Glorious!Ihe Atụ

For such a time as this!

God always has a purpose. The Book of Revelation was written to encourage us and bless us. Tom Constable, a Bible commentator, says this, “The book of Revelation is one of the most encouraging books in the Bible because, in it, we see our Savior vindicated before the world. Revelation is a very simple book. It boils down to this: Jesus wins.”

Warren Wiersbe, a pastor from Chicago, said, “John did not send this book of prophecy to the assemblies in order to satisfy their curiosity about the future. God’s people were going through intense persecution and they needed encouragement.”

The Book of Revelation was written to convey a blessing of encouragement to the church. In 95 A. D., it was not easy to be a Christian. The Roman Empire was still raging and there was a lot of persecution taking place. Domitian was the ruler at the time. He advanced the Roman Empire into Germany and Scotland, and took it upon himself to build a new Roman forum back home. He was very powerful. But, as often happenned with Roman emperors, power became intoxicating and he turned very violent in his final years. His infamous reign of terror was characterized by numerous executions and charges of treason against prominent members of the Roman senate. He became increasingly autocratic, expelling philosophers from Rome and confiscating the property of his opponents. As if this were not enough, he insisted on being addressed as “master and god.” When Christians did not go along with that, he turned the tide of terror upon them. 

Domitian banished John to the Island of Patmos. There, John received a vision in which God was saying to His church, “I want you to be encouraged! There is a King of kings and a Lord of lords, and His name is Jesus! Domitian might think he is master and god, but Domitian has little time left. Things are going to get better.” 

Hard times will come and go, but Jesus will reign in justice and peace for all eternity. God is about to do amazing things. No matter how tough the times we are living in right now are, there is a foundation in Christ that is deeper than the Roman Empire or than anything we could go through.