Getting the Most from Revelation (Part Two)

Even if I understand how to read Revelation, an important question remains: why should I read it? How will it help me devotionally? In what ways will it make me a better follower of Jesus?

Another way of asking this: We know God has promised a blessing to those who take hold of the words of Revelation (1:3). But what kind of blessings should our people expect?

Here are seven ways I deepen my faith when I read Revelation:

I approach Jesus more humbly (chapter 1).

I was a BUICK””that stands for a Brought Up In Church Kid””and I saw the flannelgraph pictures of Jesus in his white robe, blue sash, soft flowing brown hair, kind eyes, a lamb around his shoulders, and children on his lap. I saw a gentle Jesus, a nice Jesus, a “Mr. Rogers” Jesus.

While Jesus is certainly meek and humble of heart, the danger for someone like me is that I can put Jesus in my theological dryer and shrink him. He just becomes my XL buddy. When you declaw the Lion of Judah, when he simply becomes a warm and fuzzy household pet, you can lose your reverence, fear, and awe.

But not if I read Revelation. In Revelation 1, I am overwhelmed by this glorious, dreadful vision of Christ. This is not the gentle Jesus with children on his lap. This Jesus speaks in Niagara thunder. He blazes with blinding supernova brilliance. This Jesus could play kickball with our planet. This Jesus could flick his finger and send our solar system spinning off into space. He is clothed in glory and majesty and splendor and power and authority, and this is not a Jesus in whose presence you can just casually stand around. This vision of Jesus washes over you, crushing you like a tidal wave and leaving you fighting for your life, your very breath. John fell at his feet as though dead (1:17).

So I am warned: Jesus is not a smiling buddy who winks at sin. He is not, as Tom Howard reminds us, “a pale Galilean, but a towering and furious figure who will not be managed.”1 When I read Revelation, I approach Jesus more humbly, more reverently, with awe.

I love the church more honestly (chapters 2 and 3).

I love God”s idea called the church! When I read books like Ephesians and Acts, I catch God”s vision for this vibrant, victorious community. I imagine a band of believers ablaze with love for Jesus, preaching the good news in the marketplace, embracing the sick and shameful with Christ”s love, digging deeply into Scripture together. To be a part of a body like that””what a glorious joy! Sign me up!

But then I go to church and find people who sometimes care more about carpet color than compassion, who hold their money too tightly, who bicker and quarrel and know their TV Guide better than their Bible. I saw a book entitled Church: Why Bother? and when I see congregations shamed by immoral scandal or dulled by years of the same routine, I can get frustrated and feel like giving up on the church.

But not if I read Revelation. All churches have fallen short of the glory of God, and nowhere is that clearer than in Revelation 2 and 3. These churches are marked by immorality, sloppy teaching, apathy, and complacency. The churches are a mess””just like the ones I know. As my friend Mark Moore says, “We say we want to be the New Testament church. Congratulations, we made it!”

But the good news is, Jesus still loves these churches. It”s tough love, to be sure. In these seven letters, Jesus challenges and corrects and confronts””moving them to maturity. But it”s love nonetheless. “The Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Hebrews 12:6). And with the confrontation is commendation. For each church except Laodicea, he affirms the good he sees mixed in with the bad. He loves these churches not because they”re perfect, but because they”re his.

That”s the essence of true love. I heard about a girl who said, as she was breaking up with her boyfriend, “I will always cherish the initial misconception I had about you.” Ouch! Real love doesn”t happen in fantasy; it happens in reality. You can”t love someone for who you wish they were; you must love them as they actually are, flaws and all. That”s why Dietrich Bonhoeffer said true Christian community begins with disillusionment. You aren”t really loving your Christian brothers until they”ve disappointed you and you choose to stick by them anyway. That”s what Jesus does for the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, and when I read these chapters, I too am inspired to love the church more honestly.

I enter worship more selflessly (chapters 4 and 5).

My wife and I have six kids. Can I tell you what a typical Sunday morning looks like at my house? I”d like to say it”s a focused time of joy and preparation, as my family smilingly helps each other get ready and then sings hymns in harmony on the van ride to church. But the reality is, Sunday mornings are crazy; it seems we”re always running late, I can lose my cool with the kids, and too often I”m rushing into the sanctuary with a pounding heart and irritated soul. I”m not focused on God.

