The Apocalypse

No book in the Bible has captured the interest and imagination of men more than the last book of the New Testament. The visions of John, exiled on the island of Patmos, contain vivid imageries that peel away the veil of earthly existence, offering the reader an exquisite glimpse into the future and eternity, with graphic descriptions of characters and events taking place in heavenly and mortal realms.

For centuries, learned scholars and able theologians attempted to decipher the writings within its pages, without coming to a common agreement or conclusive statement as to its meaning or message. The apocalypse, as it is called, is derived from the Greek word apokalypsis—an 'uncovering', a 'disclosure' or as the book appropriately named, a 'revelation'. Note the singular nature of the word.

Since time immemorial, humans have an insatiable fascination for the future and the unknown. The great English poet William Blake eloquently expressed the deep longings and desires of the human heart in his work, Auguries of Innocence:

To see a world in a grain of sand
and a heaven in a wild flower;
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour.

Perhaps the writer of Ecclesiastes gives us the best answer to this incessant hunger within man, yet points out the futility of seeking such knowledge apart and outside of the Revelator:

Ecclesiastes 3:12
He has made everything beautiful in his time: also he has set the world (eternity) in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end.