Understanding Revelation Part 2

The Book of Revelation – Part 2 Judgement and Repentance The book of Revelation, as we have seen, has to do with those things that have to take place in the world, the Church and in Israel in order to facilitate the unveiling or Revelation of Jesus Christ or His second coming. In that sense then, the book is about Jesus. Of this an Angel reminded John as recorded in chapter nineteen and verse ten. He is the spirit of prophecy. We would do well to take note of this when we examine the detailed information given about other issues contained in this prophetic oracle. As we now move to consider the main teaching of the book we should briefly consider the following: 1. The book is about judgment. (Psalm 92:7) This is a major theme of the book since it constitutes that process whereby Jesus brings His enemies to His footstool so that He may rightly stand up and crush them. It also then has to do with judging His people the Church. She will be evaluated and judged so that she may repent, be purified and made ready for His revelation. The Church must hear the voice of the Spirit of God, change and overcome. In fact judgment begins with the household of God as 1 Peter 4:17 tells us and this is why, before doing anything else, Jesus turns His gaze and attention upon the Church. That is, His message to the Seven Churches of Asia. Before proceeding it is important to make a few comments about God’s judgment as reflected in scripture. The God of the Bible judges His world and His people. He has not lost control of the world and certainly this includes the powers of darkness. They, not being omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, actually and unknowingly serve His purposes in the matter of judgment. We see this supremely reflected in the death of Jesus. The Devil induced Judas to betray Jesus (John 6:70, John 13:1-2; 26-27) since he was determined to kill Him. Jesus acknowledged the power play of the powers of darkness in His arrest and crucifixion (Luke 22:53) and yet they were unwittingly playing into the hands of God and fulfilling His purpose for the redemption of humanity. The thing that the Devil desired the most and planned for became his undoing, defeat and downfall. The same thing is happening today in terms of the Corona Virus, in that it is entirely devilish and demonic but, by the sovereignty of God, it is rightly judging the world and purifying the Church! The great manifestation of the judgment of God that will take place at Armageddon is in fact orchestrated by evil and demonic spirits (Revelation 16:12-16). These, once again, in their mad drive to destroy the human race, will play into the hands of God to achieve His purpose and triumph and in the end guarantee their destruction. Revelation 20:10. 2. Jesus message to the seven Churches of Asia Chapters two and three record the evaluation or judgment that Jesus pronounces over His Church in the world. This is reflected in His dealings with seven churches that were real and were located in Asia. Interestingly, they give us a remarkable reflection of the state of the Church as it journeyed through 2000 years of history to the present. Also, His message to them, taken all together, gives us a picture of what the Church in any area of the world should look like. We should closely study Jesus’ message to His people in Asia.