The Book of Revelation, at first sight at least, appears fraught with problems. For a start the book seems to be full of strange imagery. There are beasts and dragons and a lion which looks like a Lamb, and fiery lakes and men with fire coming from their mouths. The style is very different to what we are used to in the rest of the New Testament. The meaning of what John is saying appears beyond us. Also, the book of Revelation has become the happy hunting ground for all sorts of people wanting to justify their weird and wonderful ideas about the end of the world. As a result, many of us try to read Revelation and give up or ignore the book altogether.

Which is a shame. After all, it is called the book of Revelation – it is about truth revealed – so it is a real irony if the one book in the Bible called Revelation remains the one book that stays hidden from us! And it’s a shame because it is a really rich book with some meaty teaching and deep encouragements for us. Winston Churchill once described the Soviet Union as: “A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. Some of us feel like that about the Book of Revelation! We may find it a tough book – but it’s well worth persevering with!

No other book in the New Testament shows us the splendour and majesty of Jesus in such glorious clarity. No other book in the New Testament shows us more clearly the reality of life in this world with its rampant evil, but with God clearly in charge. No other book in the New Testament shows us so clearly that we are heading for a fantastic future if we continue in Christ. That’s why studying the book of Revelation is such a great privilege and so important for all of us. And it’s why we will be studying it together on Sunday mornings for the next few months.