The last book of the New Testament canon is also the last
book of the Bible. The Revelation, that is, the unveiling to the Apostle
John of all that Jesus Christ wants the Church to know about His eternal plan
of grace. This book Reveals how it all will come together in the final days
of earthly history and what will come thereafter.
The old apostle had been exiled to the prison island of
Patmos, probably for political reasons, as Christians were being severely
persecuted by the rulers of Rome. He was the last living apostle. He and his brother James had been two of the first disciples of the man many scholars believe to have been their physical cousin, Jesus of Nazereth. Having started on this spiritual journey with our Lord as a young man,
he had spent most of his adult life following, assisting, learning from, teaching about,
preaching of, evangelizing for, loving and worshiping the Lord in His earthly
incarnation and after His ascension. John founded and pastored Churches and wrote the Gospel of John, the epistles 1st, 2nd and 3rd
John, as well as this prophecy which was revealed directly to him by Jesus
Himself.
Revelation, as the name implies, is meant to be read and
understood by the Church. There are no hidden meanings, or “shutting up” of
parts of the information given by Jesus to John. The order is to “read, hear
and heed” the words of the prophecy “for the time is near.” There is blessing
for those who do so. This is different from much of the Old Testament prophecy,
which included sections the people were not ready to receive at the time given,
but which would one day be clarified as the fulfillment of God’s plan would
come to light. By comparing Old Testament prophecies to the Revelation, those
mysteries are better understood.
John was ordered to “…write the
things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will
take place after these things.” Revelation 1:19. This gives the Church
a panorama of history from God's viewpoint.
The original scroll was to be delivered and read to each of
the seven representative local Churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira,
Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. No one was to be left in the dark about
Jesus’ purpose and expectations for the Church. They had the cultural
background and the spiritual equipment to comprehend the symbolism communicated
in the book.
This blog published a daily study of The Revelation dated
August 21, 2012 through September 23, 2012, for those who might be interested
in reviewing that material. Our purpose here, however, is to establish in our
souls that The Revelation is the 27th and final book of the New
Testament, the 66th and final book of the Bible, and the only New
Testament book of prophecy.
I’ve been purposefully brief in these Bible Skills posts,
because I want us to have quick mental reference to the names, categories and
order of the Bible books as they are published, in order to access the Biblical information we
need at any given place and time.
I share one final gimmick, to sharpen our memory on this subject:
There are 39 Old Testament books. There are 27 New Testament books. The easy
formula to remember these numbers: 3 x 9 = 27. 39 + 27 = 66.
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