The book of Revelation can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons. Jesus told John to write it down for us, so it must be important. But who is John?

Revelation chapter 1, verse 1 reads, “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” 

The author of Revelation, John, was a disciple of Jesus. He was one of the twelve and is the same John who wrote the books of John in the Bible. Matthew 4:21 shares how John first met Jesus. “Going on from there, he [Jesus] saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, ²² and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” More than sixty years had passed since John met Jesus and now he was receiving the revelation of Jesus the risen Christ.

When John received the book of Revelation, he had been exiled to the island of Patmos for his belief in Jesus Christ. Patmos was a penal colony about 40 miles from Ephesus in the Aegean Sea. John was being punished for his testimony about the risen Christ. John was exiled to Patmos for eighteen months; it was during that time he was worshipping the Lord one Sunday. Then suddenly, Jesus showed up with a lot to share, and He wanted John to write it down.

John, the author of Revelation, had a close relationship with Jesus during His ministry. There were several occasions where Jesus invited John to witness miracles that were less public. For example, John was one of three disciples invited to the resurrection of a girl from the dead. In Mark 5, starting in verse 37, ^“He [Jesus] did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. ³⁸ When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹ He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” ⁴⁰ But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). ⁴² Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. ⁴³ He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.”

John is the same John who was present at the Transfiguration of Jesus. Matthew 17:1 says, “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. ⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.”

John, the author of Revelation was so beloved by Jesus that he committed His mom’s care to John. As John watched His Savior hanging on the cross dying before his very eyes, John 19:26 recounts, “ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the book of wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

The book of Revelation can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons. Jesus told John to write it down for us, so it must be important. If we take the book piece by piece, we can obtain the wisdom that Jesus wanted us to have. And we are promised a blessing for reading and taking to heart the book of Revelation.

Let’s start with the basics. What is a revelation? Why does Jesus want us to know and understand this book?

We will start our journey at the beginning. Revelation chapter 1, verse 1 reads, “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

What is a revelation? The Greek word apokalypsis, where the book gets its name from, means an unveiling of something that was hidden. In verse 1, Jesus is unveiling or showing things to John so he can write it down and preserve it for us. This revelation was given to Jesus by God so that Jesus could show His servants. That’s us! We are the servants of Jesus.

God gave Jesus information that had been hidden so Jesus could tell us about what must soon take place. The word “soon” that is used in the Greek language does not mean in a little while or after a short amount of time has passed. It means impending. There are things that must occur before the return of Jesus and God wanted us to be shown those things. The book of Revelation shows us the future.

Jesus then took the information that God gave Him and made it known by sending an angel to John, a servant of Jesus. Next week, we will focus on John, who he was before this interaction and what happened to him after.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the Bible and the wisdom You have shared with us in it. Lord, help us to apply Your Word to our everyday lives. Lord, help us to understand and to embrace Your Word. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.