Many of us in the BSF world have been waiting with bated breath for this year. Finally, we are studying the book of Revelation! Once again, each week, I will provide summaries about the lessons, starting today. Since I serve in the School Program, I also will share the students’ memory verse each week.
While the book of Revelation is filled with signs, symbolism, and uncertain timelines, the book is more about Jesus than anything else. In fact, the entire Bible is one story about Jesus Christ. So before we start looking at Revelation, we need to understand the outline of the Bible.
There are 39 books in the Old Testament:
- Genesis to Deuteronomy are the books about the law.
- Joshua to Esther are the books of the history of Israel.
- Job to Song of Solomon are the books of poetry.
- Isaiah to Malachi are the books of prophecy.
There are 27 books in the New Testament:
- Matthew to John are the gospels about Jesus’ life on earth.
- Acts is the book about the disciples and the beginning of the church.
- Romans to Jude are the epistles (or letters).
- Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The Bible contains 66 books. More than 40 human writers composed the Bible as they were directed by the Holy Spirit. The Bible was written over the course of 1,500 years. God is the Bible’s Author.
God uses the Bible to reveal Himself to the world and to reveal His purposes. The Bible is one story about Jesus Christ.
Here is a brief overview of the story of the Bible.
God created all things. He created man to take care of the earth and to commune with God. God has a purpose for all of creation, including you and me. Adam and Eve are the first people God created. They chose to sin and disobey God. They made one wrong choice that resulted in severe consequences for themselves and all of humanity.
Then wickedness and evil spread everywhere. God was disappointed at how man had rejected Him, so He sent a flood to wipe out mankind…all except for Noah and his family. But because sin is passed down to everyone, sin continued to grow in people’s hearts around the world. Sin affected everything God created.
The rest of the Bible speaks of the history of Israel, Jesus’ life on earth and the establishment of the church.
Through it all, God promised to send a Redeemer who will crush Satan. Jesus is the only way we can be saved from an empty life. He fulfilled the law, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins, buried, rose again, ascended, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. He is the only way we can be redeemed from the penalty of sin.
Finally, in the book of Revelation, we will see Jesus crush Satan. Jesus will return to earth as the reigning King. He will usher in a new heaven and a new earth, and everyone who believes in Him as their Savior will live with Him forever and ever.
As you can see, there is one redemption story from Genesis to Revelation. Everything points to Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
This year in Revelation, we will learn all about Jesus’ coming, the end of the world as we know it, and the beginning of the new heaven and the new earth. I hope you’re as excited as I am about everything we will study this year!
Things to Think About
- Knowing that God has a purpose for you, does it change how you approach daily tasks, how you spend your time, and how you think?
- Is Christ your Savior? Do you act like it by obeying and submitting to Him?