Satan’s malignant forces shape-shift, donning different disguises in different eras. Whatever forms his attacks may take, Satan is already defeated (Rev. 12:7–13; 20:1–3). So, the triumphant Lamb gave us the book of Revelation to instill in us the discernment, courage, and fidelity to hold fast to His Word as we eagerly anticipate the blessing of His presence in the new heaven and earth (Rev. 1:3; 22:7, 14).

Confusing. Controversial. Troubling. Terrifying. If the book of Revelation brings these descriptions to your mind, you are not alone. Yet God’s purpose for Revelation is to reveal, not conceal—to encourage, not distress. Revelation promises blessing to “the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and . . . those who hear, and who keep what is written in it” (Rev. 1:3, emphasis added). Envision the scene in the first-century congregations to which Revelation was first sent: one leader stands to read the scroll aloud, while everyone else listens. They can grasp Revelation’s message and receive the blessing it promises simply by hearing it read aloud and taking its truths to heart. So can we. To receive the blessing, you should know three things about this climactic book of the Bible.

1. Revelation unveils the triumph of the Lamb in a world run amok.

The first verse of Revelation is the book’s title: “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1). The Greek term represented by “revelation” (apocalypsis) suggests that an “unveiling” is needed for us to see through the surface appearances of our experience and world history, and to perceive the core reality that lies behind them and explains their source. If we see only superficial symptoms—war’s atrocities, environmental catastrophes, economic collapse, famine and starvation, disease and death—we will never discern why our world has run amok. Only a glimpse behind the veil into the spiritual realm where God, who is sovereign over everything, combats “the great dragon . . . that ancient serpent, . . . the devil and Satan” (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), makes sense of the miseries and mysteries that surround us.

This book is a “revelation of Jesus Christ” in two senses: Jesus is both the agent who unveils and the subject who is unveiled. First, “God gave” this revelation to Jesus Christ “to show to his servants the things that must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1). That transfer from the Father to the incarnate Son is dramatized in Revelation 4 and 5, as the Lamb receives from the Enthroned Sovereign a scroll and then breaks its seals, one by one, to initiate and control the events that unfold in history. The Lamb alone is worthy to disclose and execute God’s agenda since the Lamb has triumphed by enduring violent death to ransom “people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:5–10).

Second, Revelation also unveils Jesus Christ.

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