Finale Revelation and Imagination Daily Devotional- 4
by David Joynt on June 09, 2021
Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
REVELATION 1:1-2, 4, 9 | 1 The revelation of 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 testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne.
9 I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
REVELATION 22:8 | 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me.
The book of Revelation has some similarities in style to the epistles of the New Testament, but is primarily related to the parts of scripture called “prophetic” and “apocalyptic.” The author is identified by early church writers as early as 150 AD, as John the apostle, who also wrote the gospel and New Testament letters bearing his name. He alludes to the Old Testament over 400 times in his 22 chapters!
The first word is apocalypse, or revelation. This kind of literature has three characteristics according to Earl Palmer: “hiddenness, vast upheaval, and decisive divine act.” Using symbolic and visionary imagery, John writes in a vein also found in portions of Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus, and Paul. Most of the time we are more comfortable with the clarity and immediate relevance of prophetic teaching which calls people to repentance, emphasizing the deity of God and His great deeds, and our freedom and responsibility in the present moment. Apocalyptic focuses on the future, and the freedom and power of God, and often in hidden language asserts that there is a mysterious and ongoing cosmic battle, experienced in present suffering, that will end in divine victory and vindication. History has a purpose, visible in its conclusion, and there is a hope for this world beyond our own efforts, that are only meaningful within that great finale.
Have you read Revelation? If so, what are your favorite parts?
If not, read Chapter 1 today.
