Dynamic Studies in Revelation

The book of Revelation seems to be a book of mystery for most of humanity. Even believers often approach it with awe, wonder, questioning, and even a little confusion.

However, this need not be so.

First, and foremost, the book is an “unveiling” of a person. That person is Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega.

The key to understanding the book of

Revelation is in the whole of Scripture itself. The book itself consists of 404 verses. Discerning the meaning of these verses requires an in-depth study of the Old Testament. Since most people today do not have sufficient grounding in the Tanakh, they are at wits end in trying to decipher just what God is trying to get across in this final book of the Bible.

Realizing this difficulty experienced by most people in the world today, even those with a background of faith, we will take a step-by- step look at this mysterious book.

It should be of no uncertain interest to us that this book, and only this book of the Bible promises a special blessing to those who read it and take heed to what we are told.

Revelation 1: 3 says “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” NLT

Revelation 22: 7 says “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” KJV

While each chapter of this book has lessons for our daily life, it also deals with prophecy. It is this very prophetic element that has led to so much controversy surrounding some of the conclusions learned people have drawn from their study of the text over the years.

Biblical prophecies go beyond the person and work of the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua Hamaschiach, who we call Jesus Christ. They extend to world events. In fact, with the aid of mathematics, we find that the reestablishment of Israel as a nation was accurately prophesized to the day thousands of years before the event took place. According to J. Barton Payne writing in the Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy, the whole of the Judeo Christian documents which we call the Bible:

• Contain 8,362 predictive verses;

• In which 1,817 predictions are made;

• About 737 separate matters.

The prophecies about Jesus and His first coming have already been fulfilled. As mentioned, there are hundreds of them. In a sense, this is easy for us to see now that we have the benefit of hindsight and history.

What is more difficult, however, is the interpretation of prophecies about things yet to come. While the first coming of Christ is confirmed by hundreds now fulfilled prophecies, His second coming receives even greater attention in the New and Old Testament documents.

There are over 1,845 references to Christ’s second coming and future rule on earth in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament itself, 17 of the books give great prominence to the event. The New Testament simply adds to this. Here we find that the second coming of Jesus is mentioned in 23 of the 27 books and that there are 318 references to it in the 216 chapters making up the whole.

This study will help us all gain a better understanding of the past, present and future of all believers, whether Jewish or Gentile. And, most importantly, it will help us learn more about the ultimate destiny of everyone who trusts in Yeshua Ha-Maschiach, the Jewish Messiah who we call Jesus Christ.

Since the book of Revelation holds so many “secrets” and concepts that relate specifically to our ultimate destiny I suggest that we each approach it not only with awe, but with scholarship aided by the power of the Holy Spirit. Don’t rely on what is presented in this study alone. Proceed as suggested in Acts 17: 11. Search the Scriptures yourself on a daily basis to be sure that you know the Author of your faith on an intimate personal basis and that you fully experience the abundant life available through Him.

As part of this investigative effort the student of Revelation will encounter concepts and symbols whose meaning may not be immediately apparent. I suggest that such serious students make extensive use of a good concordance. Doing so will take the diligent student to most every book of the Bible. By following these words and concepts through the whole of the New and Old Testaments one gains a greater understanding of the grandeur of the plan of God not only for the world at large but for each follower of Jesus Christ on an individualized basis. In the end, what this supernatural book means to you and your life will be the greatest secret unraveled by everyone who studies it.