The book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, is one of the most confusing books in the Bible (if not, the most confusing book). Many Christians would agree that even mentioning the book of Revelation brings about an atmosphere of controversy and mystery, causing most pastors to generally shy away from this book in church.
Because most of the book uses cryptic symbols to explain the future, many people have taken it upon themselves to conjure all sorts of personal interpretations based off of loose theories and vague understandings of symbology, ultimately leading to a vast variety of End Times theories that would probably make your head spin from insanity if you sought to read them all. Some Christians wonder if there is really even a true way to decode the book of Revelation. With theologians arguing back and forth at each other on one side and church members telling you to ignore the book all together on the other side, it's understandable why the common Christian would choose not to even attempt to read this book.
Fortunately, you don't have to ignore the book of Revelation. There is a very real way to decode the prophecies that lie in this book!
But before a person even starts to study the book of Revelation, the first thing that should be established about the book is that it is actually GOOD NEWS. That's right, GOOD NEWS! A lot of people make the mistake of reading Revelation with the idea that it's nothing but a load of bad news because all they hear about, whenever this book is mentioned, is that someday someone is going to rise into power, dictate the world and force some mysterious mark upon the human race that will ultimately seal their fates toward eternal damnation. With this image in mind, people often fear to understand the truth about the book of Revelation because they magnify this event and turn their attention towards the Devil when the book is actually about the return of Jesus Christ. I mean, don't get me wrong, this book does shed light on the identity of the infamous Anti-Christ that everyone talks about, but just remember, he is not the star of the book. The main focus is ultimately on Jesus and His return.
The words Revelation and Apocalypse both generally mean "to reveal something" or to "disclose hidden information". In this case, the information being disclosed is the identity of Christ and coming of His everlasting kingdom. In fact, the very title of the book is The Revelation of Jesus Christ. While there are Bibles out there that place John's name in the title (calling it The Revelation of John), that is not the appropriate name for the book. Even the first few lines of book state that it's a book explaining the Revelation of Jesus Christ:
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. (Revelation 1:1-2)
Basically that verse is saying that this book is a message from God the Father that was given to Christ the Son, which was given to an angel, who shared it with John so he could write about it and we can read it.
Immediately after this verse, it is written:
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3)
Blessed! Blessed are the people that read this book and keep the things that are written in it! This book is not meant to curse anyone or to frighten anyone. This book states that a blessing is placed upon anyone who reads it, understands it and takes its words to heart. So while reading the book of Revelation keep that in mind as encouragement to read it and understand it. Don't let anyone fool you or discourage you from reading this book. Because you should also keep this in mind too:
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6)
Many people make the terrible mistake of taking the road to destruction because they reject the knowledge that the Lord offers them. They listen to the finite words of men and take heed to deadly doctrines that will cost them their life. Don't be one of those people! Read this book, study its pages and you will receive a blessing if you understand this book and place it in your heart.
