Why do we need Revelation?

Rev 1:1  The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How much longer? Anyone that’s ever had a child under 5 on a car trip has heard these questions and knows the difficulty answering them.  You can’t say “almost there” because you just have to say it again in 30 seconds when they ask again.  You can’t say “45 minutes” because they have no idea what that means.  You even try “as long as one episode of Sesame Street” but that doesn’t work unless they are actually watching the episode in question. (Portable DVD players, how I love you!)  What would sometimes work for us is to list all the things we were going to pass on the way.  We would say, “We will pass this sign , then this store, then this McDonalds, etc., then we will be there.”  It tended to help because it gave the kids signposts to look for on the trip.

Revelation gives us God’s “signposts”

Similarly, God gave us the book of Revelation so we would know what is going to happen at the end.  He gives us sign posts to look forward to the same way I did with the kids only His went something like, “First the Rapture, then the seals are broken, then the AntiChrist comes to power, etc.”  It is important to God that His children know where He’s taking history and that He has a plan for the earth that will result in it’s redemption.

Revelation lets us have hope in turmoil

Can you imagine going through all the things listed in the book of Revelation without the roadmap of Revelation?  To have put your faith in a God that claims to be able to sustain creation but to see that creation falling apart around you?  Earthquakes shatter the landscape, famine starves children, plagues destroy whole communities, and on and on it goes.  If you weren’t told beforehand that this was God’s plan and everything must happen like this in order for the final redemption of Creation back to it’s pre-fall state, you would look and despair.  It might even cause you to throw away your faith and trust in your own power to save you.

Revelation makes our faith secure

But our God doesn’t want that to happen.  He loves His children so He made sure that we would know what’s coming, so we can see the signposts and not despair but to increase in hope.  Now every earthquake, every plague, every persecution brings us hope because we know it brings us closer to home.  These things “must take place” and they will be difficult but not impossible.  They are not for our destruction but to bring us safely home to a new Earth, free from sin and death and decay and under the care of our God.

Read more at www.ArlingtonBelievers.com