For many Christians, the book of Revelation is the most mysterious book of the Bible. Chapter after chapter is filled with the visions of John the Revelator.

• He saw a leopard-like beast.
• He beheld a great red dra­gon.
• He viewed angels in the sky and terrible plagues upon the earth.
• He also saw different colored horses and the wedding feast of a Lamb.

It’s clear that John was using symbolic language as he wrote the book of Revelation. What’s not so clear is just what each symbol means. One of the keys for unlocking the treasures in the book of Revelation is the Old Testament.

John used many figures of speech and allusions based on the Old Testament. So, when we discover what the symbol meant in the Old Testament, we can begin to under­stand what John meant in Revelation.

Even though there are differences in interpretation of this book, the overall theme seems clear. John wanted to give his readers a message of hope and encourage­ment. Written when Christians were persecuted for their faith, Revelation reminds believers that Jesus Christ will one day defeat Satan. Evil will end, and God’s people will live with Jesus Christ forever in an earth made new.

So the last two chapters of the Bible are a fitting climax to Scripture. They picture the eternal world of the saints who live with the joy of seeing God, face to face.