It”s easy to focus on so many other things during worship””family or work or the ball game or how someone”s dressed or the music style or the misspelled PowerPoint slide. We can be thinking more about the excellence of the program than the excellence of God.

But not if I read Revelation. When you walk through the open door in Revelation 4, you enter the throne room of Heaven. You suck in your breath, shield your eyes from the dazzling light, and drop to your knees in fear and wonder. Incense fills your nostrils. An angelic host so vast you have to count it by the ten thousands shakes the very foundations of the sky with their praise. The countless thundering voices rumble in your chest. The noise is so loud you can”t hear yourself think.

As you trace their attention, you find every being is focused on the throne. At the center of that throne is a majestic God””so glorious the only way John can paint him is by dipping his brush in thunder, lightning, rainbows, and jewels. At the center of the throne is a merciful Christ””the Lamb who gave his life as the ransom for men. And in the light of this sovereign God and this sacrificial Christ, we weep at our own pettiness. How can we have been thinking about anything else? All eyes are on the throne, and all anyone here is thinking about is the greatness of God and the goodness of Christ. When I catch a glimpse of God as I read Revelation, I enter worship more selflessly.

I endure suffering more confidently (chapters 6-9).

When the going gets tough, what do you do? Sometimes it gets tough because we live in a fallen world of tornadoes, cancer, car wrecks, and floods. The effects of sin affect us all. Sometimes the going gets tough because we”re Christian. As Paul promised, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). When the going gets tough, what do you do?

Revelation 6-9 teaches me to sing. The going gets tough in these chapters””war, famine, murder, earthquakes, stars falling to earth, warrior locusts. The slain believers in chapter 6 ask God, “How long will this suffering last?” In tough times, we wonder if God has forgotten us.

Phillip Yancey tells the story of some Americans in a German prison camp in World War II who, unbeknownst to the guards, built a makeshift radio. One day news came over the radio that the German high command had surrendered, ending the war, but because of a communications breakdown, the German guards didn”t yet know. It wasn”t until four days later that the Americans woke to discover the Germans had fled, leaving the gates unlocked. In the three interim days, those prisoners still suffered. They were still mocked and abused, but they were changed. They waved to the guards, laughed at the German shepherd dogs, told jokes over meals, and in the midst of their captivity, they sang, because they knew their salvation was sure and soon.

In Revelation 7, the oppressed believers get a news bulletin about the near future. The time is coming when they will stand before the throne. The Lamb will be their shepherd and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Because their salvation is soon and sure, they can sing the song in 7:10, “Salvation belongs to our God.” So when my going gets tough, I too can sing. Heaven awaits and God has not forgotten me, so I can endure suffering more confidently.

I speak God truth more courageously (chapters 10 and 11).

These chapters can be hard to understand. How exactly can they help me in my Christian life? First, notice the main characters: John (chapter 10) and the two witnesses (chapter 11). Second, notice their activity. All three are commanded to speak the message of God. But all three discover that preaching is not all about congratulations and conversions. Notice the results: when John swallows God”s message, it”s bitter. When the witnesses finish speaking their testimony, they get killed. What does this teach me? Witnessing means telling God”s truth, no matter the consequences. As one African-American preacher put it, “The church must be prophetic or it will be pathetic.”

I don”t know about you, but I need reminded of that. Our world does not like to hear God”s truth and can get hostile. Somebody said, “If you are the light of the world, you”re going to attract a few bugs.” Or as Wayne Smith puts it, “If you carry the ball for Christ, you”re going to get tackled.” Sometimes, in the interest of keeping the peace, we can be tempted to keep silent. Nobody wants to be seen as intolerant or judgmental. It”s easier just to be quiet.

Which is why we need these chapters. Notice: John doesn”t write as much to instruct us in witnessing as to inspire us to witnessing. I don”t need more explanation. I need examples. It”s not information I lack. It”s courage. Seeing these witnesses speak boldly for God shoots adrenaline through my soul. They paid the price for faithfulness. Surely I can speak up for Christ to my neighbor. Though the world may reject, God will reward (11:18). When I read Revelation, I say, “Make me like these guys. Make me a witness.” I speak God”s truth more courageously.

