Revelation: The Great Wonder

The book of Revelation reveals the apocalypse of Jesus Christ with its consequential consummation of the kingdom of God on earth. This "great wonder" (the words of the author of Revelation) would be the greatest apocalyptic event in the history of the created world. With its fabulous word pictures of a great red dragon, a woman clothed with the sun, a slaughtered lamb standing, and the mysterious 666 with its mark of the beast, the things which John saw are primarily spiritual in nature, and therefore, they are often expressed in rich, powerfully laden allegories and metaphors. Within the generation between the resurrection of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, the story of Revelation is how the power of the risen Christ enables believers to overcome the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet as portrayed in the visions of John.