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Revelation | Week 1 · Rewind

Rock Point Church

Pastor Bill Bush · Mar 4, 2018 · 64 min watch · 3 min read

Revelation | Week 1

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In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

Revelation 1:1-3
Revelation 1:19
Revelation 3:10
1 Corinthians 15:51
1 Thessalonians 4:16
1 Thessalonians 4:18

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

Quoting the message: If you know what happens next, it should impact what you do now, end quote..

The book of Revelation is not primarily a book of fear or a debate manual for prophecy enthusiasts — it is a letter of hope, revealing how God wraps up history and delivers those who belong to Him. Its central purpose, stated plainly in Revelation 1:3, is that knowing what is coming next — the rapture, the tribulation, the return of Christ, and the new creation — should produce an eager expectation to be like Jesus and urgently change how His followers live today.

Key points

1
1The book of Revelation exists to bless those who read, hear, and obey it — obedience meaning letting what comes next shape what you do now.
2
2Revelation follows a clear three-part outline: what John already saw (the vision of Christ), what is happening now (letters to the seven churches), and things yet to come (the end times).
3
3The book feels weird and scary for four reasons: its apocalyptic literary form, its jumps through time and space, the tendency to Americanize its characters, and John's attempt to describe future events in ancient language.
4
4The rapture — believers being instantly caught up to meet the Lord — is the next prophetic event on God's timeline, meant to encourage the church, not frighten it.
5
5No one knows the day or hour of Christ's return — not even Jesus chose to know — so that the uncertainty keeps every generation living with urgency rather than complacency.
6
6Knowing Jesus will appear and fully transform believers into His likeness should produce an eager expectation that drives us to pursue purity and Christlikeness right now.
7
7The closing challenge: if knowing Jesus was returning in 60 days would change how you live, ask yourself what is stopping you from making those changes today.

A story from life

Pastor Bill Bush recounts being stranded 27+ hours in Newark and then rerouted through Zurich on the way to Israel with a group of 54

Application

The pastor's challenge is direct and personal: Revelation was not written to fuel debate or feed fear — it was written to change how you live today. Knowing that Jesus could return at any moment and that He will fully transform every believer into His likeness should produce an eager, active desire to pursue Christlikeness right now. The practical test is honest self-examination: if you learned with certainty that Jesus was returning in 60 days, would you live differently? If yes, the Holy Spirit is already pointing to something that needs to change — a relationship to restore, a habit to surrender, a step of faith to take. The invitation is to stop waiting for a deadline and start trusting Jesus to enable those changes today, because that is exactly why this book is in your Bible.

Take it into your week

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“Revelations chapter one, the first three verses says this. It says, this is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place”
Read the whole chapter →
From the transcript
“there's an outline of the the whole book. It's in chapter one verse 19. And it says this, write down what you have seen, both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen”
From the transcript
“Revelation three ten says this time of testing is not for you. Like I said, being the church in America, it's good that we're not the center of the universe”
From the transcript
“in first Corinthians fifteen fifty one it says, but let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in a blink of an eye”
From the transcript
“if you go over to first Thessalonians chapter four, kinda talking about the same topic, he says this in verse 16, for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout”
From the transcript
“He says, verse 18, so encourage each other with these words. We should encourage each other with these words”
From the transcript
“if you look in in the book of Matthew chapter 24, chapter 24, which is actually talking about this future, and and he starts talking about this end time things of what's gonna start off”
From the transcript
“two people will be in the fields, one will be taken, one will be left. It's gonna just come out of nowhere when you don't expect it, and in verse 36, it says this. However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen”
From the transcript
“First John chapter three verse two and three says this, dear friends, we are already God's children. So if you know Jesus, you're already his child, but he has not yet shown us what what we will be like when Christ appears”

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

Most of us come to Revelation with one of two postures — fear or fascination. We either avoid it because it feels overwhelming, or we dive in looking for clues to decode current events. But the opening verses quietly challenge both of those approaches. John doesn't introduce this book as a mystery to be solved or a horror story to survive. He calls it a revelation — an unveiling — and then immediately promises a blessing to anyone who reads it, hears it, and obeys it. That word 'obey' is worth sitting with. It shifts the whole purpose of the book. Revelation isn't primarily asking you to understand a timeline; it's asking you to let what is coming shape how you live right now. The blessing isn't reserved for the person with the best end-times chart. It belongs to the person who reads this letter and actually changes — who lets the knowledge of what God is doing with history reorder their priorities, their relationships, and their daily choices. That's a surprisingly personal and practical starting point for a book that often gets treated like an academic puzzle. God put this book in your Bible not to fuel debate but to produce something real in your life — obedience, hope, and a readiness that shows up in how you actually spend your days.

