Revelation. Unveiling. Apocalypse. What does it have to do with you? Literally everything. If you're not a Christian, and these events begin to happen, they are a gigantic warning of what's about to take place much sooner than you thought. If you are a Christian, and these things begin to happen, the warning is that a time of unprecedented trouble and martyrdom is here, but that the "end of days" has arrived, which will issue in the winding up of this present age, and a completely new kingdom--the Kingdom of God.
All Christians look forward to the final result.
Almost everyone on earth is looking for "something to happen." There are upheavals everywhere. Problems in the Middle East (the focal point of the "end times"); economic problems so severe that it's tough to understand how to deal with them; moral and personal problems abound, and it's almost as if the ground is shifting under our feet.
The book of Revelation doesn't really provide a "guide to the end times." It does say what GOD is about to do to restore the world, and the world order to a place where ordinary people have a good life. It's not an easy time, because the devil, who has had the kingdoms of the earth under his control for so long will not give them up easily. In fact, he has one final play, one desperate effort, left to him, and he will make every effort to see that people follow his plan and not God's. There will be mass murder of Christians and Jews. There will be horrible things happen to ordinary people. There will be a huge dictatorship formed with a loose association of kings and kingdoms, which will reign with unprecedented cruelty. While we have broad outlines (Matthew 24, Daniel 2-12, Revelation), we have few specifics, except dark intimations of terrible times. People have speculated as to what these events will be like for generations. We don't know a great deal, but there are a couple of things we do know:
All Christians look forward to the final result.
Almost everyone on earth is looking for "something to happen." There are upheavals everywhere. Problems in the Middle East (the focal point of the "end times"); economic problems so severe that it's tough to understand how to deal with them; moral and personal problems abound, and it's almost as if the ground is shifting under our feet.
The book of Revelation doesn't really provide a "guide to the end times." It does say what GOD is about to do to restore the world, and the world order to a place where ordinary people have a good life. It's not an easy time, because the devil, who has had the kingdoms of the earth under his control for so long will not give them up easily. In fact, he has one final play, one desperate effort, left to him, and he will make every effort to see that people follow his plan and not God's. There will be mass murder of Christians and Jews. There will be horrible things happen to ordinary people. There will be a huge dictatorship formed with a loose association of kings and kingdoms, which will reign with unprecedented cruelty. While we have broad outlines (Matthew 24, Daniel 2-12, Revelation), we have few specifics, except dark intimations of terrible times. People have speculated as to what these events will be like for generations. We don't know a great deal, but there are a couple of things we do know:
- There will be an end to the "end times," which will be much different than many expect.
- The days that lead up to that end will be terrible beyond our imagination.
- After the "end of the end," God will bring a true utopia, which will never end.
Many people have wondered why the book of Revelation even exists because of the difficulty of interpreting it accurately, but John tells us the reason in the first verse: It's about "things which must shortly take place;" these events will affect us. Even if they do not occur in our lifetimes, the reverberations from these future events can now be felt in the difficulties that we experience in our daily lives.
The events will happen to us, if we're here. The book of Revelation is about YOU, whoever you are, because however they happen, the events will shape your life for decades to come, whether they are future to you or present.
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