“ 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”

The original Greek word for revelation (apokalupsis) means to unveil or uncover something that was hidden or unknown, a disclosure. It is a shame that the revelation that God gave Jesus to show His servants seems to be so neglected and misunderstood by many Christians today. Would God reveal such important details about the return of Christ and His eternal kingdom without giving us the ability to understand it? If we keep the following 5 keys in mind as we read through the book of Revelation they can help us to properly understand Jesus’ final message to his followers:

1. The purpose of the book is to unveil God’s plan from the church age to eternity through the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Follow principles of sound biblical interpretation, using Scripture to interpret Scripture.

3. Most of the prophecies of the book focus on a specific time period known as the “day of the Lord”.

4. Realize the difference between how God deals with the Church and Israel.

5. God did not reveal every detail, but enough for us to understand the book as a whole.

Revelation is clearly addressed to followers of Christ, so we should not expect those outside of the Church to understand this book. Of all the books of the Bible, Revelation requires the reader to truly study the Scriptures to gain a proper understanding of its contents. We plan to expound on these 5 keys in upcoming articles in order to embrace what God wanted us to know in these last days. 

Revelation 7:3-7 (Contemporary English Version)

“Don’t harm the earth or the sea or any tree! Wait until I have marked the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

Rev 7:4 Then I heard how many people had been marked on the forehead. There were one hundred forty-four thousand, and they came from every tribe of Israel:

Rev 7:5 12,000 from Judah, 12,000 from Reuben, 12,000 from Gad,

Rev 7:6 12,000 from Asher, 12,000 from Naphtali, 12,000 from Manasseh,

Rev 7:7 12,000 from Simeon, 12,000 from Levi, 12,000 from Issachar,

Rev 7:8 12,000 from Zebulun, 12,000 from Joseph, and 12,000 from Benjamin.

The 144,000 sealed (or marked) from the 12 tribes of Israel will be preserved by God through the tribulation period so that they will not die. They are seen in a vision with the Lamb on Mount Zion in Revelation 14:1 which can indicate being with Christ when He returns at the end of the tribulation. This seal is about the remnant of Israel that will not die during that future 7 year tribulation period, while many other Jewish and non Jewish followers of Christ who do not have this special seal will die during the tribulation.

However why is the tribe of Dan missing? If we take the text literally that 12,000 are sealed from every tribe (or all tribes) of Israel, this could mean that by the time the tribulation starts the tribe of Dan will no longer exist or possibly does not even exist today. If so it is unique because it would be the only tribe that God did not preserve since they came into existence as the literal sons of Jacob back in the book of Genesis. The name Dan means judge (Gen 49:16) and he was Jacob’s son born by Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah (Genesis 35:25). The most notable judge from the tribe of Dan was Samson (Judges 13-16). The tribe of Dan turned to idolatry to secure its portion of the Promised Land, which was not even the area originally allotted by Joshua (Joshua 19:40-47; Judges 18:27-31). Instead of settling on the east coast near Joppa in the center of Israel, the Philistines forced them out and Dan eventually settled up at the northern tip of Israel near Bashan as was prophesied by Moses just before he died (Deuteronomy 33:22). The city of Dan was known for idol worship in Israel from the period of the judges until Israel went into captivity (1Kings 12:26-30; Amos 8:14). Dan was part of the northern 10 tribe kingdom of Israel which was defeated by the Assyrians around 700 BC due to Israel’s idolatry and rebellion against God.

While Dan is not mentioned among the 12 tribes during the tribulation in Revelation 7, this tribe will be restored to its inheritance at some point after the tribulation. It is one of the 12 tribes represented in the New Jerusalem (Ezekiel 48:1,32 ; Revelation 21:12). While Ephraim is also not listed in Revelation 7, this tribe belongs to Joseph as does Manasseh. We can say then that the sealed remnant of Joseph will be a double portion since 24,000 from this tribe are sealed in Revelation 7 to welcome the physical return of Christ at the end of the tribulation. There is another seal available for every person who puts their faith in Jesus Christ. You can welcome the kingdom of God into your heart today by declaring that you need Jesus to be the Lord and Saviour of your life. God will put His seal upon you as His child, your sins will be forgiven because you believe Jesus paid it all when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. Through faith in Christ you will spend eternity with Him in His Kingdom. Dan’s name is missing from this list in Revelation 7, but the most important thing is that your name is NOT missing in the book of eternal life (Revelation 20:15).

With so much focus on love and relationships as Valentine’s Day draws near, how about taking a fresh look at your relationship with God? Do we realize the love factor that Jesus emphasized in the message to the church at Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2? What primarily is Jesus looking for in our relationship with Him, our service or our heart? The apostle Paul in his epistle to the church at Ephesus likens our relationship to Christ to marriage in Ephesians 5:25. Do you think there is any connection between what the apostle Paul wrote and Jesus’ remark about leaving your first love? Both messages were addressed to the same church but at different times, with the message in Revelation 2 coming years after Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. Jesus is more interested in your heart than the works you do for Him. If your heart is right with God then the motives for your works will also be right. Is there a passionate desire in your heart for Jesus? Is He the most precious one in your life? It is only when our hearts are on fire through loving Him that we can love others the way God wants us to. You see if we leave our first love, or never knew that He is our true first love, then all of our relationships will fall short of what God intended. You may have great relationships with that special person in your life or family members or friends, but a relationship will never be all that God meant it to be until Jesus has all of your heart. It is not about loving Jesus more than others, but rather the reason Christians can show God’s love is because of our loving relationship with Jesus. Jesus is more passionate about us than we will ever realize, as Song of Solomon 4:9 pictures Christ’s heart being ravished by his bride (the Church). The Hebrew word for ravished literally means to stir as when making a cake. Jesus is so stirred with love for His bride, the Church. He is so passionate for us that he died on the cross, demonstrating His love to draw us to Himself. Jesus said in John 15:13 that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for friends. Imagine then how great His love is, to sacrifice His life for sinners and enemies. So come to Him, experience His love by praising Him and by spending quiet times in His presence. Ask the Lord to stir your heart for Him if you have grown cold or if you have never experienced His love in this way. When we return with passion to our first love by recognizing how much Jesus loves us, our hearts should be overwhelmed by Him.

The prophecies of the book of Revelation declare that the Lord Jesus Christ judges the Church before proceeding to judge the nations of the world. Revelation chapters 2 and 3 show we are in the age where Christ is judging His Church. The Bible verse above declares that judgment begins with the house of God. Once the judgment season of the Church is complete, Christ will then begin to judge the world. This judgment of the world occurs during the tribulation period after the Church has already been judged by Christ. The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, makes this picture clear concerning the order of judgments. There is no mention of the Church from chapters 6 to 18 when the judgments are occurring on earth because the Church has already been judged by Christ in chapters 2 and 3. Also because Christ’s disciples will be seated on thrones judging the nation of Israel, it appears impossible for the Church to be on earth for the events of Revelation chapters 6 through 18. Matthew 19:28 states: So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. As the 12 tribes of Israel refer to the whole nation of Israel, likewise the 12 thrones for Christ’s followers can refer the whole Church. I believe that the Church will be reigning with Christ in heaven (2 Timothy 2:12), judging the 12 tribes of Israel during the tribulation period. Surely it is better to be judged now by Christ and to find forgiveness of your sins through faith in Him, than to be judged later with the world during the tribulation period when it may cost you your life for believing in Him (Revelation 14:13). It is even worse should you die without ever accepting Christ as your Savior and eventually find yourself at the Great White Throne Judgment. God’s love and mercy is freely being offered now (2 Corinthians 6:2). Those who accept Christ now will not face Him as Judge, but as a rewarding Savior. At the judgment seat of Christ believers will be judged for their works only to determine to what degree they will be rewarded, however their destiny of eternal life with Christ will not be in question (1 Corinthians 3:13-15 ; 2 Corinthians 5:10). While at the Great White Throne Judgment, nonbelievers works will be judged by Christ to determine their punishment which will last for all eternity (Revelation 20:11-15). Today wouldn’t you rather be destined for eternal glory as a follower of Christ, since He has already suffered the wrath of God for us, than to face the eternal wrath of God yourself on the day of judgment?

“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.”

