John calls this book a *prophecy. The *Lord told him to write it. ‘Write what you have seen. Write what is happening now. And write what is going to happen after these things’ (1:19). The *Lord told John to write about the present and the future. The book shows the events that will lead to the end of history.

The book warns those who do not obey it. It comforts those who do obey. It shows the fate of God’s enemies. And it shows how God will provide for his people.

· Chapters 2 and 3 were for the 7 *churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. But they contain lessons for the *church in all ages.

· From chapter 4 the book describes events that are still in the future. But in it there are lessons for us today as well.

· The general plan of the book is in date order. But there are parts that are not in this order.

· Some *prophecies are in plain language. We should believe what they say. But many *prophecies are complex descriptions. We need to understand what they mean.

v1 This is the *revelation of Jesus Christ. God gave it to him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. Jesus sent this message by his *angel to his servant John. v2 John was a witness of the word of God and of Jesus Christ. He tells about all that he has seen. v3 The *Lord will *bless the person who reads aloud the words of this *prophecy. God will *bless those who listen. He will *bless those who obey it. The time is near.

Verse 1 This verse shows the purpose of the book. In it, God will tell about the things that must happen soon. God gave the message to Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke to John by means of an *angel.

The word ‘revelation’ means that which God now shows. No person could know these things unless God showed them. God gave this *revelation to Jesus Christ.

Only God knows the future and he gave this knowledge to Jesus. This is the message that Jesus gives to John. That message shows us many things about Jesus. We see more of his *glory. We read how he will defeat *Satan and his evil plans. John tells us about the time when Jesus will come. We see Jesus as the king of kings. He will rule on earth and in heaven. But the main purpose is to show us the things that must happen soon.

Many of the things that must happen soon are still in the future. The word ‘soon’ can mean quickly or without delay. When the time comes, these things will happen. Some things in the book have already happened. Other things in the book have not yet started to happen.

*Prophecy tends to speak as if the end is ready to happen. It seems to forget the time between now and then. People should be aware that these things could happen at any time. So, they need always to be ready.

The *angel did not show these things to John in plain speech. John saw and heard strange things as in dreams. But he was not asleep. He writes about these for us as descriptions. We need to understand these descriptions in order to understand the book.

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