Revelation 1:3

When you think about Christmas, which parts of the Bible are your favorite? Luke and Matthew definitely top the list with their beautiful narratives. Maybe you think of the prophecies in the Old Testament that foretell the coming of the Messiah like Isaiah or Malachi? But what about the book of Revelation? If you’re like me, that book is scary and confusing and it’s NOT the first place I think of when I think about Christmas! However, over the last few months, I participated in a Bible study on the book of Revelation that has me thinking about the links between Revelation and Christmas. I’d like to encourage you to open up to the back of your Bible and spend some time in Revelation thinking about what it teaches about the character of God through wonder, warning, and worship.

First of all, the Christmas story is full of miraculous things! We must guard against a kind of boredom with the familiar story- the angelic messengers, the virgin birth, the visits of the three foreigners. These happenings should make us WONDER at the majesty and glory of God. He is revealing things about HIS character to us through these events. The second coming of the Messiah definitely causes WONDER too! Take a look at Revelation 21:9-22:21. This section describes the “wife of the Lamb…the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” Revelation 21:9-11 Cleary, God’s ways are not our ways. Just like the Christmas story, Revelation continues to show us HE is transcendent, glorious and honestly, a little incomprehensible to our feeble human minds.

Next, examining Revelation at Christmas should give us a WARNING to share the Gospel urgently with a sick and dying world. From the letters, to the  seals, to the trumpets, to the histories, to the bowls, to the words of woe, the theme of judgment radiates through the book of Revelation. This section makes me ask myself really hard questions like:

Who around me doesn’t know Jesus as the Savior?

Who is drowning in sin and looking for help?

Who needs help getting back on track to grow in their faith and relationship with God?

These are highly personal questions that we (me!)  sometimes shy away from as being too personal or too judgy. But, I don’t want any of my friends or loved ones to be fooled by the Evil One and be “gathered as grapes from the vineyard of the earth” and be thrown “into the great winepress of God’s wrath.” Revelation 14:19 The theme of judgement repeats over and over again in Revelation. It too shows us something about God’s character- HE is holy and just. If we believe that Jesus’ first coming was prophesied, then we need to believe the prophecies regarding his second coming too and act prayerfully.

Lastly, examining Revelation at Christmas shows us how God and Jesus are WORSHIPPED in heaven and at the second coming. The phrase “fall down and worship” is repeated twelve times in the book of Revelation. Chapter 4 of Revelation gives a great description about the throne room of heaven- a majestic place filled with thunder and lightning, fiery torches, and a sea of glass. This description shows us something about God’s character too. HE is infinite, eternal, and holy. The twenty-four elders praise HIM by saying in Revelation 4:11, “Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.” What an excellent example to praise HIM at Christmas and all through the year!

So, y’all don’t be scared of that last book in the Bible. Open it up and draw nearer to the Holy One who not only came at Christmas, but is coming back again!