One of the Best Reasons for Reading The Book of Revelation

Revelation 1:1-8 ~ "The revelation of 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, who testifies to everything he saw - that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads 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. 

John, 

To the seven churches in the providence of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. 

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (NIV).

Picking back up from our study from Friday, we have learned the reasons why Jesus must come back. In these references from Scripture, just in the first chapter of Revelation, there are eight references to Jesus Christ alone.


In Revelation 1:5, He is the faithful witness and the firstborn from the dead. In verse 8, He is the Alpha and Omega, the One who was, who is, and who is to come, the Almighty!

The book of Revelation is amazing in that it contains it's own outline. In Revelation 1:19, it says, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this." So there are three sections to the Book of Revelation.

1. There are things which are seen. That is what John describes in Chapter 1 as he views the glorious and resurrected Christ who is in complete control of everything that is about to happen.

2. There are the things which are. This is a reference to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. This describes not on the seven real churches but gives us a chronological look at church history from the beginning up to the present day.

3. There are the things that are after these things. These are the future events to follow that are found in Chapters 4 to 22. It is this simple outline that gives us a brief overview of the contents of the Book of Revelation.

Another unique thing about the Book of Revelation it is the only book that was sent and delivered by angels. In Revelation 22:16, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches." In fact, Revelation is full of angels from beginning to end, and appear in every chapter with the exception of chapters 4 and 13. This book was given from Jesus through the angel to the apostle John.

John was one of the three special disciples who was often singled out from the rest along with Peter and John on special missions, to witness the glory of Jesus on the hilltop along with Moses and Elijah, as well as being asked to pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. John was the only one who stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was being crucified along with Mary, Jesus's mother. At one point, Jesus sets aside a special task to John from the cross, when he says to John, "Behold your mother!" The Bible clearly states that from that moment, John took her home and cared for her in John 19:27.

When they were told the tomb was empty, both Peter and John ran to the tomb, and John arrived first. He was the one to look in and saw the tomb was empty and the grave clothes folded where the body had been but the body of Jesus was gone. We read that he saw and believed. He seems to be a bit more spiritually perceptive and was always close to Jesus, calling himself, "the disciple that Jesus loved." He was the one leaning his head on Jesus during the last supper, perhaps as not to miss a single word Jesus was saying. After Christ, had risen from the dead and was calling them from the shore while they were on the boat fishing, it was John who realized it was Jesus, and said, "It is the Lord!" (John 21:7).

We know that Patmos was not the tropical island location but it was cold, windy and barren. This was during a time when the church was facing extreme persecution in the Roman Empire. It began with emperor Nero and continued with other emperors, most notably Diocletian. Many believers were losing their lives and families were being torn apart as they were arrested, imprisoned, tortured or put to death in the Coliseum.

They thought that by exiling him to the island of Patmos, they would never hear from him again. It was on this wind swept island that God gave the incredible revelation to John which is contained in the book of Revelation. In many ways the Book of Revelation reads like an action-packed thriller. If you love a great novel, you will love this book. It has drama, suspense, warfare, horror and mystery. It contains rebellion, unprecedented economic collapse, and the ultimate war of all wars in the world. But is also a book of hope and joy and comes with a dramatic climax where sin and death are destroyed forever and those of us that believe in Jesus Christ will live with Him forever. It reminds us that we win in the end, and there is no better hope than that.

Revelation 21: 3-4 ~ "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 

When we read in verse 3 of the special blessing that accompanies those who reads, hears and keeps the words of the book, we need to understand what that means.

"Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." ~ Revelation 1:3. 

In order to receive the promised blessing you must:

1. You must read it. By the way the term in the Greek for "read: means to read it out loud. Sometimes when we read it out loud when hear it with our ears and it becomes not just words on a page. We hear it as well as read it. The impact on retaining this is much greater when you do that.

2. You must hear the words of this prophecy. Jesus would often say, "He who has ears, let him hear!" If the Holy Spirit opens your spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear what the Word is saying, it will make all the difference in the world.

3. You must keep it. It means keeping the truths of what you read. It means applying these truths to the way we live our life. It should motivate us to live our lives in anticipation that Jesus could be coming at any time and thus we should be doing the work He has called each of us to do. The reason we want to learn about the future is to help us live right in the present.

So what can we learn from Chapter 1? First of all Revelation reveals that the events of the last days are closely linked. Verse one speaks of "things that must shortly take place." or better stated might be, what must happen rapidly. Some might argue that this book was written over 2000 years ago, so how is this rapidly beginning to happen. But John wasn't referring to how quickly these events would happen in his lifetime, but once they happen, whenever that is, it will be in rapid succession. In other words, once the first domino falls, the rest fall in succession quickly.

Verse 5, speaks of Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. Who better to reveal Himself to us than Jesus? It means that He is the faithful witness, there is no lies about who He is, He is 100% authentic and true. It is followed up by "to Him who loved us," or better stated, "to Him who always keeps on loving us." There are some who believe we must do something in order to earn our way into Heaven, but this is not the case. God loves you the way you are, defects and all. He knows you intimately inside and out.

Jeremiah 31:3 ~ "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you." (NIV). 

What a contrast between the love Jesus has for us, and the love we find in our culture today. The world's love in conditional based, if you are pretty enough, popular, wealthy enough. God loves you when you are unknown and a complete nobody. God loves you when you are penniless and weak, offering nothing in this world. The world loves the extraordinary while God loves the ordinary. He showed this kind of love for us by his death,

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." ~ John 15:13. 

Jesus showed us this kind of love which brings us back to verse 5, in Revelation 1, "He washed us from our sins in His own blood." Did you notice the past tense "washed?" Meaning it has been done. He paid the price for all of our sins, past, present and future. There is no other option in this world for someone to forgive you of everything you have ever done, are doing or will do in the future. No other god offers the power to forgive all sins, based on a love for us, like Jesus.

Tomorrow, we will pick back up with our study and detail Jesus's arrival in the clouds, how the entire world will see him and that Jesus is in fact God incarnate and that this chapter of Revelation is the only book in the Bible where we get a detailed description of what Jesus looks like. Hope you will join me tomorrow.

The Only Book of the Bible That Comes With A Blessing

Everyone undoubtedly has heard to the Book of Revelation, but to be honest, how many of you have read the entire book? Have many of you have understood what you have read? It is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing on those who read it or hear the words read to them. Did you know that?

I do have a question, have any of your churches taught on the Book of Revelation, not merely quoted a few scriptures from the book here or there, but a chapter by chapter, verse by verse study of the Book of Revelation? For ten years, our church has not. Which is disappointing considering where find ourselves sitting in the world currently. Who wouldn't want to know how it is all going to turn out, what's next, and how can we survive? Trust me, there is no doomsday prepper show that can prepare the world for what is coming, and the last thing you want to do is be here when hell literally is unleashed on earth, like the world has never seen before.

The Bible is flawless in its ability to predict future events with such clarity and detail, it is downright scary. Now more than ever, as chaos, violence and crazy lawlessness prevails in the world, you need to be prepared and I'm not talking stockpiling silver, gold, and food supplies either. In order to survive what is coming, you need to be spiritually prepared. To enter into the Tribulation without knowing where you stand in regards to your eternal salvation is just plain crazy, who would want to.

Hard to believe that the book of Revelation is just 22 chapters long. But in it, holds what will happen just prior to the Tribulation Period, but also during and after. Some people think things are crazy and chaotic now, but it is nothing compared to what we will see in the future. Now before you go thinking I am predicting anything, I am not, I am simply stating what the Bible says to be true, step by step and it begins with knowing just who Jesus Christ is. To deny Him, is to set your choice for an eternity in hell unfortunately, there is no other choice by rejecting Him.

That is why I am going to showcase my blog for as long as it takes to walk you through the Book of Revelation, in a study beginning tomorrow that will outline what is going to happen and what the stage will begin to look like before it does.

