5 Lessons from the Book of Revelation
Posted On December 16, 2022
Written by Dr. Matthew Dudreck, associate professor of New Testament
The book of Revelation can often be an intimidating subject for study. Indeed, many preachers who teach from it on any given Sunday often focus only on the seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor (Rev. 1–3). This is unfortunate because the entirety of Revelation was written for the life of the Christian in every age. Here are just five encouraging lessons among many that we can take away from studying Revelation:
1. There’s a spiritual dimension behind every aspect of life in this world, and God is sovereignly guiding it all for His glory. This was essentially the purpose of the genre of Revelation as an “apocalypse,” a type of literature that presents a window into what is spiritually going on in this world, peering behind the scenes as it were, communicating its message through visions and symbolic language (Rev. 1:1).
2. End-time suffering and reigning with Christ in His kingdom have always been overlapping realities for the church. The Apostle John clearly states that he is a brother and partner with the churches in both the tribulation and the kingdom (Rev. 1:9). The glorified Christ reigns from between the throne and the four living creatures as a Lamb slain, having made His people a kingdom that reigns upon the earth (Rev. 5:6, 10).
3. God has always been, and will continue to be, faithful to His covenant promises, preserving and growing His covenant people. In apocalyptic literature, visions are mutually interpreting, often clarifying one another in succession. The sealing of the 144,000 reminds us that God preserves a holy remnant of His covenant people (Rev. 7:1–8), and the very next vision encourages us by making it known that God’s preservation of that same people includes an innumerable multitude from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 7:9–17).
4. Ultimate blessing for the Christian comes through apparent curse and defeat. This is behind the call for the saints “to conquer” throughout the book of Revelation. The calls “for the faith and endurance of the saints” in Rev. 13:10 and 14:12 recognize that our suffering and earthly defeat by fallen humanity and its idolatrous institutions will make it appear as if we are under a divine curse (Rev. 13:1–10; cf. Jer. 15:2), but that God will vindicate us through that suffering and death in the final judgment (Rev. 14:6–13).
5. God alone will bring about His new creation and the eternal state. After the final judgment, the new heaven and new earth is pictured as the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven (Rev. 21:1–2). It doesn’t progressively arise or derive from the old order but transcendently descends to take its place without human effort or contribution. It’s another reminder that God’s kingdom will not come by any earthly power or design except His alone.