Blessed is the one who holds on to the words of the prophecy of this book.

Revelation 21:7b

It is a strange and mysterious book of the Bible. It consists of imagery of a world to come which

can be downright frightening to those who are so busy looking at the individual trees they fail to

see the forest, so busy trying to dissect the imagery that they fail to see the purpose of the book.

Revelation is a book that is intended to bring comfort to Christians in these latter days in which

we live.

How are the book’s sometimes horrific images intended to bring us comfort? As a whole, the

book is simply seven accounts of the end times to come. Seven accounts of the same events

viewed through seven different lenses. But one constant factor remains in all of the accounts.

Whether we are talking about the worldly enemies of the Church in government or in the Church

itself or whether we are talking about the spiritual forces amassed for the final battles against

the faith, one truth remains the same. Christ is and will be victorious!

Revelation is a book of comfort for those living in uncomfortable times. Yes, the Church will

undergo persecution. We only need to look to the vast majority of the world where our brothers

and sisters are imprisoned and executed for holding to the faith. Yes, false teaching will

continue to circulate even under the banner of love in our world. We only need to look to the

vast majority of churches where feeding people what they want to hear has supplanted feeding

them on both the law and gospel God wants them to hear. Throw on top of that constant and

ongoing wars, famines, and earthquakes, and you must realize we are in the end times.

But we are blessed. We are joyful because we have our eyes focused on God’s end game. We

do not have to be like Habakkuk questioning when the Lord will hear our cries for deliverance,

when He will punish the evil doers for troubling us. We know the answer. Christ will come. He

has promised us this. That truth alone is sufficient and is the source of great joy.

So while we wait, we can be thankful that in His mercy God patiently delayed Judgment Day

until we were saved through the waters of baptism or the preaching of the Word. We can pray

for opportunities to share the gospel so that fewer and fewer will have to face God’s wrath on

the Last Day. Comforted by His promises, we can serve troubled people in troubling times.

Blessings.

Frank Van Brocklin

Principal/Staff Minister

Coming up for Immanuel Lutheran School:

❖ Monday, November 21 Family Game Night - Gym - 5:30-7:30

❖ Tuesday, November 22 Early Release - 1:40 PM - Bus Service Available

❖ Wednesday - Friday, November 23-25 Thanksgiving Break