Jesus warned us to be aware of the signs just like looking at a tree can confirm what type it is, and what season we are in. It will be that apparent, but only for those who are looking. It will be a study you don't want to miss out on, and I am not sure how long it will take, but I want to help you understand what most are missing and I've been reading about the book of Revelation for most of my Christian life. It was what drew my into a relationship with Jesus in the first place and being a huge lover of Bible prophecy and future events, called eschatology I thought I would invite you to join along with me. I hope to create such a desire to read this book in your heart and hope you share these insights with others and perhaps open up your own study in the Book of Revelation among your church and friends.

Most people shy aware from this book simply because they don't understand the meanings behind what John is writing about, and believe it's a code book of sorts that many can't figure out believing it to be a bit symbolic in nature. Some parts of it are, but most are quite literal in interpretation as well. The one thing for sure, is you don't want to be here when it all begins to unravel and I believe we are beginning to see the stage being set and the players lining up to assume their roles in this event. I hope that by going through this book, you might see the urgency in getting the word out to a dark and fallen world, that unless we turn back to God, these plans of God's will move forward.

Revelation 1:3 ~ "Blessed is the one who reads the word of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." (NIV).

A Special Thank You to Lara Olson Boswell

A while back I read an outstanding book called This Is The Moment by Walter Green and it held such a profound message tucked between the pages that I thought I'd take a moment to share something with all my readers. Too often we live out our last days with a feeling of regret, for moments we wished we had but are now too short to fulfill or that thank you we were meaning to share with a special someone has long since passed and one of you is no longer around. So I thought I would take time on my blog to acknowledge those special people from time to time. This is my legacy, if you will, of those special people I will highlight and share what impact their time with me has had.

I met Lara back when AT&T hadn't really become to corporate giant it is today. When customer care still held some meaning and significance; where you actually got service when you called in. Back in those days we had local call centers for the customer service calls spread around the United States. But buyouts and mergers being what they are, those were the good old days now remembered.

Lara Olson was a Customer Care Supervisor, which meant she was responsible for monitoring a team of representatives whose job it was to take your service related calls. Lara was quiet for the most part, not those loud, obnoxious bosses whose job it was to stay so focused on numbers and stats that you hated to come to work. Yet she was efficient in a gentle way. She responded to her representatives in a positive way, much like a mom would to her children who did outstanding work, she would be your biggest cheerleader and small moments of victory became giant milestones in the hearts of those representatives. I think every single member of her team grew in stature because of her kindness and loving attitude.

She was not the helicopter boss either, you know the kind I mean. The one's who standing around micro-managing every aspect of your work and making sure you colored within the lines. Lara was a creative, color outside the box type of person. The one you would never feel worried about if things didn't go well during some aspect of your job. She was a true coach and leader and NEVER failed to step up when the job or a representative needed help. She NEVER denied the opportunity for a customer to speak with a customer as most often did.

I never heard one bad thing ever mentioned about Lara's work performance or her as an individual, in fact quite the opposite. I believe she had one of the most loyal teams in Customer Care because she was so well liked by her team. If there was an issue, it wasn't due in part to Lara, but by someone who had pushed the bar too far to see how high it would go. As a Customer Care Trainer, it would be inevitable that we would work together, but never would I imagine I would have an amazing friendship with her and her beautiful family that lasted longer than our jobs did.

She became for me, one of those people you could talk to about anything. Since she had no door on her cubicle, it was always open!! :D We spent so many hours talking in her cubicle about everything under the sun and some days it was the only way to get through our work day and leave somewhat intact. In Lara, I found an ally! I found out what true friendship looked like.

To this day, Lara's personality is always positive even when deep down inside, she may be having the worst day of her life, you would never know it. She hides it quite well from most people, but those who really know her can see it. She is the spirit of calm that I so often lack at times. She is a great mom, to her daughter Keira, almost going on 5 soon! Now she is my favorite person to share taking vacations and trips to Disneyland with along with your amazing family! In all that time, she has never known except for the occasional phone calls, texts or emails, what she means to me in my life. I look up to her. She is my hero in so many ways, but most of all because I have the honor of sharing the title of friend and family with her.