Bible scholars have determined that about 25% of the Bible is prophetic, foretelling events that would occur in some cases hundreds of years later such as the birth of the Messiah (see Isaiah 7:14 , Matthew 1:22-23).   The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, declares the events that will unfold from now until God creates the new heavens and the new earth.  We cannot determine the actual dates when these things will occur, but we are warned that the time is near.   This is God’s final message to the world, delivered by the resurrected Christ to His servant John on the island of Patmos near the end of the 1^st century.  Some will say that since over 1900 years have passed since its writing that we do not need to concern ourselves with the book of Revelation.  However we need to understand that those who take to heart and obey the words of this prophecy are blessed.  One of the blessings of Revelation is that it reminds the reader who is really in control.  In a world that is in crisis, from the economy to disease to crime to disasters to poverty and wars, it would be easy to wonder if God is still in control of the affairs of the world.  Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:7 that the world would face wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes before His return to establish His kingdom on the earth.  He was letting us know that though many painful and disastrous situations were going to occur, He is still in control and He will fulfill God’s plan for the earth.  We may be on the brink of the final events of world history and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (Mathew 24:44).  You are blessed when you know this because it means that when things seem to be out of control in your life, the prophetic word of God tells us that Jesus is still on the throne.  In His time He will bring to pass everything God’s word has declared concerning your life and the world we live in.  Take heed however if you disregard the words of this prophecy, for the time will come when everything will be fulfilled, including the final judgment of all who reject the word of the Lord (Revelation 20:11-15).  It is a loving God, a compassionate Saviour, who is in absolute control, who has revealed to us the things to come that we may choose to put our faith in Him now… “for the time is near.”

Evangelist Owen Bruce

God has forgiven you.

You will never have to forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you. God forgives completely, unconditionally, and constantly. The Bible says this in Ephesians 4:32 (NLT), “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

You know why you have a hard time forgiving other people? You don’t feel forgiven yourself. When you don’t feel forgiven, you don’t feel like forgiving. When you don’t feel God’s grace, you don’t feel like being gracious to anyone else.

Once you understand how completely God has forgiven you, you’re going to be a lot more forgiving of other people. If you want to help your people begin to release the hurts they’re hanging onto, you’ve got to help them receive God’s grace.

Resentment causes pain.

Resentment is always self-destructive. It always hurts you more than it does the person you’re resenting. Help others understand that resentment won’t work. Job showed us that. He lost everything in a single day. Terrorists came in, killed all his kids, stole all of his cattle, ruined his crops, and he got a terrible disease. Everything went wrong. If anyone had a right to be bitter about the circumstances of life, Job did. But he didn’t get resentful. He knew that resentment doesn’t work.

Job said, “To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do” (5:2 GN).

Resenting a person is like taking a shotgun, pointing it at yourself, pulling the trigger, and hoping to hurt your enemy with the kick of the recoil.

Resentment can continue your pain for years.

When you rehearse the pain someone has caused you in the past, you allow them to continue to hurt you over and over again. Some of you are allowing people who’ve hurt you deeply in the past to continue to hurt you in the present. That’s stupid. They can’t hurt you any more. Your past is past. They cannot hurt you unless you allow them to by resenting them. 

The Bible also says in the book of Job, “Some men stay healthy until the day they die… others have no happiness at all; they live and they die with bitter hearts” (21: 23-25 GN).

Resentment is unhealthy.

Research has shown that the most unhealthy emotion known to human beings is bitterness. God didn’t not make our bodies to carry guilt or resentment. If you don’t talk it out with God, you’re going to take it out on your body. When you swallow your anger, your stomach, your back, and your neck keep score.

Many of the people in our churches are really careful about eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise. But if won’t matter a bit if they don’t get rid of the resentment. In the end, it’s not what you eat that matters as much as what eats you.

You will need more forgiveness in the future.

Forgiveness is a two-way street. Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV), “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” He says we cannot expect to receive what we are unwilling to give. God says you cut other people some slack, and God will cut you some slack. 

When you pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Do you realize what you’re saying when you pray that prayer? You’re saying, “God, I want you to forgive me as much as I forgive everybody else.” Wow! Do you really want to pray that prayer? That’s the standard God sets. 

It’s a tough standard. But it’s God’s standard.

You will never move forward spiritually. They’ll never find their place in ministry. They’ll never find the unique mission God has for them in life because they’re letting resentment eat them up inside.

