Three Minute Thoughts

As we approach the end of all time, we have to wrestle with how we come into this book of the bible. Do we read it literally or figuratively? Whichever we choose, we have to be consistent. There is a ton of information in this chapter and we will merely scratch the surface but know that Christ is coming and when he does you won't be able to miss it!

Throughout the book of Revelation we see devastation and things that cause fear. We know that the end will come and that Jesus will return but when? This chapter is when that actually happens as Jesus rides in on His white horse to declare victory and judgment.

The tide begins to turn as we round the corner to the final chapters of this book. Judgement is levied. The stage is being set for the saints of God to be welcomed to glory.

As we approach the must challenging of times even evil will start to work against itself. This chapter reveals what that will look like.

When John unveils the bowls of wrath we can see a little history come back to us once again. We not only see the future of where things will be headed but the history of where God's people have been.

As John sees the end of all time the images get increasingly disturbing. Here the water is on fire and plagues are on the horizon and yet all of it is promised to bring us relief and aide in just the right time.

Today we look at the imagery of the end of the world from a 30,000 foot view. It's very low on detail and the next few chapters will unpack this picture with even more vivid imagery.

John here is painting the picture of the helpers that the dragon calls upon to accomplish his work. The two beasts have the same function but using different tactics. One will use the political system to lead us astray while the other will infiltrate the spiritual things of the world to mislead us to following the dragon.

John is going to describe the past, present and future realties all in one story of a woman, child, dragon and wilderness. We are the ones journeying in that wilderness. We are susceptible to the trouble yet not overcome by it.

Throughout the end times we'll see highs and lows, good times and bad, but in it all we'll see God providing for us as we remain reliant on him.

In our time through the book of Revelation things can be fairly daunting. We struggle with what all of this means and honestly it's hard to hear of some of these devastating events. This chapter gives us a brief pause from these events and shows us a little something different.

A quick explanation of how the book of revelation is written and how we can understand it.

The events of the end are coming fast. Here we see the unveiling of the devastation that comes in the days of Christ's return but we have hope as we stand in his promises.

John describes a sight where the angels are preparing for the end of the world, but are not allowed to do anything until all are ready. How many will there be? What is this reference to 144,000? We'll look at this in our short time together today.

John is witnessing some of the signs leading to the unfolding of the end times. He sees what are called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Each of these horses represent another layer of turmoil that will come on the earth.

John takes us into the throne room of God. Here we see the power and majesty of God but also the presence of Jesus pictured as a lamb killed but alive again.

John is given a glimpse of heaven's glory and we get a sneak peak as well!

John writes to the final three churches and reminds them who God is, who they are and what God has in store for the faithful.

John starts writing letters to the 7 churches. Here we discuss how those letters are assembled and some commonalities between each letter.

John's letter that we know as Revelation is sometimes hard to understand. Today we'll get things set up so we can hopefully understand some of it better.

The bible tells us that Christ has won, but there are moments in our lives when we let the devil win. We'll discuss what that means today.

The coming of the Lord doesn't always happen when and how we want it to happen but it will happen. We need just be ready.

There should be no such thing as a camouflaged Christian. We should stand out in how we live our lives.

Peter tell us that we need to add to our faith in order to add to the lives of those around us.

Take a moment to give thanks. Then consider how you might actively pursue the things you claim to believe.