If you’ve ever studied the very last book of the Bible—the book of Revelation—you know that understanding the meaning of every part of it with certainty is not within the grasp of any human being on earth. A few years ago I participated in an 8-month study of Revelation. We were encouraged to focus on the attributes of God displayed, rather than trying to interpret all the events perfectly. That seemed to be a wise idea.

I don’t believe Christians should avoid reading the book of Revelation just because they won’t completely understand it. Revelation 1:3 says, “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.” Although the end times were still quite a ways in the future when the New Testament was written, they certainly were nearer than they were in Old Testament times. Now the end times are a great deal nearer than they were when the New Testament was written.

Prophecy never seems to be understood fully until after it is fulfilled. For instance, consider Luke 1:32-33. The angel told Mary concerning Jesus, “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” From that prophecy and some similar Old Testament prophecies, it was thought that when Jesus came to earth He was going to throw off the Roman rule and reign over Israel. Yet when Pilate questioned Jesus before His crucifixion, John 18:36 records that Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world.” His kingdom was a spiritual one at that time, ruling over those who had citizenship in Heaven. He will not reign on earth in a physical sense until He returns in the end times. Then He will reign in Heaven forever.

I believe a key to the reason for prophecy might be found in John 14:29. Jesus explained to His disciples, “I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” It doesn’t seem to be God’s desire to let us know for certain what will happen when. But when it does happen, we will see how it fits so perfectly what was predicted. Then we will know that God, by His power, has orchestrated it.

The disciples asked in Mark 13:4, “When will these things happen?” Jesus talked about all the signs of His coming. Then he said, as recorded in Mark 13:32-33, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” The Bible tells us that God wants us to live pure and purposeful lives every day, as if this could be the day. (See II Peter 3:14 and Mark 13:34-36.)

The Bible also tells us in II Peter 3:4 that in the last days people will laugh and say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?” Verse 9 explains that God’s delay in keeping His promise is because of His desire to see more people repent and be ready.

After taking part in the 8-month study of Revelation, I decided it would be a good idea to go back and make a summary of the entire book, to help me get the complete picture. If you have already studied the book of Revelation or plan to study it soon, you may find this summary helpful as an overview.

Printable copy of the Revelation outline

Read Revelation online in your chosen version

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM