“The Revelation of Jesus Christ”

Bible Text: Revelation 1:1-8 | Preacher: Pastor Mark Verbruggen | Series: The Book of Revelation | The last book of the Bible, and the last written words by a human being which are now accepted as part of the Holy Word of God, is called simply, “Revelation”. With it, the written Word of God is complete. The book of Revelation both fascinates and drives some people to distraction. It’s both beautiful and weird. It has caused a lot of confusion among Christians. Some see it as a fitting conclusion to the grand narrative of the Scriptures, others see it as a play-book for the End of the world. Some people rest in its gospel declaration, others use it as a Code-book by which to decipher the times and predict the future. Depending on how you read it, it can be either comforting or confusing.

Revelation will give a grand conclusion to a Story that began in the beginning with the Word of God. This Word is not an encyclopedia that merely gives us information about God. The Word is not just a set of doctrinal pre-suppositions, a Book of codes by which to predict the future, or a set of proof texts to prove an agenda. The Word is living and active. The Word made flesh is Jesus Christ. By him all things were made and in him all things hold together. As we hear in our reading today, Jesus is the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn from the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth.