This will guide you through the story of Revelation. It will give you a quick overview of what this book is all about.

It won’t take long to read - you will be done in a few minutes.

How everything started

In the beginning everything was good. God created everything perfectly, and then he installed Adam in the Garden of Eden as governor over it all.

Really, was everything good? Well, one thing was not good and this was that man was alone. So, God created Adam’s counterpart: Eve. Things then were very good.

However Adam started to love the things God had given him more than God himself and his relationship with God broke fell apart.

Adam and his descendants were banished from the Garden and so they decided to build towns and settle down. However, God still longed for fellowship with man, so he singled out Abraham to be his earthly companion. Abraham chose to live in relationship with God and he chose God over the gift of Isaac, his long-awaited son.

And out of Abraham God made the people of Israel.

The promise

With Israel things seem to change, but the question remains: Would the people love God’s gifts more than God and fail again?

As we know, the covenant between God and man broke down because the majority of people turned their backs on God.

But He promised a Redeemer who would come to Earth to set up an eternal kingdom for every person who wants to join.

New beginnings (Chapter 1)

Did you hear the news? It is true. The kingdom that we awaited is here! It has arrived and we are kings and priests.

Before we celebrate this, there is an important task at hand, that can not wait.

We see in a breathtaking vision what is the purpose of the church: To be the light of the world while being fully dependent on Jesus. Nothing more is expected from the Church, but also nothing less.

The question is: Is the Church ready for this?

More: the vision

A grand disaster (Chapter 2-3)

Let’s look at the seven churches.

We start with Ephesus, the hard-working church. They work, endure, and keep the teachings of Jesus, but the main thing, love, the reason why they exist, is missing. This church has no purpose and because of this it would be better she did not exist!

But the next church, Smyrna, is very different. This small town is overwhelmed by an ungodly society; the church is being persecuted and hated by the Jews. While this is not a church you might want to belong to, it is one of the only two churches that receive only praises from Jesus.

Also, Pergamon is under high pressure as the throne of Satan himself is in there. They go through a great deal - even martyrdom - but they allow wrong teaching and that leads the people away from God.

In Thyatira things are even worse. Here, the cause of the trouble is the leadership itself.

Sardes is not much better. This congregation think they can manage everything without God’s help and they nearly always completely fail.

The church at Philadelphia also receives only praises from Jesus. However, this is still not the church you’d want to join, because on top of all the other problems, the members of this church are financially exhausted.

This leaves us with Laodicea which is the only church that don’t receive any kind of praise from Jesus, but the church is very impressed by itself. Yet even Jesus though is not impressed with them, he does not give up on them. Instead he gives loving advice, warnings and promises.

More: the letters

Guidance is ahead (Chapter 4-5)

So, it’s up to you and me and the rest of the Church to get up and get ready for the big adventure. Things must change, but how?

Jesus wants us to look up. The solution is in heaven, in the throne room of God. It is the place of worship where we find our position in relation to God. We all have access to it at any time.

But if you think that worshipping (in the throne room) will solve all the problems, you are wrong. Worship is so much more than you think: It is laying down your crown and expressing our full loyalty to God in all aspects of our lives. And it is here that we meet Jesus the Crucified.

He is our real hero and guide throughout this huge journey. He is worthy to rule the world. But we should understand that when we accept his invitation, we start a journey and there is no turning back.

More: worship

Evil awakes - you need to join the army (Chapter 6-7)

Jesus breaks the seals to reveal that he is not the only one who intends to rule our world. Satan claims the same position and he shows up in shiny armor. Yet, Jesus shows us that behind all Satan’s promises lie violence towards the people who go along with him. Jesus wants us to live for him and to overcome injustice because the consequence of not doing that is total disaster.

Already, there is so much suffering in the world. The Church is right in the middle of the chaos and cries out to God. But we, the Church, must remain steady until Jesus comes and ends it all.

Until this happens, we need to actively fight in the army of God. What does this look like? Our fight is not with violence (like the devil’s tactics); instead we fight as an army of worshipers that endures anything out of the love for their Lord.

More: the seals, army of god

The first strike (Chapter 8-9)

It is time for the Church to launch its power with the same force as Jesus. Just as the Crucified shakes the world, the prayer of the Church does the same, and they cause the trumpet sound that shakes the earth. When food, water, trade, security is all gone, will this drive the people to look for the real deal? No! They continue to stick to their idols.

They don’t even let go when their idols turn against them and take away their hope, so that they would rather end their lives. Even though the lost suffer tremendously, they still stick to their idols.

More: the trumpets

Reality check (Chapter 10)

The Church has failed. Their first strike resulted in nothing but hardened hearts. Hard times alone do not change people.

It is the mystery of God that changes them. And this mystery will be revealed now - although it will take us some time to digest.

More: the small scroll

The big clash (Chapter 11-13)

This is the time when we see the material and the spiritual world as they really are. Firstly, the temple of God’s presence is not a place where we have to gain favor in order to please God, it is the place where we show our hearts by loving him and staying loyal and faithful to him in this world.

The Church does not look convincing now. It witnesses to the world with authority but is constantly on the defencive and is finally destroyed. And then the whole world celebrates. How can this be?

And yet, this is not the end. In their deepest and weakest moment, the Church is victorious. The world needs to see that in times of suffering we have a convincing hope and that they too can hang on to this hope. This is only possible if the Church is ready to walk as a witness in difficult times. In doing this we’ll resemble Jesus perfectly: despite authority being on the run, it finally conquers, is resurrected, and lifted up.

But what happens when the Church is weak when the devil is around? Let’s have a look at his achievements:

• He wanted to destroy Jesus - and failed.
• He tried to defend his place in heaven - and was cast out.
• He tried to destroy Israel - and failed again.
• Finally, he decides to persecute the Church and imitate God - and becomes a laughing stock.

Our task is not to defeat the devil - Jesus has already done that - but to draw the people into a relationship with God.

More: the witnesses, Jesus, dragon and beasts

Victory (Chapter 14-16)

Jesus’ victory at the Cross and the testimony of the Church did it all and now the enemy is scattered around. The faithful sing in victory; the only skill they required was loyalty to God.

But the ones that tried to avoid the consequences by playing along with the devil, now face a worse consequence.

It is time to check. The two harvests reveal the hard reality: some will be saved and others are lost.

Now God’s zeal steps in. His actions shake the kingdom of the devil again and again until it collapses. God targets false loyalty, the attacks against his people, and hardening of their hearts. But at last the deception of the devil has been revealed.

More: two harvests, bowls of wrath

The ultimate battle (Chapter 17-19)

There is one more dark mystery that needs to be revealed before God’s ultimate goal is reached, and it becomes very clear that this goal is not to defeat the devil, but to ensure the union of God with his people.

It is the perfect deception, and many in the Church fall for it too: A beautiful woman blesses the whole world with prosperity. She is ornamented with the jewels of the Church, but if you take away the dress the beast: the strong enforcer of the devil is revealed. This woman is not the bride of Christ, she is a harlot!

Many are deceived by this perfect charade. This last attack seems to be perfect, but the opposite is the case: the people who are directed by the devil to attack the Church are actually being guided by Jesus to destroy the harlot instead.

Now the way is free to finally destroy the devil and his minions.

More: the harlot

A new beginning (Chapter 20-22)

It is done. Finally! You may not have noticed it but the church was always in power but with a different kind of power and during this time she guided the fate of humanity. But it is time for the Final Judgment where we learn who will spend eternity with God and will be banished from his presence.

After this, the bride meets the groom and joins him for all eternity.

And, having understood the story, you can go ahead and live accordingly in your daily life.

More: 1000 years, heaven