As believers in Jesus Christ our faith is built upon the foundation that Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross paid the price for the sins of the world. When we fail to forgive someone what we are actually doing is demanding payment for his or her sin by refusing to release the wrong they have done from our hearts. We are declaring that by holding onto bitterness and unforgiveness we are ensuring that person is getting payback for what they did. We may even feel justified in doing so because of the pain they caused. This attitude of demanding payment brings a type of death, a separation from the blessings of God. In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant whose master forgave him of a debt he could not pay (verse 25). This servant then demanded payment from another servant who owed him little in comparison to the huge amount he had owed. What did his master say when he found out? “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” The master then turned the wicked servant over to the torturers until he paid all that was due. Unforgiveness put both of those servants in some type of prison when both servants could have and should have been living in freedom because of the generosity of their master. How can we possibly use unforgiveness to demand someone pay for their sins when Christ already paid it all on the cross? Don’t try to imprison others by being an unforgiving person, because you will find yourself locked in an emotional and spiritual prison with them. Do you not realize how great a debt God forgave you? Since God has offered us the gift of eternal life and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, should we not offer the same gift of forgiveness to others? The wonderful thing about a genuine gift is that it cannot be earned, but rather it is something freely given. Oh how wonderful, how liberating it is to release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. When we truly appreciate and accept God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, He then gives us the power to forgive others. Payment of gift, death or life, prison or freedom, bitterness or forgiveness … the choice is yours.

The study of the Bible and Bible prophecy places people in two categories regarding the judgment of God; those who receive sin’s payment and those who receive God’s gift.  Sin demands its wages (or payment) which is death.  Sin is primarily against God, not people.  When Potiphar’s wife tried to entice Joseph to commit adultery with her, Joseph’s response is recorded in the latter part of Genesis 39:9, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”   Because sin is primarily against God, for sin to be forgiven by God Christ had to pay its’ wages through His death on the cross.  God would violate His own Word if sin did not receive the payment of death.  God’s forgiveness then is a gift, freely given to all who will receive it through faith in what Christ did on our behalf.  Remember that the coming judgment of God upon the earth is because sin demands its payment according to the Word of God.  However the same Word promises the gift, which no one can demand, but is by grace freely offered.  Which group do you fall into … those who receive sin’s payment or those who receive God’s gift?

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ for whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Our present focus should not be on trying to see the good when we experience painful circumstances, but rather ask God to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29 – to be conformed to the image of His Son).  It was in the midst of His suffering when He was on the cross that Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do”.  Jesus was asking the Father to keep no record of the wrong, making a way for us that our sins may be forgiven to spend eternity with Him.  Genuine forgiveness, in being like Jesus, means that I keep no record of the wrongs that someone did to me.  When I am experiencing the glory of heaven it will not matter what evil anyone did to me here on earth.  By no means does this excuse a person’s sin, it just removes me as judge and leaves everything in the hands of the Lord Jesus who is the rightful judge of all sin.  We then become more like Jesus, offering the same unconditional forgiveness He did, with the hope that our example will point them and others to the Savior.  Remembering our future eternal destination can help bring healing and forgiveness to hurtful situations, causing us to declare that “all things work together for good.”

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

When I hear of fatalities in plane crashes, soldiers and innocent people being killed by wars, and all types of murders and horrific crimes, I can honestly say that I do not see the good.  What about the tragedies and injustices that touch our personal lives?  I think we all agree that we would rather not have to go through such pain and heartache.  The “all things work together for good” part of Romans 8:28 was never meant to get people to try to see the good in the painful circumstances and tragedies of their personal lives or the bad things that happen around the world.  We do not need to try to understand why these things happen or why God allows them. Rather the “all things work together for good” part of Romans 8:28 were written in the context of an eternal perspective.  In Romans 8:18 the apostle Paul wrote, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”.  It is only as we consider the eternal destination of those who love God and are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ that we can say that no matter what tragedy we experience or the bad we see happening around us we know that in the end we will spend eternity with God.  However for those whose eternal destination is eternal punishment, they cannot say that “all things work together for good”.  Such a person may have all the best this world has to offer, but in the end there will be no good that awaits them.  All the good that they experienced in this life will not matter at that point in time because they will never experience another good moment for the rest of eternity.  In like manner the one who through faith in Jesus Christ knows heaven as their eternal destination, all the bad that happens during this lifetime will not even matter once they are experiencing eternal glory.  Ephesians2:7 states what God has in store for those who believe, ” that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus”.  Revelation 21:4 states “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  It is from an eternal perspective that the one who believes in Jesus Christ can declare that “all things work together for good.”