The Revelation
By David J. Stewart
Revelation 1:1, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:”
Carefully notice that Revelation 1:1 mentions the “Revelation” (singular). Contrary to what many people think, the purpose of Revelation is not to reveal the future. The Bible does not say “Revelations” (plural); but rather, “Revelation” (singular). So what is the singular purpose of the Book of Revelation? What is being revealed? The answer is found in Revelation 1:1, “THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.”
The purpose of THE REVELATION is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Revelation 19:10 . . .
“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Amen! The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The purpose of all Bible prophecy—whether it be Messianic, present or future prophecy—is to testify of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said in John 5:39 . . .
John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
The correct way to study the Word of God is to always look for how it relates to the Lord Jesus Christ. How does a particular passage relate to the Savior? From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures TESTIFY to the reader concerning the precious Lamb of God.
From Abel's blood sacrifice (Genesis 4:4) to the saints whose robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14), the Bible proclaims the necessity and importance of the literal blood sacrifice of Jesus.
Misapplying the Scriptures
It is tragic that so many careless ministers have mishandled the Word of God, teachings things they ought not. I know a man who was called to pastor a very large church of over 25,000 people. The first thing he did was write a series of books on tithing and giving. That bothered me. Of all the topics to write about, why would a new preacher choose money? Regardless of his good intentions I'm sure, it sent out a message to everyone where his heart was at.
In his series, he teaches that Cain's sin was really that of not tithing. That is ridiculous. Cain's sin was disobeying God, attempting to please God with his own self-righteous grain offering (Genesis 4:3,5). Cain failed to trust upon the Lord, the coming Messiah. Abel offered up an animal sacrifice, which represented his faith in the coming Messiah (Genesis 4:4).
For anyone to teach that Cain's sin was that of not tithing, i.e., not giving God what is His, is to horribly misinterpret the Bible. This pastor corrupts the Bible in many places to support his greedy agenda, hoping to create a mindset amongst his congregation so they'll give sacrificially. The problem is that he has agendized the Bible, making it all about money. The main subject of the Bible is JESUS CHRIST; not money.
Revelation 1:1, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.”
Certainly, the Bible gives us a vivid glimpse of the future; but the main purpose is to TESTIFY of Jesus. Prophecy is history written in advance.
Beware of False Christs
The Bible warns that false Christ's would come in the Last Days . . .
Matthew 24:24, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
Mark 13:22, “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.”
A Messiah has been expected for generations by all of the major religions. Christians know Him as the Christ, and expect His imminent return. Jews await him as the Messiah; Hindus look for the coming of Krishna; Buddhists expect him as Maitreya, Buddha; and Muslims anticipate the Imam Mahdi or Messiah.
The Bible plainly teaches that Jesus will return IN THE CLOUDS and Rapture the Church to meet with Him IN THE AIR (1st Thessalonians 4:17). So don't believe anyone who claims that they've seen appearances of the Messiah here on earth. Jesus came 2,000 years ago and then ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9).
The Revelation
May we all SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES as Jesus commanded in John 5:39, which TESTIFY of Jesus.
