Introduction

What is the Book of Revelation About?

Read this 5-minute introduction to help you find your bearings in the Bible story, and be inspired to read Revelation!

Videos
on Revelation

Historical Context
of Revelation

Accordion Content

Jesus Christ is the divine author of this “revelation” (Revelation 1:1). He describes coming events to his servant John. John, son of Zebedee, was the “beloved disciple” who also wrote the Fourth Gospel and 1, 2, and 3 John.

From Bibles.net: Remember that the ultimate author of every book of the Bible is the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). He has written this book to equip you for life, to help you know the true God, and to give you hope (2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 15:4). The Holy Spirit wrote Revelation for your good and to lead you into joy.

Most scholars believe John recorded these visions while imprisoned on the island of Patmos in the mid-90s AD. Revelation is addressed specifically to seven first-century churches in the Roman province of Asia (now western Turkey), but the message is for all churches everywhere.

The Setting of Revelation 

c. AD 95 

John addressed the book of Revelation “to the seven churches that are in Asia,” names Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, although there were undoubtedly other churches elsewhere in the province of Asia (e.g., Miletus and Colossae, see Acts 20:17; Colossians 1:2). John had apparently been exiled from Ephesus to the island of Patmos, southwest of Ephesus, and it was probably there that he recorded his visions.  

Unless otherwise indicated, this content is adapted from the ESV Global Study Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2012 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Books

Message Series
on Revelation

Revelation by the Pastors at NCBC

A handful of excellent pastors at New Covenant Bible Church (NCBC) in Illinois preached a phenomenal message series on the book of Revelation. As they open God’s Word, you will be challenged to persevere, moved to worship, and filled with anticipation for Jesus’ return.

Listen to Revelation On

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Revelation Dictionary

As you read through Revelation, you might come across words and ideas that are foreign to you. Here are a few definitions you will want to know! Note that this dictionary was created for the New International Version (NIV) Bible.

A place where sacrifices were made to worship God. An altar could be a pile of dirt or stones, or a raised platform of wood, marble, metal, or other materials. The bronze or brazen altar was used for burnt offerings in the tabernacle’s courtyard. It was a large box, eight feet square and four-and-a-half feet high, made of wood covered with bronze. A much larger altar replaced it when Solomon built the temple. The altar of incense (also called the golden altar) was smaller, covered with gold, and placed just in front of the veil to the Holy of Holies. Every day, both morning and evening, incense was burned here, symbolizing the prayers of the people.

Heavenly beings created by God before he created Adam and Eve. Angels act as God’s messengers to men and women. They also worship God.

A Hebrew word that means “praise the Lord!”

(1) The sky or universe beyond earth. (2) The dwelling place of God, the angels, and those granted salvation.

The most important city of Bible times. Jerusalem was the capital of the united kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. The temple was built in Jerusalem, so many people traveled to the city to worship God. In 587 BC, Jerusalem was captured and mostly destroyed by Babylonian armies. The city was rebuilt when the Jews returned after 70 years of exile in Babylon. Jesus taught in the city of Jerusalem, was crucified outside the city wall, was buried near the city, and then rose again. The first Christian church began in Jerusalem after the Holy Spirit came to the believers there.

A name for Jesus that tells us that he died to take away our sins. During the times of the Old Testament, when a Jewish person had sinned, he or she offered a lamb as a sacrifice to God. Jesus became like one of those lambs when he gave himself as a sacrifice to die so that our sins can be forgiven.

One thousand years. The term is used in reference to Revelation 20:1-15, which mentions a thousand-year period in which Satan is bound and Christ rules.

(1) A very serious disease that spreads quickly among people in an area, often causing death. (2) Anything that causes great harm or suffering. Sometimes crops were destroyed by a plague of locusts. (3) The ten great disasters God sent to the Egyptians to convince the Pharaoh to free the Israelites (see Exodus 4–12).

To make known something that was hidden or unknown. In Old Testament times, God revealed himself through his mighty acts and through his words to the prophets and to other people such as Abraham, Moses, and David. In the New Testament, God made himself known by sending Jesus Christ. As Jesus lived on earth, he revealed God’s love, his holiness, and his power, helping us know what God is like. One of the ways God reveals himself to us is through his Word, the Bible. The last book of the Bible is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ because it describes how Jesus will triumph over evil.

One of God’s people. The New Testament says that all Christians are saints. Paul often addressed his letters “to the saints.”

The most powerful enemy of God and all people. Other names for Satan include the devil, the evil one, the prince of this world, the father of lies, the enemy, the adversary, and Lucifer. Satan is the ruler of a kingdom made up of demons. He hates God and tries to destroy God’s work. The Bible tells us that in the end, God will destroy Satan and the demons.

A small tool or ring that had a design cut into one side. The owner of each seal had his or her own special design. When the owner wanted to put his or her own special mark or brand on something, the person would press the seal into hot wax or soft clay. As the wax or clay hardened, it kept the design in it. Seals were used in many ways, including to show that two people had reached an agreement, to seal a letter, or to show who owned something.

The unseen part of a person that controls what he or she thinks, feels, and does; soul. The Bible says that God is a Spirit, showing that he does not have a physical body.

