JUST A TOUCH

It was just a touch, but it made all the difference to Jake. A few people from his church went to the local town centre to talk to passers-by about Jesus and offer to pray with them. Some of the youth group, including Jake, went too. But the whole thing started to really stress him out. That’s when an older guy from the church came over, put his hand on Jake’s shoulder and warmly encouraged him. For Jake it was an important moment—a powerful reminder that God was with him.

John, the close friend and follower of Jesus, was exiled as an old man to the remote island of Patmos because he kept telling people about Jesus. As a prisoner on the island, he heard “a loud voice like a trumpet” (REVELATION 1:10).

That startling sound was followed by a vision of Jesus Himself, and John “fell at his feet as though dead” (V.17). But in that scary moment, he was given comfort and strength. John wrote, “[Jesus] placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last’” (V.17).

God takes us out of our comfort zone to show us new things, to stretch us, to help us grow. But He also gives us the bravery to go through every situation. He won’t leave us alone in our trials. He has everything under control. He has us in His hands.

Completing the picture . . .

The book of Revelation is John’s written record of the vision Jesus showed him (SEE REVELATION 1:9-11; 21:5). John was given this vision around 90 AD. A lot of Revelation is hard to understand. It deals with “what must soon take place” (1:1). There’s a lot of imagery and poetic language. In fact, it reads a lot like the Old Testament prophetic books, which only really make sense now we know the story of Jesus (which is what they were pointing to). So we probably have to accept we won’t understand everything Revelation tells us about Jesus’ return. But there are some concrete details we can focus on—like Jesus’ appearance (1:12-16), judgement (20:11-15), our future home (21:1-5) and that Jesus is definitely returning (22:20).