Christ's Revelation

       The beginning of God’s prophetic plan of redemption—what we call God’s chronos agenda—was hidden in the 7-day pattern of creation recounted in Genesis 1. The first book of our Bible established God’s purposes for the individual, marriage, family, community, government, and society. Of course, the fall and mankind’s disobedience corrupted each of these purposes, resulting in the first prophecy concerning the Seed and our Lord’s first coming (Gen. 3:14-15).
       We’ve been focusing on the unfolding revelation of God’s mystery-plan throughout the pages of God’s Word in this blog, helping us to piece together the scattered prophetic puzzle pieces. Which brings us to the last book in the Bible, “the Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place” (Rev. 1:1) as relayed through the Apostle John. It tells us the end of the story. In a way that only God could foresee, the end doesn’t cause everything to end. Instead, it leads to something unimaginable—eternity future.
        The Book basically follows the chronology of the great Week, although the individual books are not necessarily in chronological order in terms of human history. For example, the books of the prophets cover the “major” prophets first and the “minor” prophets, rather than putting them in order of the kings the prophets served.
            Any avid reader will tell you that if you reveal the details of the end of the book, it defeats the purpose of reading the whole book because you already know what is going to happen. So it shouldn’t surprise us that the last book in the Bible uses a lot of figurative and symbolic language. It was meant to keep the various aspects of the plan hidden until the appointed time for it to be revealed by the Spirit. For example, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:7-8).
            End-Time Lesson: After receiving the Revelation, the Lord told John “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand” (Rev. 22:10). This is the opposite of what Daniel was told to do concerning the end-time prophecies he received. “But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the Book until the time of the end. [Then] many shall run to and fro and search anxiously [through the Book], and knowledge [of God’s purposes as revealed by His prophets] shall be increased and become great” (Daniel 12:4, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition).
            As we come to the close of the 6th Day, the Spirit is likewise causing us to understand the things that must be seen in our time. So in order to understand the final book, we have to be willing to temporarily lay aside what we have been taught or what we think the figurative language means, and let the Spirit of grace lead us.
          We’ve already seen the importance of making the Spirit-inspired connections through the common phrases and analogies in our walk through the New Testament puzzle pieces. In some cases, the interpretation is actually included in the passage in question, as in Revelation 1 when Jesus tells us the interpretation of the seven stars and the seven lampstands. In other cases, it is found elsewhere in the Bible, usually the Old Testament as in the interpretation of the woman in Revelation 12.
       To understand the book of Revelation, we also need to understand its layout. It does not necessarily present the end-time events in chronological order. Chapters 1-3 provide an introduction, showing us the ascended Christ in His glorified form. He is in the midst of His Church, His Body, which abides in Him, yet has not yet been perfected. That is why He reviews the promises He has given to us as overcomers, for we have not yet been resurrected yet.
           Chapters 4-6 offer an overview of this age, the two Days allotted to the Church for preaching the Gospel and making disciples. We see the throne room of Heaven and our Lord receiving the scroll of inheritance upon His ascension. As the seals of the scroll are opened, they prophetically reveal the signs of this age that Jesus taught in the Olivet Discourse. They describe the extended nature of the tribulation, the beginning of sorrows and the birth pains. The sixth seal is the same final sign of celestial darkness over the whole earth all at once.
            Chapters 7-9 open with the dawn of the Age to Come, the Day of the Lord, the 7th Day in God’s chronos agenda. Immediately, we see the raptured Church in the 3rd Heaven, before the throne of God, the true Israel by faith, seated with Christ as the heavenly court. The 7th seal on the scroll is then opened to prophetically reveal an overview of the wrath of the Day, which is the snare of that Day and God’s vengeance against evil.
           But before the final and 7th trumpet is revealed, there is a divine interlude in chapter 10. The revelation is interrupted. John is told to “eat” a little book, which enables him to prophecy some more. This unusual scene sends us a sure signal that something is different. The Revelation now shifts from giving us an overview to giving us more in-depth details about the events of this last Day. It’s the only way a complex story can be told so that readers don’t get lost in the details.
            Chapters 11-19 provide a series of supplemental vision that serve as instant replays of the events surrounding the unfolding of God’s wrath. These visions cover the first 31/2 years of the 7th Day, which by now you know corresponds to the last half of Daniel’s 70th week. This is when the counterfeit world order of the Beast is crushed. Chapter 20 reveals what happens during the remainder of the Day of the Lord, while chapter 21 reveals what happens after the end of the Days of God's great prophetic Week.