No other book in the Bible is as fascinating as Revelation.
what the future holds for this planet. It is a great comfort for believers, especially those .
going through persecution. The book of Revelation describes the evil forces at work, .
how Jesus Christ will conquer all powers that oppose God, and how God has wonderful .
rewards for his people.
The source of Revelation came from God to John. The last remaining apostle .
during this time, John was banished to Patmos, a small island in the Aegean Sea by the .
Roman Emperor Domitian. Domitian demanded that his people worship him as a god. .
He despised Christians who were true to their faith and severely punished those who .
rejected his deity.
On the Lord's Day, John had a vision of God's message. Chapters two and three .
include John's letters to seven churches which Christ had addressed. These churches .
were in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. .
Christ evaluated every strength and weakness of these churches and what they were .
going to go through in times of persecution. .
In chapter four, John was sent up to heaven. He saw God sitting at a throne with .
twenty-four elders around Him. These elders were a "representative group of all the .
saints in heaven."1 He also saw four peculiar-looking living creatures that kept praising, .
1.
2.
honoring, and thanking God. In God's hands was a scroll with seven seals that contained .
His judgments on the world.
When John found out that no one was worthy of opening the seals, he weeped. .
One of the elders then told him that only Jesus was worthy of opening it. Jesus then .
appeared and took the scroll. After He took it, the creatures and elders bowed before .
Him and sang praises.
The opening of the seals signifies the beginning of the seven-year tribulation .
period when Christ will judge the earth. This judgment can be read in chapters six .
through sixteen in three parts, with some interruptions.
