… another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon
having seven heads and ten horns …
Revelation 12:3
Dragons? Heads? Horns? Beasts? Blood to the horse’s bridles? What does all this mean? More important, what about me and my family?
As a pastor/evangelist of nearly fifty years, I field more questions on the book of Revelation than any other theological subject short of salvation and the Holy Spirit. People who understand the Trinity, salvation, or walking by faith, have trouble with this final book of the Bible. When I say the Revelation is full of precious promises and the love of Jesus for his people the church, they think I’m daft.
“Precious promises? Isn’t the book full of doom, death, despair, destruction, and damnation?” Well, yes– and no.
Jesus knew after His death the church would be scattered; sent out to spread the gospel “from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) The book of Revelation can be considered Christ’s love note and final instructions to the church, before it was scattered. The church’s dispersion would lead to thirteen-hundred years of darkness and confusion modern man calls the Dark Ages. It appeared the church was in a holding pattern, but history shows these years were a time of evangelism and expansion. The Holy Spirit called dedicated Christians in monasteries to carefully copy and recopy the written Word of God onto scrolls and into books, thus saving it from oblivion.
By the time of the renaissance, missionaries spread Christianity to pagan people on continents and islands around the world. During this time of re-awakening, Tyndale, Gutenberg and others, translated and printed the first Bibles in a language the common man could read and understand.
“I John … was in the isle called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day …” Revelation 1:9,10
In book of Revelation, John recounted the vision given to him around 65AD. The Roman State had exiled him to the island of Patmos in the Mediterranean for the crime of preaching the good news of Jesus. Rome sent their political enemies to the island to be isolated and forgotten, in hopes they would starve or die of exposure. John’s family and fellow Christians installed him in a small, dank cave, fed him and cared for his needs.
He had been in prayer and was caught up (verse 10) in the Glory and Spirit of the Lord. In this state, an angel of the Lord met with John and relayed this vision from Jesus Himself. (Rev. 1:7-16) The purpose was to edify and prepare the church before the dispersion.
The Roman guards did not allow John to preach or send out letters of a theological nature, the reason Rome exiled him. Because of this, Christians needed to smuggle out John’s letters. To deliver the information to the churches, John sent his revelation in the form of a giant cryptogram, unrecognizable without a key.
The apostle left the church the key hidden in plain sight. He expected the churches with the help of the couriers, to understand the key, translate the epistle, and pass the good news to others on the outside.
In part two of the introduction, we will discover the key.
Translations from Hebrew or Greek always lose something in the translation. To add to the difficulty, the society of first century Jerusalem was vastly different from twenty-first century society. For example, John had no concept of flying machines and instantaneous world-wide satellite communication. Many of the images spoken of in the Revelation must be seen through the eyes of Greeks and Jews of the time. God held other aspects and concealed them until now, the end times.
“… It is not for you (the disciples, specifically) to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” Acts 1:7
“Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man comes at a time you least expect.”
Luke 12:40
The book of Revelation must be taken as an epistle of comfort and direction to the church as a whole from her infancy to modern times. It is also a book of prophecy to show events to come, about Christ and His church. Through the book, the veil is pulled back for a glimpse into the spirit world. It also gives some breath-taking views of Christ and His kingdom in both heaven and on earth.
To study one aspect of this book alone is difficult because, like a gemstone, all facets flow together. Turn the stone and new facets appear; one leads to another and it’s hard to tell where one leaves off and another starts. Is this passage allegory or future prophecy? Is this message for the church of Laodicea, or for us today?
Most know enough about the Revelation to recognize the Mark of the Beast and the Red Dragon. The ungodly treat these things as a fairy tale; something to make fun of or to frighten each other. They worship the beast without any knowledge or appreciation of who they worship. Proud to wear clothing to display the beast’s number, they make a joke of the whole concept. Images of Satan in a red suit, tail and pitchfork, are everywhere.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Be warned, skeptic. This book is not a fairy tale. The book of Revelation contains prophecy of actual coming events; prophecy that is coming to pass everywhere today if we know what to look for. The Revelation is full of meanings both in the earthly realm, and the world of the spirit.
There is an old saying often used in ball parks: “You can’t tell the players without a score card.” In the Book of Revelation, you can’t tell the players without the key.
Let’s find the key, so we can follow John’s vision.
(Note: All scripture references used in this study are from the New King James version NKJV, unless otherwise noted. KJV = King James Version. AMP = Amplified Version.