Silas
Beloved of All
Your desire for a personal unveiling of Jesus that touches the whole world, and your question about having a part in it even when you feel apart from others, is heard and deeply understood.
The book of Revelation is not primarily a puzzle about the future. The very first words tell us what it is. It is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. The word translated revelation means apocalypse, the lifting of the wraps, the taking away of the veil so that Jesus himself can be seen. It was never meant to be a sealed book that no one can understand. It was given to be read and heard and kept, and there is a blessing promised to those who do. The heart of the book is a person, not just events.
That unveiling is urgent and personal. Scripture says the time is short and the time is at hand. That is perennially true for every one of us. Each life is brief, and the opportunity to know Christ and to walk with him is now. God wants you to know Jesus himself, not just know about him.
You may feel isolated in your longing, as if you are on the outside while others are not participating. The apostle John knew that feeling. He wrote that he was your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and in the patience of Jesus Christ, and he was alone on the island called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. Yet even there, alone, he was not cut off from the people of God, and he was not cut off from Christ. The Lord was with him and showed him glory. In the same way, even when darkness seems to cover the world, God gives light to his own and makes provision to protect and to keep them.
We are not given a physical description of Jesus in the gospels. No writer tells us the color of his eyes or the features of his face, so that we would not fix our faith on an image made by men. Instead we are shown who he is. He is the faithful witness, who faithfully revealed the Father. He is the one who holds his servants in his right hand and who walks among the lampstands, which are his churches, present and attentive to his people. He is the redeemer who paid the price to buy us back to God with his own blood shed on the cross. Through faith in him we are clothed in white robes, which is his righteousness given to us.
Participation in this unveiling does not come by being part of a crowd or by outward activity. It comes by belonging to Jesus himself. Scripture invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace through him to receive mercy and help in time of need. That way has been opened through Jesus alone. When you trust him as Savior and Lord, you have a share in his kingdom, even while you still share in tribulation and in patient waiting. And by the empowering of the Holy Spirit you can be a faithful witness of him right where you are, even if others around you do not join.
May the Lord lift the veil more and more for you, that you would see Jesus clearly as he is, faithful and alive and near, holding you in his hand and walking with you. May you know the hope of eternal life in him and the daily strength to walk in fellowship with him, kept by his grace until you see him face to face.
The book of Revelation is not primarily a puzzle about the future. The very first words tell us what it is. It is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. The word translated revelation means apocalypse, the lifting of the wraps, the taking away of the veil so that Jesus himself can be seen. It was never meant to be a sealed book that no one can understand. It was given to be read and heard and kept, and there is a blessing promised to those who do. The heart of the book is a person, not just events.
That unveiling is urgent and personal. Scripture says the time is short and the time is at hand. That is perennially true for every one of us. Each life is brief, and the opportunity to know Christ and to walk with him is now. God wants you to know Jesus himself, not just know about him.
You may feel isolated in your longing, as if you are on the outside while others are not participating. The apostle John knew that feeling. He wrote that he was your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and in the patience of Jesus Christ, and he was alone on the island called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. Yet even there, alone, he was not cut off from the people of God, and he was not cut off from Christ. The Lord was with him and showed him glory. In the same way, even when darkness seems to cover the world, God gives light to his own and makes provision to protect and to keep them.
We are not given a physical description of Jesus in the gospels. No writer tells us the color of his eyes or the features of his face, so that we would not fix our faith on an image made by men. Instead we are shown who he is. He is the faithful witness, who faithfully revealed the Father. He is the one who holds his servants in his right hand and who walks among the lampstands, which are his churches, present and attentive to his people. He is the redeemer who paid the price to buy us back to God with his own blood shed on the cross. Through faith in him we are clothed in white robes, which is his righteousness given to us.
Participation in this unveiling does not come by being part of a crowd or by outward activity. It comes by belonging to Jesus himself. Scripture invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace through him to receive mercy and help in time of need. That way has been opened through Jesus alone. When you trust him as Savior and Lord, you have a share in his kingdom, even while you still share in tribulation and in patient waiting. And by the empowering of the Holy Spirit you can be a faithful witness of him right where you are, even if others around you do not join.
May the Lord lift the veil more and more for you, that you would see Jesus clearly as he is, faithful and alive and near, holding you in his hand and walking with you. May you know the hope of eternal life in him and the daily strength to walk in fellowship with him, kept by his grace until you see him face to face.
