important

So I'm replying to her for just a second and

then we'll jump back into this Anyhow back to

our teaching now So it could contain a lot of

Old Testament references because that's what

those readers, the people reading these notes

and these letters would have understood. They

understood Daniel, they understood Isaiah, they

understood all the biblical prophecy that John

was using in writing these letters and trying

to communicate what was coming. And it's communicating.

To Christians who were under Roman pressure.

So the symbolic language allowed truth to spread

without being immediately shut down If they would

have used language, the wrong would have been

familiar with and actual Trying to tie certain

things together where the Roman soldiers understood

that Roman guard would have read that letter

and be like I ain't going no further You're not

doing this mess, but that's not what happened.

They're using Imagery in this whole thing And

so that's really important. Think of it like

a coded communication. That's what it is. They're

speaking in code. Okay, so this came to me. Think

of it as if you're a parent and have small children.

There's times when they're younger that you communicate

to each other by spelling. So you spend a lot

of time really having to think about what you're

spelling out. and that way your kid does not

understand it. It's the same process that they

would have been doing then. And we went through

this but it bears repeating just to keep us going

here. Simple examples of symbols are like the

stars falling and we went over this but we'll

go over it again. so stars falling would typically

mean fall of rulers or nations not literal cosmic

stars falling out of the sky beasts typically

would represent empires or governments not a

literal beast like in a sci -fi movie horns represent

power and authority so these symbols are not

random they're meaningful pictures to those who's

reading these letters that's being penned and

so The main theme of Revelation this is where

clarity begins because many think revelation

is about Antichrist and tribulation and destruction,

but can I help you understand? And we'll get

into some of this later, but the term Antichrist

is not mentioned anywhere in Scripture Nowhere,

but the true central message and it starts often

Revelation 1 .1, the central message is that

Jesus is king, not a barely a king that he just

barely skated by. No, he is already victorious

right now and will always be victorious. It begins

with the revelation of Jesus Christ, not the

revelation of catastrophe or the revelation of

doom or none of that. But the theme is that Jesus

wins, the lamb reigns, and the kingdom advances.

If you look at it, there's some lamb imagery

here. Jesus appears as the lamb who was slain,

but also the reigning king. And that contrast

always matters. So if you look at Revelation

chapter five, verses five through seven, let

me see here. And pulsing from the throne were

blinding flashes of lightning, crashes of thunder

and voices, and burning before the throne were

seven blazing torches. which represent the seven

spirits of God, and in front of, I'm in Revelation

four, I am so sorry, Revelation chapter five,

verses five, I knew that wasn't right. Then one

of the elders said to me, stop weeping. Look,

the mighty lion of Judah's tribe, the root of

David, he has conquered. He is worthy one who

can open the scroll and its seven seals. Now,

I find this fascinating because it says, the

mighty lion of Judah's tribe, the root of David.

Then he said, I saw a young lamb. So when he

turns to see the lion, he sees a young lamb standing

before the throne and circled by the four living

creatures and the 24 elders. He appeared to have

been slaughtered, but was now alive. He had seven

horns, seven eyes, which are the seven spirits

of God sent out to the ends of the earth. So

then I saw the young lamb approach the throne

and take the scroll from the right hand of the

one who sat there. So he's not a warrior, he's

not a general, he's not a political figure. No,

he was the lamb that was slain. And the lamb

represents sacrifice, redemption, and faithfulness

unto death. If you look at John chapter one,

let me flip over there. John chapter one verse

29. And it says this, when I get there. The very

next day John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized

and John cried out, look. There he is, God's

lamb. He takes away the sin of the world. Jesus

conquers not by killing enemies, but by giving

himself. I think I mentioned this previously.

They wanted Jesus, they wanted the Messiah to

come in as a warlord, if you will. They wanted

him to have political might to really overthrow

Rome. And their enemies was not his enemies.

I want you to hear that clearly. The lamb may

look weak, but it is not. The lamb is enthroned.

He's worthy not because he fought harder, but

because he loved deeper. And my friend, love

wins every single time. Light always overcomes

darkness. You see, again, the world expects victory

through violence. It expects power through domination.

It expects kings who conquer by force. But Revelation

shows that a victory through sacrifice, authority

through love. kingship through resurrection.

The Lamb wins and reigns and that flips everything.

The throne of heaven is not occupied by a warlord,

it's occupied by a slain lamb. And if the lamb

reigns, then the kingdom advances the same way

the lamb conquered. Not through fear, not through

violence, not through domination, but through

faithfulness, through sacrifice, and through

love. So revelation is not about fear, revelation

is about victory. So what's the historical setting

of revelation? This ties back into what we talked

about last week, the whole 70 AD. Revelation

was written during a time of persecution, in

a time of political pressure, cultural compromise.

Christians faced Roman authority, they faced

emperor worship, they faced social pressure.

Much more than we do here in America, okay? Let

me get that out of the way here. So there's a

major tension here. Rome demanded loyalty, but

Jesus also demands allegiance, and you cannot

serve both. So while Revelation mattered, it

told believers Rome is not ultimate, Jesus is.

So let's look back. Let's tie some of this together.

Jesus warned about Jerusalem's fall. The temple

system did collapse. A new covenant reality was

emerging. So Revelation is revealing God judging

corrupt systems and establishing his kingdom.

