The Bible is the word of God. It is a collection of books inspired by God but written by human agents over sixteen centuries. There is a single theme running through these books. It contains in detail God's purpose for His creation and His plan for mankind in His Son Jesus Christ. The God of this Bible is eternal and transcends time.

The Bible talks about how God the Creator relates Himself to His supreme creation man. Genesis is the first book that talks about the beginnings of everything. Revelation is the last and the sixty-sixth book of the Bible. Revelation talks about the past, the present and now, the end of everything here and the beginning of new things thereafter.

The Creator lays down laws for the wellbeing of man, His supreme creation. He also warns man of the consequences of the breaking of these laws. God gave man a freewill to choose. Man can choose eternal life with Him or eternal separation from Him which is death. The consequences are forever but the punishment starts here.

At the provocation of Satan, the adversary, man wanted to become God. Man still wants to be his own God. So, man broke away from God. Since it is man’s choice, the doom is self-inflicted.

Unbelief in God leads to disobedience. Disobedience to God is sin. Right from the first man Adam, mankind has always sinned against God. Man has always chosen to defy God by deifying himself. So, man took the side of God's adversary, Satan. Wanting to become free from God, man lost his freedom to Satan. He has remained a slave to the devil and evil lifestyle ever since. God foreknew such a breakaway and evil alliance. So, He planned His way of Salvation for man who would fall. This He did even before the foundation of the world.

God set out to redeem man. He stepped in to restore the relationship man lost with the holy God. God in Jesus Christ came down from heaven to dwell among mankind. He is the Son of God and Son of man. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to become flesh.

As the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ took on Himself the punishment of death that was on mankind. He laid down His life by shedding His precious blood on the cross. The Holy God became the Sin-Bearer of the world. The Just One could now forgive all who trust in His Word. The God of grace desires that the sinner should believe in Him. The Lord receives everyone who comes to Him for forgiveness. He accepts the repentant sinner and makes him His own. Man, who becomes a believer again receives eternal life and is waiting for his eternity with His Creator.

All who reject this merciful gesture of God lose their privilege to become His children. They are waiting for the judgement of God. God once judged the world for its sin by sending a great global flood. God is set to judge mankind once again for their choice to live an evil life breaking away from God.

He is returning for His people to reward them for their faith in Him. His return will also spell doom for the unbelieving masses who will end up in the lake of fire and brimstone. The ungodly will be there for ever with God's adversary and his evil hosts in company.

God, in His grace, has written down in His book the plan He began to execute to wind up this age. It also contains His current engagement with man and His future course of action. He has foretold how He would bring about the end to this sinful world. Revelation is the unveiling of Lord Jesus Christ and His plan for His creation. The entire book is a special message exclusively for His Church. Preachers that hold to the ‘doctrine’ that the Church is taken away after the third chapter (“Come up hither” message to John) and the rest of Revelation is for the ‘left behind’ are totally deceived. Revelation spans the past, the present and the future of mankind in general and the Church in particular.

John, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, wrote this book nineteen centuries ago. He was an eyewitness of Christ on earth and had observed Him and His life for more than three years. He also stands a testimony to the death and resurrection of the One who was dead but is alive for evermore. The Holy Spirit of God enabled John to see and write down the vision he saw at the isle of Patmos, Greece.

Earlier, the Roman government had exiled John for his preaching of the risen Lord to the people in the empire as a testimony. The Lord had commanded His disciples to preach the good news when He departed from them. He sent them even to the end of the world as His witnesses. He delegated work and also bestowed them with authority to execute the work effectively. Great management principle! He had also promised them that He would return to take them Home where He is. Until then, there would be another ‘Helper’ to empower them.

John saw Jesus Christ in His splendour. The Lord said that He is coming soon to reward each one according to his work. The believer as well as the unbeliever will stand before the judgement seat of God. Jesus the righteous Judge will pronounce His verdict. Believers will receive their reward because He has forgiven their sins. He will condemn unbelievers who reject Him now.

Revelation contains details of things that must take place quickly in John’s timeframe. This was revealed by Jesus Christ to His servant John through His angel. God gave this revelation to Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ while on earth chose to set aside His divine glory to remain in a body of sinful flesh and blood. He humbled Himself and emptied Himself of all His divine nature as He clothed Himself with humanity. He chose to let go His equality with the Father (I and My Father are One) and submitted His will to do the will of His Father, even before the foundation of the world. He learned obedience to His Father starting from then on, even unto His shameful death on the cross. It is thus He lived a sinless life.

