Revelation is a strange book to most of us. Many Christians make well-intentioned attempts to read through it and get at its meaning but, alas, the seemingly endless repetition of the appearance of angels, beasts, and heavenly choirs leads our attempts to an early demise. It’s not because we don’t want to know what it’s all about, but it is really difficult to understand ancient apocalyptic literature through minds that have been thoroughly formed by our modern world and its ways of communicating!
With that in mind I want to approach Revelation (at least at the beginning) in a way that avoids a head-on collision with the unfamiliar images and structure of the book.
Instead, let’s approach the revelation of Jesus Christ from a devotional, prayerful position. The book itself was originally written to be read in the setting of a Christian congregation, to encourage and inform the saints (a term early Christians used to refer to themselves) about history (and yes, its end) and their place in it. As they understood that God – their God – was actively inviting them into His presence and to see the world from the heavenly perspective, their hearts would be encouraged to both worship and persevere in the faith despite evidence to the otherwise (i.e., their experience of persecution and weakness).
With that in mind, as you are able, follow the instructions below and we can discuss it within the next week or so (feel free to email me your work, or we can have conversations about it in person, etc. – whatever you feel comfortable with). You don’t have to complete the exercises in one sitting. If you can, work through as much as you can in one sitting. If you need to step away or come back to this exercise days later be sure to review what you’ve already gone through. The whole exercise can be done in about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. The structure is itself part of the lesson of prayer, and over time you’ll find yourself praying in this way instinctively and spontaneously. And the closer we draw to God the more we will be amazed by His answers! Our goal at the beginning is to clarify for ourselves How God views us, How we view Him, and what it is He is calling us into in the Book of Revelation.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”
I John 5:14
*Feel free to use the English translation you are most comfortable with. I’ll be quoting from the ESV.
REVELATION I
- Read Revelation chapter 1 all the way through without stopping.
- Read Revelation chapter 1 again, this time with the following questions in mind:
- Do you get a sense of immediacy or urgency in this chapter?
- If there is a sense of immediacy/urgency, does the chapter give me a reason for it? Is there something happening that I REALLY need to pay attention to?
- How does John describe Jesus Christ in verse 5 of chapter 1 (there are three descriptions given)?
- Read Revelation 1: verses 1 to 8.
- Then Read Daniel chapter 7 through without stopping (don’t get sidetracked by the beasts and horns, etc. – we’ll deal with those later)
- Go back and pay particular attention to Daniel 7 verses 13-14, 18, and 21-28.
- Now step back from the text and just relax for a minute (not so long that your mind starts to wander 🙂 and get your mind and heart in as calm a place as possible.
- Now craft (write it down) a Prayer of Acknowledgement built upon the texts you’ve read and your answers to the following questions:
- Who are you as you begin crafting this prayer – in other words, how do you see yourself morally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc., as you come to God (I know its a temptation to over think this one, but keep it simple and honest 🙂
- Who is inviting you into prayer (be descriptive but not overly much)?
- Where (what location) are you offering this prayer from (go back and read Daniel 7:9-13 and Revelation 1:9-18)?
- How does he want you to think about yourself (according to Revelation 1:6)?
- Now, anything that is on your heart can be filtered by your knowledge of who He is, who He says you are, and from the location of where He is!
- Now go for a walk!
Christ Tribe 