In this lecture we shed some more light on the beginning words of what this whole series is all about:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ…

We’ve set up the importance of heeding the signs the Bible has given us, how prophecy in the Bible adds to its credibility, and the context behind which all this nonsense is happening in the world despite there being a loving and all powerful God. Now we want to examine who this Jesus of Revelation is, what He has done, and how His life/death ties signs, wars, and prophecy together.

Firstly, we discussed the historicity of the Bible.

We saw that the Bible was written by eyewitnesses. These people knew Jesus, or had an intimate knowledge of God. These were not written by historians looking at a distant past.

We saw that ~40 authors wrote the 66 books of the Bible over the course of 1600 years over 3 continents. So who cares? What’s awesome about this fact is that during the course of that time, these people did not disagree with each other over Jesus, the plan of salvation, and other important things. Moses did not write about anything that Paul had significant disagreements with! Try getting 10 people to describe one subject without disagreeing! It’s not as easy as it sounds.

Prophecy (as we looked at 2 nights ago) also validates the Bible’s authenticity. Its accuracy in predicting future events provides more reasons that the book you are studying can be trusted.

We have an abundance of manuscripts that reveal the Bible we have today is true to what the people had in Biblical times. We have more manuscripts for the Bible than for Alexander the Great, a king who many accept to have existed. These are a few facts that show you can trust the Bible. You can read it and know that Jesus did not turn water into sriracha, or that the gospels were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Bob!

But more importantly, the Bible is more than just prophecy, manuscripts, and vast timelines of authorship. It has transformed the lives of millions of people. Why? Because the Bible about Someone who has the power to change lives.

Revelation 1:5 reveals that Jesus loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. His sacrifice is the reason why you can be saved!

Revelation 1:7 reveals that Jesus did not just die for us a long time ago and left us hanging! He is coming back one day and every eye will see Him!

Revelation 1:12 – end of the chapter reveals Jesus walking amongst the candlesticks, dressed in priestly garments. In the Bible the priest was the person who ministered between the sinner and God. As our priest Jesus in Revelation shows that sin cannot separate you from God anymore because Jesus is there. We’ll study that more in a future night. The Bible is full of many things that Jesus has done for humanity. The foundation of Revelation is not so much about beasts and mysterious symbols as it is about Jesus and what He has done for you. It’s about how much he wants to save you!

How do we approach someone as awesome as Jesus?

Believe – John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life!

Repent – Acts 3:19 says to repent and be converted, so that your sins may be blotted out! You do not have to carry that guilt around anymore, when you repent the sins are covered by His blood.

Confess – 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness! That’s an energy bar verse right there – full of what God is willing to do for you when you are at your weakest.

Receive – Philippians 2:13 reveals that it is God who works in you to will and to do for His good pleasure. He is not just sitting up in heaven waiting for you to come around, He wants to work with you to help you. Will you let him?

Jesus came into the world to die so you can live. The rescue mission has been carried out, and instead of perishing, you can have eternal life. Will you accept that life from Jesus? Will you be free? Will you follow Someone who is willing to forgive you over and over again, be patient with, and help save you?