5 Ways to Find Hope in the Book of Revelation

We often enter Revelation asking, What does this symbol mean? Who is this beast? When will this happen? But the book begins not with symbols, but with a Person. And that is intentional. It might help if we realized that the book isn’t “Revelation of things to come.” No, the book is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.”

It’s an unveiling of Jesus. In Revelation 1, John encounters the risen Christ. His eyes are like fire. His voice is like rushing waters. He holds seven stars in His hand. His face shines like the sun. This is not the suffering servant of His first coming but the glorified King of His eternal reign. Scary if that’s the guy you’re battling. But comforting if that’s the guy battling for you.

After that quite terrifying picture of Jesus we hear this:

“Fear not… I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Rev. 1:17–18).

Revelation begins with Jesus standing in the middle of His churches, present and active. Before we see seals opened or trumpets sounded, we see the Savior who holds history in His hands. This is the center of our hope. Jesus wins. He’s right there at the center of every page and every movement of history. If that doesn’t give you hope, I’m not sure what will.

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If mom and dad are gone for the weekend and you decide to throw a party and trash the house, suddenly discovering their presence among you would be terrifying. And I wonder if that’s why we might view some of Revelation as “scary” instead of hopeful. If you’ve been trashing the house and you hear “I know what you’ve been doing,” that’s unsettling, not comforting.

Chapters 2-3 of Revelation contain letters from Jesus to seven real churches. And he lets them know that He knows their struggles. He knows their faithfulness. He knows their sins, fears, and vulnerabilities.

Jesus does not merely rule His Church from a distance. He walks among the lampstands. He speaks into real situations with both clarity and compassion:

To the weary, He says, “I know your works.”

To the fearful, He says, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer.”

To the drifting, He says, “Return to your first love.”

To the faithful, He promises a crown of life.

Even if you’re the goober foolishly trashing the house instead of being faithful, there is still hope here. Jesus’ words are meant to draw them into repentance. And for those who are faithfully laboring, it’s a deep encouragement. These letters remind us that Jesus is never guessing about what we need. He sees us.

Yeah, that could be scary. But it can also be deeply hopeful. Because it also means He understands every pressure, every discouragement, and every moment when you had a little victory.

Revelation gives hope because it assures us that the One who holds the future also holds us. He knows the churches better than they know themselves. He knows the challenges we face in our own cultural moment. He is not indifferent. He is not silent. And He is leading His church to the end.

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One of my favorite sections in all of Scripture is Revelation 4 and 5. Before any of the seals are opened, before any judgment begins, Revelation takes us into the throne room of heaven. It’s not a random detour but the interpretive center for everything that follows in the Revelation. It’s a preview of things to come.

John sees a throne and the One seated on it. Around Him is worship, color, wonder, and glory. Heavenly beings cry, “Holy, holy, holy.” The elders cast down their crowns. The atmosphere is complete stability and absolute authority.

This is where God’s children are heading. This shows us the end of the story — or rather the beginning of the story that never ends.

But then a scroll, representing God’s purposes for history, enters the scene. And it gets sad for a moment. Nobody can open it. That means history cannot move forward according to God’s purposes. Nobody can get us to that vision around the throne room. And so John weeps. The whole story seems stuck.

Then the announcement comes:

“Weep no more… the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered.”

Jesus is worthy to open the scrolls. The lion who is a slain lamb. He’s standing at the center of the throne. The One who sacrificed Himself is the One who rules the world.

Do you realize what that means? It means that nothing you are afraid of moves history. It means the political election you are all stressed about isn’t that which will move us to the vision around the throne. None of the problems you face can ultimately keep you from that. Nor can solving them get you there. Nothing moves history along except Jesus.

History is not out of control. It is in the hands of the Lamb. Every seal, every trumpet, every bowl unfolds only because the Lamb opens the scroll. Evil is not running wild. Earthly powers are not in charge. Even when the world feels chaotic, heaven is calm and the throne is occupied.

This is the foundation of our hope.

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Connected with the victory of Jesus is this important message throughout Revelation. It’s good to keep in mind that Revelation is apocalyptic language. We’ve kind of turned that into “weird stuff about the end times.” To us the word is like a synonym for catastrophe. But that’s not what it meant originally. It meant “revelation” or “unveiling;” it pointed to “something uncovered.”

Now in our self-centeredness, we like to think that this uncovering includes hidden clues that John left for church folk 2,000 years later. But what if it had meaning for John’s original audience? What if John was in exile on the island of Patmos and needed to get a message to really discouraged Christians? And what if part of that message was “The beast has an expiration date.” In other words, “Rome doesn’t get the last word.”

You couldn’t just write that message and send it out. It wouldn’t see the light of day. So John had to hide it. And he did it using apocalyptic language. Coded language that someone who was familiar with the Old Testament (and especially Daniel) could pretty easily discern.

God is declaring through all of the judgments that injustice will not linger forever. Oppressors will not always get away with it. Violence, abuse, corruption, and idolatry will meet the verdict of heaven.

Christians who have suffered under persecution, poverty, or violence have long read Revelation as a comfort: God sees every tear and will act with justice. Babylon (whatever iteration of that you’re living in) will fall. Every empire built on exploitation will collapse. The beastly powers that oppose God will be defeated.

The days of evil are numbered. That’s not a threat for believers, it is hope. God will make all things right. No act of faithfulness will be wasted. The beast will lose. Don’t join him. But keep trusting in Jesus. Revelation assures us that Jesus will not merely comfort His people; He will vindicate them.

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The revelation of Jesus Christ doesn’t end with a big explosion. It ends with a new heaven and a new earth. John sees the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven like a bride. He hears the loud voice from the throne announcing the central promise of the Christian hope:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.”

That’s what it’s been all about. It was there in the Garden of Eden. It was there in John 1:14 (the Word made flesh) and it culminates here. Finally, God and humanity are fully and completely connected again. What follows is the reversal of everything broken:

God wipes away every tear.

Death is defeated.

Mourning, crying, and pain are gone.

The curse is lifted.

The nations are healed.

We will see God’s face.

Revelation isn’t about how we escape from earth, from suffering, or even from creation. Our end isn’t floating on some cloud, all rosy-cheeked, playing a harp. Revelation ends with renewal. God restores everything sin has damaged. He brings His people into a world where joy is uninterrupted and intimacy with Him is unbroken.

The story of Scripture does not conclude with fear or destruction. It concludes with new creation, resurrection life, and forever fellowship with Christ. Revelation’s message is clear: The world will not end in darkness. It will end in glory.

That means every bit of suffering and difficulty that you face in the here and now is headed to this point in history. It will be, as Paul said, “light and momentary affliction” in comparison to this weight of glory. That keeps us pressing on in the present.

Through the Right Lens

Revelation is often treated as a puzzle to solve, but it’s meant to be a promise to hold. It shows us Jesus reigning, shepherding, judging, and renewing. It assures us that God has not left His people alone, that evil will not last, and that the future belongs to the Lamb.

If you read Revelation with fear, you will likely misunderstand it. But if you read it through the lens of Christ’s victory and God’s faithfulness, you will find a deep and unshakable hope.

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