We may not be blood-related by birth, but there is NOTHING I wouldn't do for this remarkable lady. If you find yourself lucky to have her in your life, or to be able to call her a friend or family, than you are truly rich beyond measure. You have found what most people lack in life by being able to share her friendship. To this, I say Thank YOU, Lara for being one of the most amazing lady's God had the opportunity to bring into my life. Thank you for sharing your friendship and family with me. You are a gift I will never take for granted and just wanted to take this opportunity to share this moment with you and let you know what you being in my life has meant for me.

(OK, now if you're reading this Lara, which I know you will, or someone will share it with you, you can stop crying NOW! I love you that much and wanted to tell you!)

Give Me Five!

I found an interesting post when I stopped by Mari's blog, My Little Corner of the World and she was doing a post based on five words she was given. She invited us to play along if we wanted and you know me, the avid gamer, I asked her to send me my 5 words. If you too are interested, leave me a comment and your email address and I too will send you 5 random words.

1. Music. I have it on most of the time throughout my day to 88.5 which plays Christian contemporary music and occasional devotions. It helps keep God going throughout the day and keeps Him ever close to my mind. Sometimes it can completely change your day for the better as well. Some of my favorites are The Motions by Matthew West, Otherside by Mikeschair, anything by Jeremy Camp, Third Day, Never Going Back to OK by The Afters, and my all time favorite the Fray!

2. Family. This is the most important thing in my life next to my relationship to God. I've been married twice, and on the second try God bestowed His greatest blessing on me, with my best friend, soul mate, and husband, Steven. I had a daughter from my first marriage and it was the very best thing to come out of the fire. She is 16, a Junior in High School and very active in church with her faith. Her name is Caitlyn and she even has a blog if you want to stop by and check it out. It's called Teen Life. Steve and I were blessed by God to have a daughter of our own, and she is our strong willed and determined 10 year old Kailee. She never ceases to amaze me with her natural ability to pick up on anything technical. We share our 2 story home in the high desert of Southern California with three cats, Moo, Tosh and Bella.

3. Faith. It is the greatest gift God has blessed all of us with. Without it we wouldn't have hope in the things we can't see but believe in anyway. Many times we think that we must see it to believe it, but God says you have to believe it, and then you'll see it. Thankfully I know that no matter what happens to my family in this life, I know without a doubt it doesn't end there for us. I will be reunited with them once again in my eternal home in Heaven.

4. School. I have to admit I was your A typical nerd in school, the book worm and the geek all rolled up into one. For years I was the pride and joy of my parents. Then when I entered highschool things changed, people looked to me for the quick answers to last minute homework or quizzes. I hated it. I hated that people only needed me for their lack of discipline.

When I received my CAT test scores that year, they were off the chart and the school asked for a meeting with my mom. They explained, I would be bored during the next 3 years of my school and there was nothing further to teach me that I didn't already know. They asked my mom to provide me with the GED test so I could graduate early and move on to college. My mom said no. She wanted me to finish.

I felt betrayed by her and so I controlled the only thing I could and began to fail all my classes. I was sent to continuation school and before the Board of Directors but I was bound and determined to prove them all wrong. My mom in her frustration, gave me an ultimatum which was work or finish school. I chose to work. It wasn't until I was in my 30's that I took my GED and rated 98% in most of my subjects nationwide. Sometimes you just need parents to trust you.

5. Thankful. I am thankful for so many things in my life. I am thankful for my salvation in Jesus Christ so I know my life doesn't end here and He continues to work in my life at all times, even when I don't think He is. He has walked and carried me through the darkest valleys of my life and saved my mortal life on more than one occasion. I am thankful He has provided me with an amazing family, a home to live in and the finances to get us through each day. I just need to remember to give thanks to Him even when things are going badly.

Once again, if you want to participate, leave me a comment and your email and I will randomly select 5 words for you. What a great way to learn just a little bit more about each other and have fun sharing our lives with you.