For reflection

When you think about the book of Revelation, does your first instinct tend toward fear, curiosity, or something else — and what does that instinct tell you about what you believe God's future holds for you?

Pray

Pray for an open and unhurried heart as you begin this week — asking God to let Revelation be what He meant it to be: a source of hope and an invitation to live differently.

One of the most helpful things the sermon offered was a simple map of Revelation. Jesus Himself gives John a three-part outline in this single verse: write down what you have already seen, what is happening now, and what will happen later. That structure doesn't just organize a complicated book — it shows us that God works in all three tenses at once. He is the God of what has happened, what is unfolding, and what is still to come. There's something steadying about that. When life feels chaotic or history feels out of control, this verse is a quiet reminder that God is not improvising. He gave John the whole arc — past, present, and future — because He holds the whole arc. The letters to the seven churches that follow aren't filler before the 'real' prophecy begins. They are part of the revelation. What God says to those churches about how to live faithfully in their moment is part of the same message as everything that comes after. You are living in the 'what is happening now' portion of God's story. That means the same God who told John what was coming is present with you in your everyday, ordinary moment — and He has something to say about how you live it.

For reflection

Knowing that God holds the past, the present, and the future all at once, where in your life do you most need to trust that He is not caught off guard?

Pray

Pray for a deeper trust that God is not surprised by anything happening in your life or in the world right now.

The sermon named something honest: Revelation feels weird and scary to a lot of people. The imagery is strange, the timeline jumps around, and when we try to read ancient apocalyptic literature through a modern Western lens, it almost always gets distorted. That's not a personal failing — it's a real challenge. And it's worth naming, because confusion about how to read a book can quietly become an excuse to avoid what the book is actually saying. First Corinthians 15:51 sits in the middle of Paul's great chapter on resurrection, and it captures the same urgent hope Revelation is built on: we will not all die, but we will all be changed — in a flash, at the last trumpet. Paul writes this not as a puzzle to be figured out but as a mystery to be received with wonder. The point isn't to decode the mechanics; the point is to let the truth land. Death is not the final word. The story doesn't end in the grave. Transformation is coming. When the strangeness of prophetic language starts to feel like a wall, it's worth stepping back to what is plain: God wins, and those who belong to Him are transformed. That is the heartbeat underneath all of it.

For reflection

Is there a part of Revelation — or end-times teaching in general — that has produced more confusion or anxiety in you than hope? What would it look like to bring that honest question to God?

Pray

Pray for clarity and peace where you have felt confused or anxious about what is still to come — asking God to replace uncertainty with trust in His character.

Paul ends this passage with four words that are easy to rush past: 'encourage each other with these words.' The rapture — the moment when believers are caught up to meet the Lord — was not given to the church as a debate topic. It was given as an encouragement. Paul wrote these words to people who were grieving, worried that loved ones who had died before Christ's return had somehow missed out. His answer is pastoral and direct: they haven't missed anything. In fact, they go first. The sermon made the same point. The rapture belongs in the category of comfort, not controversy. It is God's promise that those who are His will not be abandoned to the end — that He will personally collect them. Whatever your understanding of the exact sequence of end-times events, this much is clear: Jesus is coming back for His people, and that is meant to produce hope, not anxiety. If end-times conversation in your life has produced more heat than light, more fear than encouragement, it may be worth asking whether those conversations have stayed true to Paul's stated purpose here. The next time this comes up with someone you love, you have an invitation to steer toward what Paul intended — genuine, grounded encouragement.

For reflection

Who in your life might need to hear the hope of this passage right now — and what would it look like to share it in the spirit Paul intended, as encouragement rather than information?

Pray

Pray for the people in your life who are carrying grief or fear about the future — asking God to use you as a source of the kind of hope this passage describes.

This verse has probably ended more arguments about prophecy than it has started — or at least, it should. Jesus says plainly that no one knows the day or hour of His return: not the angels, not even the Son in His earthly ministry. The sermon pointed out something worth sitting with: Jesus chose not to know. He set that knowledge aside as part of what it meant to take on human limitation. That's a remarkable act of humility from the One who holds everything together. But the purpose behind the uncertainty is just as important as the fact of it. If a date were set, every generation except one would have reason to coast — to say 'not yet' and keep living on autopilot. The not-knowing keeps every generation, including ours, living with urgency. It is a gift, even when it feels frustrating. That urgency isn't meant to produce anxiety. It's meant to produce attentiveness — the kind of life that doesn't need a deadline to do the right thing, restore a broken relationship, or take a step of faith. The unknown timing is God's way of saying: live fully ready, all the time. Not in fear, but in faithful expectation.

