How Can You Understand the Book of Revelation?

The Glory of the Triune God in Revelation

The most popular way to study the book of Revelation is with a globe in one hand and a newspaper in the other, but that's not how it works. Revelation was as relevant in the first century as it is in any century as it is today.

Seven Things to Look for in Revelation

Here are seven things to look for when you study the book of Revelation. First, the glory of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not only mentioned, it's an underscoring theme.

Numbers are symbolic, especially the number three and things being presented in threes. Second, the relevance and reliability of the whole Bible. There are 404 verses in Revelation, over 500 references to the Old Testament.

The better you know the whole Bible, the easier it is to understand Revelation. Third, the sovereignty of God and how God has ordained all things from beginning to end. Fourth, the reality of suffering.

The book affirms that Christians will go through tribulation, but we have hope knowing that Christ has the final victory. Fifth, the inevitability and severity of God's judgment. Revelation is not just about the deliverance of God's people.

It's also about the judgment of the ungodly, along with the devil and his angels. Sixth, the certainty of Christ's return. Seventh, the consummation of redemptive history. The Bible is not a group of stories.

It's one story about how God is reconciling all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven, through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Revelation is the last page of that story, when we understand the text.