A group of people related in some way; clan; family. Each of the twelve tribes of Israel was descended from one of the twelve sons of Jacob. The descendants of Levi were assigned the honor of caring for the tabernacle and were not given a territory, as were the other eleven tribes. (They were given forty-eight towns in which to live.) The descendants of Joseph were divided into two half tribes named after Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Trouble or affliction, sometimes as punishment for wrongdoing. The Great Tribulation refers to a period of extraordinary, worldwide suffering when the Antichrist is allowed temporary control of human affairs.

Something seen during a trance or dream. A vision was a way God showed someone a truth that would otherwise not be known. Sometimes people were asleep when God gave them visions (see Ezekiel 8:1-4; Acts 10:9-29).

(1) A person who tells what he or she has seen. (2) To tell others what has been seen. Jesus told his followers to be witnesses. We are to tell what we have seen Jesus Christ do in our own lives.

Misery, sorrow, or great suffering.

Very great anger.

Dictionary Source

This content is from What the Bible Is All About, written by Henrietta Mears. Copyright © 1953, 2011 by Gospel Light. Copyright assigned to Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

Tough Questions
from Revelation

We have found answers to some tough questions that we anticipate may arise as you read Revelation. We know we can’t answer every question you will have; therefore, we have written this article, so you know how to find answers for your kids: How Do I Answer Tough Questions About the Bible?

Insights about Revelation

The following insights are from pastors and scholars who have spent significant time studying the book of Revelation.

Revelation is no usual book. It is a sweeping analysis of history from the first advent of Christ to the second. Jesus had promised that the Spirit would teach His apostles “all things” (John 14:26). The Spirit had come and fulfilled the promise. Apostles had communicated the authoritative word. The task of revelation was finished. The book of Revelation is the last apostolic word to the church. The Almighty Savior, seated at God’s right hand, opens His sovereign lips personally to declare that nothing is to be added to what has been recorded. Beware of meddling with Christ’s revelation. 

—Walter Chantry  

Source: Chantry, Walter. Signs of the Apostles. Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth, 197. Quote retrieved from Grace Quotes at gracequotes.org.

This is how the book of Revelation works. It is a picture book of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is as John says here, “the revelation of Jesus Christ” in other words what you and I are chiefly to see in the book of Revelation is not puzzles but a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There is a painting in the New Testament of which the New Testament is the book and revelation is the movie. You got that? There is a statement in the New Testament of which the rest of the New Testament is the book and the book of Revelation is the movie? Do you know what that statement is? It’s the words of our Lord in Matthew 16:18, “I am going to build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” And this is a story that’s told, isn’t it, in the Acts of the apostles and the rest of the New Testament, and here is the movie that the apostle John sees in high definition—technicolor—of the way in which the Lord Jesus Christ will build his church and the gates of hell will seek to prevail against it but never be able to overcome it.

—Sinclair Ferguson

Source: Ferguson, Sinclair. “Revelation or Obfuscation?.” Podcast Audio. This podcast originally appeared here at The Gospel Coalition.

No other book of the New Testament is as permeated by the Old Testament as is Revelation. Although its author seldom quotes the Old Testament directly, allusions and echoes are found in almost every verse of the book. Revelation’s message remains thoroughly “New Testament.” The church universal is called to maintain a faithful witness in the midst of persecution, following in the footsteps of the Lamb, who died to free them from their sins. Having conquered through faith, they are promised the blessing of eternal life in the presence of God in the new heaven and new earth, all with the purpose that they worship him and that he receive the glory forever. However, the imagery is drawn almost exclusively from the Old Testament, thus reminding the reader that redemption in Christ is the fulfillment of God’s eternal plans.  

—G.K. Beale and Sean M. McDonough

Source: Beale, G.K. and D.A. Carson. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007.

The fear most people identify with because the visions are so odd to a modern reader, is that they think: I can’t possibly understand it. But Jesus is the one who brings it to us, and Jesus knows our need. With the unhealthy interest, I’m thinking of the people who think that they’ve got some secret clue so that they can calculate the date of the second coming—which the Bible itself says you can’t know before hand—or they find secret messages within the book of Revelation, or they speculate about the details of the second coming. They spend, as it were, half of their Christian life just trying to puzzle things out. My message is partly that this is not a puzzle book; it’s a picture book. It’s not something that we just calculate from, but it’s something that is intended to move us with the big picture of Christ’s rule and God’s plan for history. 

—Vern Poythress  

Source: Poythress, Vern. Interview with Nancy Guthrie. Blessed: Conversations on the Book of Revelation with Nancy Guthrie. Podcast Audio. June 1, 2022. https://www.crossway.org/articles/the-blessed-the-organization-of-revelation-with-vern-poythress-episode-6/

As we dive deeper into the book of Revelation, Christians commonly walk away with two wrong responses. First is they hear about God’s awful wrath and the persecution on the church and they become scared, very scared. Second is they contemplate the heavy symbolism and make it their life’s goal to interpret the events down to the smallest detail. Then they often dogmatically defend their position, even to the expense of dividing the church. If the first individual has his head in the sand, the second has his head in the clouds! 

