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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Ian Moore and are based on Revelation 1:1-8
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Daniel 7
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw – that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from
Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Sunday November 23 - The Revelation
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants
what must soon take place... Revelation 1:1
Today, we begin another journey together; for the next 13 weeks we will seek to understand what was, what is, and what is to come. I hope it will be more than just eschatology – a theological term meaning the end of things as we know them. Revelation is apocalyptic prophecy, things hidden but now made known; it is full of Old Testament imagery, things the writer struggles to put into words. The Apostle Paul also received a vision of heaven (see 2 Corinthians 12:1-4), a vision full of ‘inexpressible things’.
I pray that ‘it does what it says on the tin’, bringing ‘revelation’ – clarity, understanding and a living hope about things which ‘must soon take place.’ Here lies our first challenge; much of the prophecy is still yet to take place, almost 2000 years on! This was also a problem for first-century believers; we see this clearly in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians (see 1 Thessalonians chapters 4 and 5). God’s timing is set against eternity; for God ‘a day is as a thousand years’ (2 Peter 3:8). What we can say with confidence is that Jesus’ return is nearer now than ever!
Note that the revelation was given by God to Jesus, for John to share with the church; it is beyond human wisdom, philosophical thought or worldly ideology. So let’s fasten our seatbelts and hear what the Spirit has to say to us.
Father God, this week may we receive afresh the message of Jesus’ return, and may its truth cause us to live in holy expectancy. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY