Tag Archives: jesus christ

Understanding the Book of Revelation

So many people have tried to figure out this book of the Bible. The book of Revelation to many, but not all, is a total mystery clouded in symbols. The key to the whole book, at least one perspective of the book, is shown in the very first verse. The theme and focus of the book is actually so simple, but easy to miss. It’s a theme that hits almost every chapter of the book. It is the main character of the story of the book of Revelation.

Look at the first verse: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ…”. Could it actually be so simple? If you began to scan the book from this angle or perspective, you would notice that almost every chapter has something about Jesus Christ. Well maybe one exception, chapter 13 which is about the anti-Christ. Yes, there are many other ways to look at this book, but I think this is the most important and consistent way to see Revelation.

So now we have a research job to do, highlighting all verses with mentions of Jesus Christ whether directly or in symbolism.

In chapter one, there are many references to Jesus Christ. In the last chapter of the book of Revelation, Jesus is symbolized by the Lamb sitting on the throne. At this point in the book, God is fully in control and evil is pushed out.

Don’t forget, the book of Revelation is the best conclusion to the entire Bible of 66 books.

Drew Haninger July 16, 2019

Passages of Scripture that Point to Jesus Christ

Passages of Scripture that Point to Jesus Christ

We are going to comment on some passages of Scripture that point to Jesus Christ.  If we read and study the Bible without coming to know Christ in a real way then we have missed the whole point of the Bible. The entire Bible talks about Jesus Christ.  I don’t know if you remember the story recorded in Luke 24.  After Christ died on the cross, there were rumors that He had risen from the dead. Two of His disciples were so sad because the One who had been with them for three years and had ministered in so many amazing ways was gone.  As they were walking and discussing these things, Jesus joined them, but they didn’t even recognize Him!  They poured out their hearts to Him, telling Him about this awful thing that happened.  And Jesus asked them, “What happened?” They told Him how this Jesus had died and how some said He had risen from the dead.   Jesus replied to them, “Don’t you realize that all the Scriptures talk about Christ?” He was rebuking them in a way.  He began with Moses (the first 5 books of the Old Testament, and then went to the prophets and the Psalms, teaching them about all the things written in the Bible concerning Himself.  I don’t know if you remember the story of when He went to the temple and read from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. The passage He read from said, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.” (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus was reading a passage from Isaiah that pointed people to Christ Himself!

Let’s talk about another place in the Bible where Jesus gave a clear indication that the Scriptures should point people to Christ.  In John 5 Jesus was talking to the religious people and He rebuked them saying, basically, “You guys search, study, and research the Bible that talks about Me, but you won’t come to Me!”  He indicated that those people knew the Bible, knew about the Bible, and could even quote Bible passages that clearly presented Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but they wouldn’t come to Him for eternal life.  A lot of times that happens with us as well.  We may have heard Bible stories or even read them ourselves.  The Bible should lead people to Christ, to know and to experience Him.  If your reading, Bible study and Scripture memorization doesn’t lead you to Jesus Christ then the whole purpose of those activities has been defeated.  When we read the Bible, when we read the Scriptures, it should lead us to know Christ in a real and living way.

There is another place in the Bible that points to Christ.  It is a story I think you’ve probably heard about, especially around Christmas time, and it is the story about the birth of the Lord Jesus.   Perhaps you remember the story of the Magi, or the Wise Men from the East.  They followed a star as far as Jerusalem and inquired about this King who had been born of the Jews because they wanted to go and worship Him.  Herod learned of their inquiries and summoned them to himself.  Herod, of course, was threatened by the thought of another king who might compete with Him.  He called together all his religious experts and demanded of them where this King was to be born because he secretly wanted to kill Him. These religious experts knew from Micah, a book in the Old Testament, that this King was to be born in Bethlehem and informed Herod of that fact.  You would expect these people of Israel to go and see the King, but they didn’t go. The Magi or Wise Men, on the other hand, had hearts that were seeking after Christ, seeking after the Messiah, or the King. They went to see Him and gave Him gifts, but the people who knew the Bible, understood the Bible, and could even quote from the Bible didn’t go to see Him. Their understanding of the Bible should have brought them closer to Christ, but it did not.

The Book of Revelation is about Jesus Christ

The Book of Revelation is about Jesus Christ 

In the Bible, the Book of Revelation starts out with the phrase, “The revelation of Jesus Christ”.  The central point of this book is a about a person, and that person is Jesus Christ.  Now as I was preparing this lesson and the outlines I really wanted to find out about John.  John wrote the book of Revelation, but he also wrote the gospel of John the epistles of I, II, and III John as well.  What kind of person was John? What type of relationship did John have with Jesus Christ? Did John just know Him in an objective way?

“Oh my, this is quite a book!”  So many things are mentioned in the twenty-two chapters of Revelation.  Christ is portrayed in a rather mysterious way and there is also a discussion of the Antichrist. You’ve got the Tribulation and God’s judgment on the world.  Babylon is discussed in detail and then you have this city at the end of the book referred to as the New Jerusalem. There are a lot of mysterious things in this book.  I began to prayerfully read through it just to get an idea of what it all boils down to.  I noted that the first three words in the Greek text of Revelation are:  revelation, Jesus, and Christ.  What is this book really about? Is it about prophecy? Yes, there is prophecy in it.  Is it about the Antichrist? Yes, it talks about the Antichrist and the mark of the beast and all these things.  I came to realize that this book talks about one person and that one person is Jesus Christ.  In order to understand the book of Revelation properly we need to see Jesus Christ.

The book of Genesis is a very proper beginning to the Bible and Revelation is a proper conclusion to the Bible.

Who is Jesus?

How do we talk about this Jesus who lived on the earth about 2000 years ago in the land of Israel?

Jesus Christ is perfect God and perfect man in one person.  Jesus,  the Son of God,  was sent by God to deal with the problem of sinful man. Without Jesus, sinful man has no way to approach the holy God.  To the Christian,  Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, Savior, Healer, Comforter, Teacher, and the example of a perfect human life.  He is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  (John 1:29)   The important highlights are: His birth, human living, 3 year public ministry, death on the cross for sinners, resurrection from the dead, ascension and His still anticipated Second Coming.

The Bible has two great sections that talk about Jesus Christ.
1. the Old Testament – which foretold or prophesied about the coming of Jesus Christ.
2. the New Testament – which talks about His birth, life, teaching, disciples, death, resurrection and the growth of the Christian church.
Both Old and New Testament sections talk about His anticipated Second Coming.

It is a difficult concept to understand that He is both fully perfect God and perfect man, and all in one person.  There are many verses in the Bible to show this.

Jesus Christ is God – Colossians 2:9 For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,    Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Jesus Christ is man –  Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary…    Luke 24:39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”