The revelation of Jesus Christ has different functions:
- To exalt Jesus Christ. The Gospels portrays Jesus coming in humiliation, but now in Revelation He comes in glory. Its purpose is to reveal Christ in His glory. It centers upon His Sovereignty. As Garland points out: “Within the book of Revelation, God’s sovereignty is demonstrated by His powerful intervention in the events of history.”[1] John centers not simply on end time events, but Christ’s person, power, and plan for the future at it relates to Old Testament prophecy.
· It is to be understood by His bond servants! The book is not sealed from our understanding (Rev. 22:10). God’s desire is for us to understand His overarching plan, which He ties together in this last book. It is not veiled, nor sealed, but an open revelation for us to see how He brings all things together in the end. God, who cannot lie, is going to fulfill His Word to His Old Testament saints. In fact, those who study this book are promised a blessing, not confusion (1:3). Remember all Scripture is profitable (2 Tim. 3:16), including this book.
· To motivate worship. It has been observed that the book of Revelation has a strong emphasis on worship.[2] It pictures continual worship of the Lord in the heavenlies (Rev. 4:8) and notes the worthiness of Christ to be praised (Rev. 4:11; 5:8-12). The angels declare his blessing (Rev 7:11-12), the elders give thanks (Rev 16:18), and hallelujahs ring out in Revelation 19:1-8. At the end of the book, the angel declares to John, “Worship God” (Rev. 22:9).
· To call one to faithfulness in spite of circumstances (Rev. 2:5).
· To declare the arrival of God’s Kingdom. In the Gospels the Kingdom is at hand, in the book of Revelation it arrives. With the coming Kingdom comes opposition climaxing in judgment and redemption. By necessity it foretells events that surround His coming to set up the Kingdom. It makes clear that the earthly Kingdom will arrive, it can not be prevented. God is sovereign and will do what He has set out to do. Revelation declares that the Kingdom will be fulfilled. It is a book of victory.
It is a major argument for the completion of the canon (the Bible). Old Testament prophecies culminate and are fulfilled in Revelation. It confirms the prophecies of the Old Testament, and the teaching of our Lord on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24). It provides the culmination of the spiritual conflict of the ages, showing it ends in victory. It not only enlightens us about end time events, but also comforts and encourages us to carry on the message of grace, as it is still the day of salvation.
[1] Garland, THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, 1:42.
[2] Merrill Tenney, INTERPRETING REVELATION, 199-200.
Thanks for a great article. As far as I can see, the Book of the Revelation is absolutely critical to the dispensational position. If we did not have the Book of the Revelation, we would almost have to conclude that the post-millennialists are correct. After all, Paul moves in his last letters to a totally heavenly perspective, and Peter jumps to the New Heaven and New Earth without much indication of an earthly interlude. But when John says, 20 years after Titus destroyed Jerusalem, that the antichrist is yet to come, that puts the tribulation period squarely in the future, and opens the door for Christ's return to establish His earthly kingdom.
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