Revelation shows that earthly empires do fall,

but Christ's kingdom remains. So let's look at

some of the structure of Revelation quickly here.

It's not complicated. I'm not going to go too

much in depth here, but just enough for you to

grab hold of the idea. Part one would be the

letters to the churches. This is gonna be Revelation

chapter one through chapter three. This is Jesus

speaking to real churches. He's encouraging,

he's correcting, he's calling them to remain

faithful. And then we have part two, it's conflict

and judgment in Revelation four through 18. So

here you have a lot of symbolic battles. You

have the beast, you have judgment imagery, and

you have collapse of corrupt systems. And then

the final part would be victory and renewal from

Revelation 19 through Revelation 22, expressing

that Jesus is victorious, that the kingdom is

established, and now new creation imagery is

being spoken. So Revelation moves from a struggle

to victory. So what's the purpose behind Revelation?

What is the heart? This is the heart. Purpose

number one, it's meant to encourage believers.

not to terrify them. It's to encourage endurance.

Think about a sports team sometimes. If your

kids ever played sports and you're up against

a tough team, and you're trying to just encourage

them, keep going, keep plowing. I know this is

hard, keep going. That's what this is. Purpose

number two, it's to reveal Jesus clearly. Not

just as savior, but as king, as judge, and as

victorious lamb. And what is he judging? Not

people, he's judging systems. Purpose number

three is to call believers to faithfulness. Even

under pressure and even when culture resists,

he's calling believers to remain faithful. Why?

Because faithfulness speaks volume. So Revelation

was written to strengthen courage. not to create

panic, not to create fear, not to create this

feeling of being overwhelmed. So maybe you're

asking, well, how should I read Revelation then?

Number one, with the Holy Spirit. And read it

through the lens of Christ. It is one of the

most complicated books of the Bible to read,

but yet I find it fascinating that the thing

it says to study and all that kind of stuff,

we take it very literal at times with certain

things that we're going to address later down

the road, such as the Mark of the Beast, Antichrist,

that kind of thing. but The first rule is start

with the audience who first heard this message

because that matters. How would the reader have

gotten this? How would they have understood this?

Rule number two look for the Old Testament imagery

Most symbols are not new go back and look at

the Old Testament. What did it mean to them again?

It's not talking about literal stars far in the

sky or literal like sci -fi beasts coming up

They are reused pictures and he's using that

to communicate when he's writing these letters

to these churches. Number three, and I think

this is probably the most important part, is

focus on Jesus. Don't focus on speculation. Don't

go in there with a predetermined notion of what

this is about. Go in there clear -minded and

ask Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, teach me what this

book means. Okay? It's that simple. It's not

timelines, it's Jesus. It's always Jesus. See,

Jesus in the middle of everything that you're

reading. If revelation pulls your focus away

from Jesus, you're reading it wrong. In fact,

I would apply that to any scripture that you

read. If it pulls your focus away from Jesus,

you're reading it wrong. So, just a couple summary

here. Reveal, resist, and reign. Reveal that

Jesus is revealed as king here Believers resist

compromise and then Christ reigns victorious.

I want you to think about When you think about

Revelation think of a movie trailer because Revelation

can be I can compare it to a movie trailer Showing

the final victory even if battles happen throughout

the movie. You already know the ending Makes

sense Think about storm versus anchor the world

shakes, but Christ is the anchor storms pass

anchors remain That's it guys, I mean it's it's

really it's not supposed to be a complicated

It is a complicated book to some degree because

there's a lot of imagery But it should not be

producing fear and anxiety and worry and overwhelming

this and all that look Look for Jesus. In the

middle of it all, look for Jesus. Revelation

is not a book meant to terrify believers about

the future. It's a book meant to strengthen believers

in the present. It reveals Jesus as the victorious

king and calls us to remain faithful. If these

people can remain faithful, then certainly we

can remain faithful. And it reminds us that no

empire, no system, no power can overthrow the

kingdom of God. The lamb wins and those who follow

him share in his victory. Guess what, friends?

That's you and I. We get to share in the victory

of Jesus. I told you guys this would be very

simple. I just wanted to take just a little bit

to just kind of give you a broad overview of

the book of Revelation. Certainly you can go

much, much, much deeper into the book of Revelation

and I would challenge you study it for yourself.

Go into it. This is not what this particular

teaching is about. It's more on rethinking the

end times. Revelation plays a lot of part in

that. But I just really wanted to take a section,

a session, whatever you want to call it, and

really help some people understand what is the

book of Revelation meant to do? What is it for?

It's not meant to be a scary book, okay? No part

of scripture should cause you fear. Go read it

with the heart of the Father in mind. Look for

Jesus in the middle of everything you read and

take it from there. It's really that simple.

So my friends, till next time. Look next time

we'll be diving into let's see what we do go

into next week Oh next week. We're talk about

The Rapture question So we get into the rapture

and then we talk about the tribulation after

that and then the Antichrist and some other fun

things. This is getting really fun for me because

now we're getting into some of the stuff that

I've unlearned and have a different viewpoint

on. So I'm looking forward to teaching you about

the rapture question and let's dive into that

some but until then be blessed. Listen, keep

your focus and keep your thoughts on the heavenly

things. Don't get distracted by all this other

stuff. Be blessed my friend.