I see evil more clearly (chapters 12-18).

Looming over these chapters, John shows us evil personified as a violent dragon, two grotesque beasts, and a prostitute. We need these shocking images because we don”t always see evil as plainly as that. The world teaches us to call un-nice things by nicer names. Instead of cheating, it”s creative accounting. Instead of lying, it”s massaging the truth. Instead of homosexuality, it”s an alternative lifestyle. Instead of profanity, it”s freedom of expression. It”s not gossip; it”s concern. Satan is a deceiver, and his most effective strategy is dressing up ugly realities in beautiful words.

So in these chapters, John exposes the evil that seeks to deceive his readers. False religion and godless government are not simply well-meaning but misguided institutions. They are evil beasts that belong to the dragon. Follow the strings, and you will find they are marionettes of Satan, puppets of the prince of this world. The fallen culture around you may at first appear attractive, and it will seem she is offering you the beginning of a beautiful friendship. But in Revelation 17, John unmasks her as a cheap, diseased streetwalker. She will be destroyed and all those with her, so don”t be seduced.

John is teaching us to call sin by its true name. What looks harmless is hellish. This world is not a playground but a battleground, and the battle rages in the things I buy, movies I see, activities I pursue, conversations I have, priorities I set, and beliefs I live by. In all of these, Satan will tempt me to make subtle compromises, and I must keep my eyes wide open. When I read Revelation, I see evil more clearly.

I will long for Christ”s return more deeply (chapters 19-22).

John wants to teach us to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We are to have the attitude of Paul who said he longed for Christ”s appearing (2 Timothy 4). Mark Buchanan writes, “Our hearts are to have an inner tilt upward, the grain of our souls is to lean heavenward. We are to be heaven-bent. . . . Like the tug and heft of a huge unseen planet hovering near, the hope of heaven is meant to exert a gravitational pull on our lives that we cannot escape.”2 But there was a time in my life when I prayed, “Come Lord Jesus . . . just not yet.” I was young and had so much left I wanted to do””foods to taste, mountains to climb, books to read. I wanted to get married, have kids, enjoy life, and then see Jesus return. I was still attached to this world. “Come Lord Jesus . . . just not yet.”

But I”m older now. I”ve seen the world for what it really is””a place marred by sin. I”m tired of famine, abortion, murder, deceit, natural disaster, cancer, death, sin, and Satan running loose through this world. Jesus is tired of it too! The day is coming when he will come crashing through the clouds, the angelic host behind him. Time will screech to a halt. In an instant (not some drawn-out Armageddon battle), Satan and sin and death will be defeated. They will be thrown into the lake of fire, and a new world will be ours!

When I read Revelation, my heart is captured by a new Heaven and a new earth, a wedding banquet, a beautiful city, and a whole new kind of life. We will live in a city with no prisons, hospitals, cemeteries, or police stations. There will be no more sickness, no more death, no more pain, no more crying, no more night. We will live in a world with mountains and rivers and birds and trees so beautiful our souls will ache within us. We will see our loved ones who have died in Christ. We will work and play and laugh and dance. We will explore and learn and talk and worship together for eternity. And best of all, we”ll see our Lord face-to-face. What a glorious day that will be!

That”s what our hearts long for. “Heaven is the ache in our bones. Heaven is the splinter in our heart. Heaven is our deepest instinct.”3 When I read Revelation, I pray, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly.”

A Final Challenge

Yes, I avoided this book when I was a young preacher, but I have repented, and my confession is this: I need this book. On my darkest days, it is this vision that can keep me going. It is this vision that can strengthen my obedience, lengthen my endurance, and deepen my faith. It is no “haunted house,” but a welcoming home to refresh and revive me when I am weary of heart.

You need this book too. So don”t avoid it. Don”t neglect it. Read Revelation. Then let God”s Word do the work that only it can do. Immerse yourself in the powerful truth of this book, and I promise you””no, God promises you””you will be blessed!

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1Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1988), 29.

2Mark Buchanan, Things Unseen (Sisters: Multnomah, 2002), 11, 24.

3Ibid., 29

Matt Proctor is president of Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and a CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editor.