The book of Revelation has gotten a bad rap over the centuries: The antichrist! 666! Must be decoded! Scary and mysterious! Yet, its self-identified inscription given is, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1). Jesus is the subject of this book. Its title, “Revelation,” in the Greek simply means disclosure—“to make secret information known.” Thus, it is not a book of decoding but a book of disclosing. To this end, I would like to discuss The 5 Joys of Reading Revelation and share important truths to the creative writing process of writing a book.
First, let’s begin with the 5 Joys:
JOY #1—The End Is Not as Mysterious as One Thinks! (Revelation 1-22). God has always invited the Christian to end-times study. Albeit, Revelation is often seen as resistant literature due to date settings and false calls of antichrists. However, God Himself furnishes an entire book of disclosures on prophecy. Therefore, the study of eschatology must be important to God. And judging the book by its title, God wants to make Revelation known. Revelation has 22 chapters, 404 verses, and 12,000 words. The title speaks for itself: Revelation—“to take the covers off.”
JOY #2—The End Has a “Blessing” Attached to It! (Revelation 1:3). An unequivocal blessing is bestowed upon the ones who read, hear, and keep the words of this prophecy. This promise of a particular blessing is not attached to any of the other sixty-five books. Although one is often blessed when reading the Word of God, there is a peculiar blessing fastened to Revelation. Many readers are unaware of the Revelation 1:3 blessing yet are undoubtedly cognizant of 666 and the antichrist (Rev. 13). My friends, don’t miss the blessing!
JOY #3—The End Is Really Not about You! (Revelation 1:1). Revelation is written to the Saints not for the Saints. It is “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants . . .” (Rev. 1:1). Remember, this is a book of disclosure; thus, the Spirit shares things to come with us. However, its effects are for the world. Christians are then able to witness the ancient strategy of the Spirit to be able to discern critical events in history. The events in Revelation were written to take care of evil that has permeated this world unmercifully. This will be discussed in the next Joy.
JOY #4—The End Is the Removal of Evil Eternally! (Revelation 6-19). When, God? When? One of the central purposes of the Tribulation is “to remove wickedness and sin from the world,” returning it to Christ who will reinstate its original design of utopia during His millennial kingdom on earth. Simply put, how will evil be removed from the world? With the judgments of God enumerated in Revelation 6-19, executed by the Lamb, this is why Christians do not have to fear.
JOY #5—The End Brings Back Jesus Christ! (Revelation 19). Revelation details the Second Coming of Christ. The return of Christ brings rewards not just for the Saint but for the wicked. It is at the Second Coming the devil will be defeated forever. This is why Revelation is called a blessing to Christians (Rev. 1:3). John and the church were vehemently persecuted upon Roman dominion. In answer to the church’s cry, God delivers the answer to John on the Isle of Patmos that, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” will triumph over evil in the last days! This is why the Spirit states, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches” (Rev. 22:16).
If you’ve enjoyed reading this snippet faith blog about Revelation, you’d probably enjoy reading my book: Revelation, Simply Put. Also, I promised to share some valuable writing tips helpful for authors on this writing journey.
Here are 3 Key Things that may aid you as a writer:
#1. Motivation. As an author, you should know your “whys.” Simply put, your motivation. The motivation for writing this visual guide to Revelation was to aid Bible students to succeed at reading Revelation and to help their study of Revelation be most productive and fruitful, leading to clarity, understanding, and solid answers.
#2. Passion. As an author, you should know your “content.” After a personal study of reading Revelation with new eyes, I had a passion to share the good news of this blessed book with others. Now, how can one identify their passion? One way is through answering this question: What bothers you? Simply put, what irritates you? Hearing about the myths, misnomers, misunderstandings, and misinterpretations fueled me to learn more about Revelation. It is from here I researched and gathered solid, biblical content to give answers to these misunderstandings.
#3. Market. As an author, you should consult with a team of experts. Innovo Publishing was my team of experts. Through the publishing process, Revelation, Simply Put was made available on the most widely used network: Amazon. Yearly availability of an author’s book is important! Why? Because authors NEVER stop marketing their books! In the midst of the social media platforms, your book can go viral—and in that moment, the book must be available for purchase. An excellent publishing house like Innovo Publishing makes immediate book availability easy. This is why Innovo rocks!