Bible Journaling: The Book of Revelation

In this final book of the Bible, we will discover themes that are beautifully woven all throughout Scripture and how they come to a climatic end. This book is deeper than a literal interpretation - when this fact is missed, reading Revelation can be dreadful and scary. For a broader view of this book of the Bible, we encourage you to watch this video:

Bible journaling tip:

As we approach the end of our Bible-Journal-through-the-Bible journey, the best advice I have for you is to pause and look back. As creatives and those who love to create, we often just jump to the next thing without taking a moment to appreciate what we have done. Think about how the Genesis account of creation tells us that God stepped back and said “It is good” after each thing that he made. It can be a joyful act of worship to just page through your Bible and look at your previous responses to the Word.

LOOK UP (information): encounter God through the Scripture 

Author:

The author of Revelation identifies himself as John - which John, we are not sure. Similar to the photo above, reading Revelation is like looking back at history and forward to the future at the same time. There is a beautiful new outlook on life that the author of this book brilliantly wove into the words. There are a lot of themes in this book that point back to God’s story with his people that started in Genesis - if you do not know your Bible all of these themes will be lost on you and this book will seem strange and disturbing.

For example: John calls Jesus the root of David. This is a reference to Isaiah 11:1 where Jesus was prophesied about. “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse (David’s father); from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him.”  This imagery of Jesus as a root of David is also echoed in Job, 1 Corinthians and Romans. 

Audience:

Parts of this book are letters that were directed to the seven churches in Asia Minor, but their messages apply to us today as well. SImilar to how the Pauline epistles are still speaking to believers today even if we are not the initial intendent recipients of these letters. Try to find places in Revelation where it is apparent that it was written to be a letter and draw an envelope in the margin.

History:

The name Revelation shows us that this is not just an idea, but something that was revealed to the author by divine intervention. He says that he was “in the Spirit” as he wrote. This book also spoke to an audience of martyrs for the Christian faith. See if you can mark passages that would encourage them specifically.

Genre:

This is the only book in the Bible with the genre of Apocalyptic Literature: This simply means that it speaks about a revelation. The images in Revelation are directly linked to a combination of actual events in prophecies in the Old Testament - it builds upon these to point to the future Kingdom.

LOOK IN (revelation): contemplate / reflect on our own lives

Key verse:

Revelation 7:9-10 NIV

…There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Inspiration:

Imagine such a gathering: a group representing each nation on earth, all coming together to praise God in one loud voice. We are encouraged by Jesus and throughout the Bible to bring God’s Kingdom to earth today already. When you look at your friendships, does it look like this picture of the Kingdom? What can you do to lower your walls and be more open to make friends across worldly divides?

LOOK OUT (transformation): respond with creative worship action 

Drawing prompt:

The book of Revelation is full of beautiful imagery. Choose one such image to paint: The appearance of Jesus, the people before God’s throne, or the new Jerusalem. Use colors and elements that symbolize the grand narrative of God with his people: For inspiration, you can read this article. 

Bible Journey with HolyJot:

Here are some questions / prompts provided by the HolyJot community. 

• Describe the characteristics of the great multitude – 7:9. Where did they stand? How were they clothed?
• What did the great multitude do – 7:10?

Follow this link to dive into this book with an online Bible Study group.

Writing prompt:

In Revelation, there is a very unique creative writing style used that could point to the past, present, or the future. Fold a page into 4 parts. Write headings on these parts: Revelation, Bible, Present World, and New Kingdom. As you read through the book of Revelation, use this page to understand whatever stands out for you. Some themes you could explore in this way include: things that confuse you (locusts, angels); things that are beautiful to you (new Jerusalem); or things that sound strange to you (four horses, eating the scroll). You could do a deep dive into Google and books to search for answers, but it would be more helpful (less distracting and overwhelming) to write down what you do remember. Start there and if you want to know more or you really cannot make a connection, you can Google it. 

For example: 

1. Locusts
Revelation - the 5th trumpet (Rev.9)

Bible - Exodus 10: plague  

Present World - Locusts could represent something that eats up growth…

New Kingdom - (not applicable)

1. Angels

Revelation  - so many references of them!
Bible - Angel appeared to Mary, Angels with Jesus in wilderness

Present World - Heb 13:2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who 

have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

New Kingdom - Angels will still be in the Kingdom, worshipping God

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for the book of Revelation. Thank you that your Word is still alive today. Help me to understand the meaning of this book for my life today. Let my response to this text be worship unto you!