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W. A. Criswell, a Southern Baptist pastor, expositor and writer wrote a “volume” on the book of Revelation. You’ll likely hear him quoted a few times over the next year as we journey through the “sixty-sixth book.” He referred to the incarnation of Jesus as the Advent of Veiled Deity and the return of Jesus as the Advent of Unveiled Deity. It’s tough to improve upon that distinction! Jesus was fully God and fully man when He came the first time and He will be fully God and fully man when He returns. The only difference is that the first time it was as the Christmas Hymn says so well, “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity.” When He returns, the veil will be lifted, and we will see Him in all His glory and splendor.

Are there some people in your life that lift your spirit when you see their face or hear their voice? When you say, “Good to see you,” you really mean it because they have a life-giving presence. The sound of a voice, the sight of a face, an appropriate touch, encouraging words; all this is present in Revelation chapter 1. The apostle John had not seen Jesus for over 50 years and suddenly, on the Lord’s Day, while John was worshipping, the Holy Spirit opened the unseen realm to John.

We’ll be having our annual reminder of the Sanctity of Human Life this coming Sunday. Those of us who are pro-life often talk about the babies whose lives have been taken and the tragedy of their death. That message should be proclaimed because abortion is an assault on the image of God! But, what about the women? What about the loss they have experienced? What about the regret? What about the shame that accompanies the aftermath of their decision? Some women have been publicly outspoken that they have no more shame or regret than they would for having their appendix removed. I am sure there are some women that are telling the truth about themselves, but they are not representative of all women.

If you have ever watched a “trailer” for a movie, you know that the point of the preview is to pique your interest to get you to watch. They never show the most boring scenes, they always show something dramatic or dangerous or funny. What if the Revelation of Jesus Christ was made into a movie? What would be on the two-minute promotional video? There are people that would put the ideas found in Revelation in the genre of science fiction or religious fiction.

What comes to your mind when you see that word? If the complete destruction of the world, darkness and smoke comes to mind you have either watched too many science fiction movies or you may simply have a more modern definition of the word. If the unveiling of Jesus for who He is and His plans to reign over the earth in righteousness came to mind, you are thinking Biblically. The title of the last book of the Bible is “Revelation.” The Greek word is “apokalupsis.” It means “disclosure, manifestation or revealing.”