For reflection

If you knew you had unlimited time before Jesus returned, what might you quietly put off that you know you should address now?

Pray

Pray for the kind of holy attentiveness that doesn't need a deadline — asking God to help you live today as someone who is genuinely ready.

This may be the most personally challenging passage of the week, and also the most hopeful. John writes that we are already God's children — that identity is not in question, not something to be earned or maintained by performance. But then he says something that should stop us in our tracks: when Jesus appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who holds onto that hope, John says, purifies themselves. The sermon leaned hard into this connection. The hope of being fully transformed into Christlikeness is not just a comfort for later — it is a motivation for now. If you genuinely believe that Jesus is coming back and that you will be made completely like Him, that belief should produce something visible in how you live today. Not because you're trying to earn transformation, but because you're leaning toward what is already coming. This is where the 60-day question from the sermon gets honest. If you would live differently with a deadline, the Holy Spirit is already showing you something. Not to shame you — but to invite you. The step you keep putting off, the habit you've been meaning to address, the relationship that needs attention: these aren't surprises to God. They are exactly the kind of things hope is meant to move us toward.

For reflection

What is one specific area where the hope of becoming like Jesus could — if you let it — change something about how you are living right now?

Pray

Pray for the courage to act on what the Holy Spirit is already showing you — asking God to make the hope of Christlikeness more real and more motivating than whatever is making change feel hard.

You've spent a week inside a book that most people either avoid or overcomplicate. And the invitation that started on day one is still the same one you end with: the blessing in Revelation belongs to those who read it, hear it, and obey it. Obedience, in this context, means letting what is coming actually change what you do today. The rapture is coming. The return of Christ is coming. The full transformation of every believer is coming. A new creation is coming. These are not abstract theological ideas — they are the destination toward which all of history is moving, and they are meant to reorder how you use your time, how you steward what God has given you, how you treat the people around you, and how freely you share what you believe. The 60-day question from the sermon is worth returning to one more time, not as a guilt trip but as a genuine compass: has anything shifted this week? Has a relationship come to mind that needs repair? A step of faith that keeps getting delayed? A habit you've been circling around? If so, that movement in your heart is the blessing Revelation promises — and it didn't require knowing the exact date of Christ's return. It only required being willing to take the book seriously. Don't wait for a deadline. Jesus is enough reason to start today.

For reflection

Looking back over this week, what is the one thing you sense God most clearly inviting you to do differently — and what is your next concrete step?

Pray

Pray in gratitude for the hope Revelation offers, and ask God to make this week's invitation specific enough to act on — in your relationships, your habits, or your walk with Him.

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Revelation has a reputation for being confusing, frightening, or a source of endless debate — but this message makes the case that it was written to do something far more practical: change the way we live right now.

Discussion questions

1
Revelation 1:3 promises a blessing to those who read, hear, and obey this book. What do you think 'obey' means in that context — what would obedience to a book about future events actually look like in everyday life?
2
The message listed four reasons Revelation feels strange or scary to modern readers — its apocalyptic literary form, its jumps through time and space, the tendency to Americanize its characters, and John's challenge of describing future events in ancient language. Which of those reasons do you think creates the most confusion for people, and why?
3
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Paul closes his description of the rapture by saying, 'So encourage each other with these words.' What is it about that particular event — believers being caught up to meet the Lord — that Paul thinks should be encouraging rather than frightening?
4
Matthew 24:36 says no one knows the day or hour of Christ's return — not the angels, and not even the Son during His time on earth. What effect do you think that uncertainty is meant to have on the way people in every generation approach their faith?
5
First John 3:2-3 connects knowing that we will one day be fully transformed into Jesus' likeness with a present-tense pursuit of purity. How does what we know is coming actually shape what people are willing to pursue today?
6
The pastor challenged us to ask: if we knew with certainty that Jesus was returning in 60 days, would we live any differently? As a group, what do you think that question is really trying to surface — and how might sitting with it honestly change the way we approach the week ahead?

Pray together

Gratitude that God gave us this book not to frighten us but to prepare us — and an open, honest ask for the courage to pursue Christlikeness today rather than waiting for a deadline

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Revelation

Week 1 · 4 messages

Where these passages are preached

Revelation 1 Revelation 3 1 Corinthians 15 1 Thessalonians 4

Explore related topics

Christlikeness End Times Hope Living for Christ's Return Revelation Overview Urgency in Faith

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