Revelation Chapter 21

There are three things the listener to this series needs to know before they begin to listen.

Firstly, this book has probably caused more controversy than any other bible book. This is because most people today are unaware of a genre of literature known as “apocalyptic”, which means “something to be revealed”. This type of literature is full of symbols and pictures, drawn from the Old Testament where this kind of writing first appeared. If we insist on taking everything in Revelation literally, we will get ourselves into a lot of exegetical problems and we will never understand the book.

Secondly, the book of Revelation simply explains symbolically what the Gospel of the Lord Jesus is and how it will work out in history. Revelation is NOT about dates, great military battles to come and other speculative prophecies about peoples or nations. The message of the book is the ultimate victory of the Lord Jesus Christ and those who believe in him. It is the outworking of the Gospel of the Cross.

Thirdly, I am fortunate enough to have as part of my audience Dr Mark Norman, who is a lecturer at George Whitefield College, a theological college located in Muizenberg in Cape Town. He has helped on several occasions by taking some of the studies for me, particularly chapters 4 and 5 of Revelation.

Finally, these talks were given to a bible study group meeting in my home. They are therefore different in style and delivery from the preaching style used to speak to larger audiences.

With these thoughts in mind I hope you find this series of expositions not only informative, but also a blessing to your soul and an encouragement to you in your life as a Christian, which indeed Revelation was intended to be.

Frank Retief