TWO GREAT BOOKS. Revelation 1:3.

Posted bySteven WalesPosted inDifferent Purposes for Different Books of the Bible, Read the Bible, The Bible is Literature/part of an educationTags:, , , ,

Great stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Genesis (Hebrew for “in the beginning”), is literature’s greatest story of beginnings—no religion or culture has an “origin story” to match it. Likewise, Revelation is literature’s greatest story of endings—unmatched by anything in the world’s greatest libraries.

Revelation is the essential “final chapter.”

It ties up ALL loose ends—not only from the Bible, but from my life and your life, and every story in fiction and non-fiction. It resolves every conflict and delivers justice, mercy, and closure. Evil is punished. God’s great creation is restored, His kingdom conquers all enemies, and His children are welcomed into the joy of His glorious presence for eternity. We see Jesus face-to-face. Not only do His children get new bodies, but even the earth itself is made new.

Use any measure you like: popularity, sales records, how often the books are read, studied, and spoken of—there is nothing to compare to Genesis and Revelation. These two bookends of the Christian Bible are the quintessential greatest beginning and ending stories ever written.

Genesis is probably read more often. Not only is it page one of Hebrew and Christian Bibles, but it contains the amazing stories of Adam and Eve, the Garden, the Serpent, Noah, Abraham, and more. And Revelation, being a book of prophecy, is difficult to read. No one reads Revelation without feeling perplexed by the symbolism and mystery. The first time I finished it, I told my dad I had a Post-It note full of questions. He said, “I’m surprised you could get all your questions on a Post-It note!” Touché.

Prophecy is full of difficult mysteries. But God promises to bless you if you read it:

“THE ONE WHO READS THIS IS BLESSED and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near!” Revelation 1:3.

You don’t have to understand it all—but read Revelation out of obedience. God will bless you!

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Published by Steven Wales

Dad's Daily Devotional began as text messages to my family. I wanted my teenagers to know their father was reading the Bible. But they were at school by then. Initially, I sent them a favorite verse or an insight based on what I read each day. That grew into drafting a devotional readng which I would send them via text. I work as an attorney and an adjunct professor, and recently wrote a book called HOW TO MAKE A'S.

One thought on “TWO GREAT BOOKS. Revelation 1:3.”

  1. Hello from the UK

    Many thanks for your post. As you say “No one reads Revelation without feeling perplexed by the symbolism and mystery.”

    As regards reading it and blessing it is easy to be misled into thinking reading alone will do. The blessing is applied to the hearing and keeping as well as the initial reading. Blessings have never come from solely reading the Bible but taking it to heart. My latest post is about this issue.

    Kind regards

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