—Randy Smith  

Source: Randy Smith, quoted from his message, “The Beginning of the End—Part 2” on Revelation 6:1-17, preached on October 25, 2015. Adapted from Bruce Ware, Eschatology, biblicaltraining.org, retrieved from Grace Quotes. 

The lone fact that so many well-intentioned and intelligent Christians believe so variously when it comes to Revelation 20 must give us pause. The book of Revelation itself is probably the most curious and oft-debated piece of the canon. This ought to place us in a position of caution when either accepting or dismissing another’s interpretation. 

—Author Unknown  

Source: Author Unknown, retrieved from Grace Quotes

The word “revelation” is the Greek apokalupsis and means literally “unveiling” or “taking off the cover.” Thus this book is not intended to be mysterious or confusing, but illuminating and revealing. In this opening statement, John stresses the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ, even though now glorified in heaven, is still a resurrected man. In his continuing humanity (even though also deity), he received from God this prophetic unveiling of the future, with full authority to reveal it to his servants for their guidance and blessing.

—Henry Morris

Source: Some content taken from The Revelation Record by Henry M. Morris. Copyright © 1983. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Many contemporary discussions of Revelation are so preoccupied with what the book means that we’ve ignored what it’s for, which isn’t complicated: it is to be obeyed (Revelation 14:12) and rejoiced in (Revelation 19:7), and we are to be convicted (Revelation 2:16, 21) and emboldened (Revelation 2:10) by it. 

—Thomas Keene 

Source: Thomas Keene, quoted from his article “The Book of Revelation Comes with an Answer Key.” This article originally appeared here at The Gospel Coalition

The time is at hand (Revelation 1:3; 22:10). That’s not related necessarily to time itself but more to the sequence of events. [All that happens in Revelation] This is next on God’s calendar of Messianic events. 

—John MacArthur

Source: Copyright 2023, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission. This Grace to You article originally appeared here at gty.org.

Now the symbol of Jesus as the slain Lamb—this is crucially important for understanding the book. The Old Testament promise of God’s future, victorious kingdom was inaugurated through the crucified Messiah. Jesus overcame his enemies by dying for them as the Passover Lamb so they would be redeemed. Because of the resurrection, Jesus’ death on the cross was not a defeat; it was his enthronement. It was the way he conquered evil… The Lamb conquered his enemies by loving them and dying for them. And now the message of the Lamb’s scroll reveals the mission of his army. The church, God’s kingdom, will be revealed when the nations see the church imitating the loving sacrifice of the Lamb, not killing their enemies but dying for them. It is God’s mercy shown through Jesus’ followers that will bring the nations to repentance. 

—BibleProject  

Source: Revelation 1-11 are copyright 2016 by Bible Project and are available for viewing at www.bibleproject.com

Read the triumph of God in Revelation 21 and 22. Satan has not been victorious in his attempt to use sin to separate people from fellowship with God ever since his meeting with the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden. He has utterly failed, and we will be with Christ forever and ever! Yes, God’s story ends, “And they lived happily ever after.”  

Don’t try to overanalyze or interpret every little thing in the chapters of Revelation. Rather, meditate upon the contents of the chapters. This is heaven! How limited words are in explaining its glory! The fellowship between God and people is restored. God dwells with His people. Every purpose is realized and every promise is fulfilled. Heaven is the opposite of what we experience here. All is beautiful! 

The last words of Christ in his Revelation are “Yes, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20). Our response should ever be, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).  

—Henrietta Mears  

Source: This content is from What the Bible Is All About, written by Henrietta Mears. Copyright © 1953, 2011 by Gospel Light. Copyright assigned to Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

Revelation Playlist

Discover music inspired by the message and content of the book of Revelation.

The Night Will Soon Be Over
by FAI STUDIOS feat. Dalton Thomas and Anna Thomas | Praise & Worship
Maranatha
by FAI STUDIOS feat. Dalton Thomas | Contemporary
Living in Laodicea
by Steve Camp | 70s 80s 90s
Revelation Song
by Philips, Craig & Dean | Praise & Worship
Holy, Holy, Holy 
by Jimmy Needham feat. Shane & Shane | Praise & Worship 
Is He Worthy? 
by Andrew Peterson | Contemporary
Echo Holy 
by Red Rocks Worship | Praise & Worship 
When the Stars Burn Down
by Philips, Craig & Dean | Contemporary 
Agnus Dei 
by Michael W. Smith | Contemporary 
All Hail the Glorious Christ
by Sovereign Grace Music | Praise & Worship
The King in All His Beauty 
by Matt Papa and Matt Boswell | Hymn 
Love Has Won
by The Lowly Heirs | Chill & Relaxing 
High and Holy King
by Aaron Williams | Praise & Worship
New Name
by Charity Gayle feat. David Gentiles | Gospel
When The World Caves In
by FAI STUDIOS feat. Dalton Thomas and Anna Thomas | Praise & Worship
Reunion on Patmos
by FAI STUDIOS feat. Dalton Thomas and Anna Thomas | Acoustic
There Will Be A Day
by Jeremy Camp | Contemporary
More Songs