Summary
For 2000 years folks have used The Revelation to predict the time of the end.
And wouldn’t we all like to have a map?
Adam and Eve must’ve wanted a map when they took knowledge from the tree.
Preterists believe that most of The Revelation happened by 70 AD.
Historists believe that it happened over the last 2000 years.
Futurists believe that it will happen in the future sometime.
Idealists believe that it doesn’t actually “happen” in space and time.
The who, when, and where of The Revelation seems to be rather hard to nail down . . . until you read it.
Revelation 1:1 “The Revelation (Apocalypse, Unveiling) of Jesus…”
Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is at hand.”
For two thousand years, believers have read The Revelation.
For two thousand years, the time has been at hand.
For two thousand years, Jesus has been “coming on the clouds of Heaven” (Matt. 26:64).
Jesus came preaching, “Repent—change your mind—for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
The who is Jesus and you; the when is now; the where is here.
The Revelation is the Apocalypse now.
Now is the point that Eternity touches time.
The Revelation is not a chronology of the end but the revelation of the End invading all of time.
We don’t need the revelation of a map; we need the revelation of Jesus.
Jesus said, “I am coming like a thief.” But He is not a thief.
If you think He’s a thief, of course, you desire a map, in order to save your life.
If you call Him your Lord and know who He is, you will keep oil in your lamp and long for His appearing.
Never fear the end, but long for the End.
Jesus is the End.
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come Lord Jesus.”
*Discussion Questions are available for this sermon here: Discussion Questions “Apocalypse Now”