Last Days

The book of Revelation is one part of Scripture where I don’t spend a lot of time. Having been raised in a denomination that got its start with the huge blunder of predicting the date of the Second Coming, I generally avoid books and discussions on Revelation. I usually want to say, “Can’t we just agree it’s a mystery?!” However, I decided to make an exception and read Shane Wood’s recent book, Thinning the Veil: Encountering Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation, after I heard him on a podcast. I’ll admit there was quite a bit of the book that I skimmed fairly quickly, but I did appreciate his approach, which is best summarized in the Introduction:

“Assumptions influence vision and guide our questions. If Revelation is a chronological road map of the future, then our questions demand the text to answer: ‘When will the world end? How will we know it’s drawing near? What signs signal the coming rapture? Is [fill in the name of a political enemy] the antichrist?’ These questions and endless others are understandable if we assume Revelation intends to predict. But what if Revelation doesn’t want to answer these questions? … Revelation’s target is bigger than mere prediction or fortunetelling cartography. Each time the ‘end of the world’ is invoked, it is in service of a greater aim: thinning the veil. Revealing Jesus Christ. Transforming those with ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

As with much of the Christian life, we can easily get sidetracked into lesser issues and grey areas. We look for rules, maps, and calendars when God is more interested in drawing us into relationship with Himself. From the creation of mankind in the image of God, He has continually pursued us with the desire to extend the fellowship that exists within the Trinity to include us. Revelation ends with the promise, “Surely I am coming soon!” That is the conclusion that matters the most. Wood notes in his last chapter,

“As Christians, are we worshiping a person or a place? Do we yearn for heaven or for intimacy with God? … In the end, the Revelation of Jesus Christ doesn’t settle for a place or mere prediction. Its target is far more grand. Far more elaborate. Its target is you. Is me. The transformation of the reader through intimacy with the God who calls you by name. Even by a new name.”

While I was reading this book, I decided to pull out a collection of articles on Revelation that my great grandfather wrote and my grandmother compiled. I’ve started typing them in order to make them available to the rest of my family. However, I quickly got bogged down in his interpretive details and long sentences. I have no doubt he studied long and hard to write these articles, but I’m beginning to think he missed the point. (Perhaps I’ll change my mind by the time I get to the end.)

It’s easy to miss the forest for the trees in a book like Revelation. I dare say the same may be true of many areas of study. We can get so consumed with figuring out how cells function, how molecules interact, and how stars come into being that we lose sight of the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Claiming to be wise, we become fools when we exchange the glory of the immortal God for our own perspectives, interpretations, and ideas (see Rom. 1:22-23).

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God” (Rev. 21:3).

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

© 2026 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Light in Darkness

This time of year can be difficult for many people. The days are shorter and the weather colder. There are many social expectations for the holidays with parties and sometimes tense family gatherings. We’re preparing to close out one year and start another. And in the midst of it all, we’re supposed to be extra thankful and joyful as we remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sometimes it just feels like too much. It’s no wonder that Seasonal Affective Disorder returns for a significant percentage of people.

I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite songs of the season is Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December.” It’s a reminder that this is not always a happy time for everyone, but it also reminds me that the seasons of life keep changing and could feel significantly different a few months from now.

Some of the “darker” Christmas songs* don’t get much airtime. A small group at my church recently discussed the song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” While it references some of the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, it’s also realistic about the fact that we live in the “already but not yet.” We don’t yet experience the fullness of freedom from captivity, mourning, death, envy, and strife. Although God came to be with us, we wait for the day when He will come again to make all things new.

I’ve been reading a chronological Bible this year, and it’s been interesting reading Revelation during Advent season. Contrary to the beliefs of some, the world is not going to get progressively better until the end of time. There will be war, plagues, death, and destruction, but all God’s people will be preserved for eternity with Him.

Earlier this year there was an episode about Revelation on the Being Human podcast that I skipped over because I figured I’d disagree with some eschatology. However, I listened to it this week and found it uplifting. They note that the point of Revelation is not to outline the specific details of the end times, but to encourage those who are living through it. Like all of Scripture, it points us to our Creator and Redeemer, and gives us reason to endure to the end.

We may not always see great beacons of light in the darkness, but there are always pinpoints directing our attention to God and the path He has laid for us. We may go through dark valleys, but He is always by our side.

In an episode of the CCEF podcast on gratitude, they noted that “gratitude is actually meant to coexist with sorrow, not replace it.” It’s possible to live in seasons of darkness, difficulty, and mourning and still find reasons for gratitude in what God has done, is doing, and will do.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:5, 14).

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* Listen along:

In the Bleak Midwinter

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

© 2025 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.