As a perfect Man, He could do all this and more because the Spirit of God on Him enabled Him to do His Father’s will. Without the help of the Holy Spirit of God, Jesus as a Man, would not have accomplished the purpose of God. None can tempt God. But Jesus as Man, was tempted by the Devil. But for the power of the Holy Spirit, He would not have resisted temptation all His life. (This is why He can empathise with us who are tempted and also offer us succour and help as well). Without the aid of the finger of God, He would not have cast out demons. Unless He had permission from His Father, He would do nothing. That is why He said, “My Father is greater than I”. It was voluntary submission of the highest order! Jesus is humility personified indeed!

Jesus voluntarily chose to submit Himself to do the will of the Father. So, God the Father has given the Lord Jesus a name above every name and has seated Him at His right hand on high. None can claim the special name ‘I Am’ that speaks of His eternal nature. The Lord will sit there until God the Father makes all His enemies His footstool. When the last enemy, death, is conquered (now by His saints, replicating their Lord), the Son will hand over the Kingdom to His Father and remain subject to Him, again, as a Man.

Those who deny the divinity of Jesus Christ are blasphemers indeed. Those who deny the humanity of Jesus Christ are antichrists. Jesus Christ is God in flesh, the perfect image of the invisible God. The title ‘Lord God’ suits only Jesus Christ aptly.

Continuing on these lines, Jesus, as Man, chose to let go His knowledge about the day of His return while still on earth. However, upon His re-glorification, God the Father revealed even this to His Son, Who is still a Man, up in glory seated at His right hand, though in a glorious body. This, in turn, was revealed to John through His angel. While the exact date was not revealed, (there was no Julian or Gregorian calendar then!), the events leading to this great day have clearly been put forth in this book. Divine wisdom!

This prophecy is predominantly sign language and has to be interpreted. And, thanks be to God for the symbols. If they were literal, the transition that the human languages have come through, especially, the Greek in which Revelation was written, would not have had the vocabulary that is in vogue today. It would have been almost impossible to understand the book literally with the vocabulary of that time. Simple words of today like economy and technology would not have been in use in the first century CE when the book was written. The word Islam appeared at least five centuries later. USA did not even exist four centuries ago!

Use of allegory serves many purposes. One, a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Two, human mind retains an image longer than words. Three, a symbol conveys more than spoken or written language. It is a common medium for intelligent minds to express the mind.

Many get carried away too far by trying to take things literally. For instance, horses and chariots were the primary means of transportation especially during war times in the days of John. They have equivalents in our days. Chains and keys need not be made of special materials. They must be considered as means of gaining control. Numbers need not be interpreted as literal numbers or taken at their face value. They could mean relatively different lengths of time or space. Read on.

There are many passages in this book that have a parallel in other places in the Old as well as the New Testaments. The entire Scripture must be considered while interpreting the prophecy in Revelation. Also, no prophecy should be privately interpreted. Every word of God will have a parallel passage or a supporting verse to clarify, explain and enhance the truth revealed in one portion. And, no verse contradicts another in the Bible. Taking verses out of context will lead to demonic doctrines, empty speculations and meaningless arguments. Trying to fit a human line of thought by picking up various unrelated portions of scripture in the pretext of ‘taking the whole body of Scriptures’ will result in one big mess leading people into deception.

Following the principles of Hermeneutics would help here.

• Bible should be interpreted literally unless the passage is obviously intended to be symbolic or a figure of speech. Most of Revelation is symbolic as indicated by the Lord Himself. He gives us a clue and cue to this even in the first chapter when He Himself interpreted the symbols stars and lampstands.
• Bible passages should be interpreted historically, grammatically and contextually. Revelation has a lot of passages that require us to go back to History/ His Story to understand their meaning. Revelation requires us to pay attention to the grammar used – the tense (past /present / future), the number (singular/ plural), person (first / second / third) etc. Revelation requires us to refer to the context in which a passage is put (consider the immediate context, the chapter, the book, the testament and then the whole Bible, in that order).
• Scripture interprets Scripture. Bible passages should be interpreted with other Bible passages. Revelation contains passages that can be better understood only with the help of other passages in the Bible. One should not interpret Revelation passages with books by authors of ‘bests sellers’ or by those considered to be authorities on Bible Prophecy. One should not interpret Revelation with the news articles that appear in the popular or social media (which are totally controlled by the antichrists today).
Revelation is best interpreted by the Holy Spirit of God Who is the Author of all Scripture. We must rely and wait upon on Him to understand the truth revealed here. Human knowledge, intelligence, ingenuity or theological education would be of very little or no help.

Those who get to read, hear and keep the words of this prophecy are blessed. Such people would know how God would wind up the current age and usher in the new earth and new heaven for His children. They can thus prepare themselves for the promising future that lies ahead of them, looking for the mercy of our Lord, this blessed hope and His glorious appearing. They can also safeguard themselves from the deceptions that surround them currently, hating even the garments defiled by the flesh. They would also be able to warn their fellowmen of the impending danger and if possible, save a few with fear, pulling them out of the fire.

The time for all these events unfolding is at hand.