Introduction
The message opens with gratitude and a sense of God’s providence in a new season for the church. Even with unfinished details, lighting, floors, sound, doors, and other logistics, the congregation is reminded that the Lord has carried the work forward, granting occupancy in less than a year. The speaker frames the moment not as a celebration of human achievement but as an occasion to “look at what the Lord has done,” giving God the glory for what has been provided.
With that same posture of dependence, the church is told that Wednesday night services will begin soon, with a prophecy update planned as part of the launch. Yet before anything else, the priority is worshipful dedication: the building, the people, and the mission are all to be offered to the Lord.
Module Content
The congregation is led in dedicating the building to God, acknowledging that the church has been placed in downtown Nampa as a gospel light, a beacon of hope in darkness. The prayer centers on Christ as the only way of salvation, echoing Jesus’ own claim to be “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The request is not merely for a functioning facility, but for a Spirit-filled people: renewed by the Holy Spirit, given eternal vision, and called away from temporary distractions to what lasts. The dedication asks that the space would be marked by God’s presence and used for the church’s true assignment, preaching the gospel and making disciples.
From there, the speaker transitions to a “new chapter” for the congregation and a “new book” for the pulpit: the Book of Revelation. He clarifies immediately what this does not mean. There are no new books of the Bible; Christian faith is not built on novelty. The familiar principle is restated: if something is new, it is not true; if it is true, it is not new.
This first session functions as an introduction, focusing carefully on Revelation 1:1–3. The speaker’s aim is to remove fear and confusion around Revelation by insisting that it is not an impossible book. It becomes clearer when approached in the way Scripture itself presents it, recognizing its symbols, its structure, and especially its Christ-centered purpose. He notes that Revelation itself provides a systematic outline in chapter 1, and that the opening verses attach a proclaimed blessing for those who engage it rightly.
A key clarification follows: the title is Revelation, singular, not “Revelations.” This matters because it is one unified unveiling, not a scattered set of unrelated visions. Another common heading is also addressed: “The Revelation of St. John the Divine.” While John is the human recipient, the message is not ultimately John’s; it is given to him.
The word “apocalypse” is then re-framed. In modern usage, “apocalypse” tends to mean total destruction, but the Greek term (apokalypsis) speaks of an unveiling, something previously hidden now disclosed. Revelation, then, is not meant to conceal God’s purposes but to uncover them.
What does Revelation unveil? The message broadens the horizon while keeping the focus aligned with the transcript’s emphasis. Revelation will indeed disclose the condition of real churches in John’s day, revealing strengths and weaknesses in the seven churches of Asia Minor. It will also expose the failure of human government to establish lasting peace. It will unveil the coming Antichrist and a beastly system that the speaker believes appears near. It will reveal the reality and content of the seven-year tribulation, along with events leading up to it and flowing out from it.
Yet Revelation is not merely a timeline of calamities. It also reveals the righteousness of God’s wrath against a world that rejects His Son, even as it displays divine mercy in the way judgments unfold. The speaker highlights an important theme: the judgments intensify in stages, moving from lesser to greater, so that any who will turn and be saved may yet do so. Even in severe chapters of human history, God is not careless; He is patient, ordering events in a way that shows mercy even as justice is executed.
Revelation also unveils Satan’s end: his defeat before God and his final judgment in the lake of fire. It unveils the coming millennial kingdom, a literal thousand-year reign of Christ in which believers will rule and reign with Him. And finally, it unveils the renewal of all things: a new heaven and a new earth, a complete purification in which what has been tainted is made new.
All of these elements matter, but the speaker presses the central claim of the book: Revelation is not first and foremost about future events. It is about a Person, present, personal, and eternal. Revelation is “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1). It unveils His person, His people, and His plan. Therefore, any approach that becomes consumed with seals, trumpets, bowls, the beast system, and theories about the mark of the beast, while neglecting Christ, has missed Revelation entirely.
In a sustained moment of pastoral insistence, the speaker calls the church to linger over Jesus Himself. Christ deserves the glory, and Revelation magnifies Him. It reveals the Lamb who was slain and the Lion of the tribe of Judah who returns in victory. The first coming was marked by humility; the second is portrayed as triumphant, Christ returning faithful and true, with eyes like a flame of fire, wearing many crowns, and accompanied by the armies of heaven. The speaker emphasizes that believers are not spectators to this story; Christians appear in Revelation’s visions of heaven and Christ’s victorious return.
The result of Christ’s appearing is the collapse of every rival claim to sovereignty: rulers who exalt themselves will be brought down; proud opposition will bow; every false empire will be made low; and Christ will be revealed unmistakably as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (language drawn from Revelation’s later descriptions). The message insists that history is not heading toward meaningless chaos; it is moving toward Christ. The story ends not in confusion but in the Lord’s victory and reign.
This Christ-centered unveiling is reinforced by naming the Lord in the breadth of His biblical titles, His shepherding tenderness, His priestly mediation, His messianic identity, His eternal nature as Alpha and Omega, and even His relational grace: the King of the universe calls His people friends.
Then the text itself is read:
Revelation 1:1–3 declares that this is the revelation of Jesus Christ, given by God to Jesus to show His servants what must shortly take place, communicated through an angel to John. John testifies to what he saw, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. And then comes the promised blessing: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.”
The speaker pauses on the significance of that blessing. While all Scripture blesses those who receive and obey it, Revelation uniquely pronounces blessing directly upon those who read, hear, and keep its words. The book opens with blessing and, as the speaker notes, will close with a sober warning in its final chapter, reflecting Christ’s character as both Lamb and Lion, gracious and holy.
Finally, Revelation 1:1 establishes the flow of divine communication: God the Father is the source; God the Son is the revealer; John is the receiver; and the servants of God, Christ’s people, are the recipients. The point is not information alone but transformation. If someone moves through Revelation without being changed, the speaker warns, it is not being studied as it should be, because the Word of God works inwardly to renew and reshape the believer.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for what You have done and for the way You have brought Your people into a new season. We acknowledge that every good gift is from You, and we give You the glory. As we begin the Book of Revelation, give us a true unveiling of Jesus Christ. Keep us from chasing speculation while missing our Savior. Teach us to read, to hear, and to keep what You have spoken, that we may receive the blessing You have promised.
Grant us eternal vision, and fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Make us a faithful church, bright in a dark world, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only Savior and Lord. Change us by Your Word from the inside out, and prepare us to worship and follow the Lamb who was slain and the King who will reign forever. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.