The last book of the Bible is the Book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse of John. It is attributed to the apostle John, who wrote it while exiled on the Greek island of Patmos in the late 1st century AD. The Book of Revelation is a highly symbolic work that is often interpreted as describing the end of the world and the return of Jesus Christ. It contains vivid descriptions of divine judgment, the triumph of good over evil, and the ultimate destiny of humanity.
Revelation is a book that many people avoid, convinced that it is too hard to interpret and understand. Certainly there are some challenges to rightly interpreting some of its vivid imagery and plentiful symbolism. It is a genre of literature (apocalyptic) that is unfamiliar to most of us, which requires that we develop some skills for reading it. But Revelation wasn’t written for scholars. It was written for ordinary believers in the first century with the expectation that they would be able to understand its central message. This means that we  are able to understand its central message. The challenge greater than understanding the book may be opening ourselves up to the adjustments in our lives this book calls for. Yet this greater challenge is also what promises the greatest blessing.
Revelation was written to fortify believers in the first century, and every century since then, to live out bold allegiance to Christ as they/we wait for the King of Kings to come and establish his kingdom on earth in all of its glorious fullness. It fortifies us for this by showing us what God has done in the past, is doing in the present, and will do in the future to preserve and protect his people, destroy his enemies, and renew his creation. It shows us how to live out the ordinary days of this present life in ways that will matter into eternity future.
The book of Revelation is John’s record of a series of visions that he was given and instructed to write down for us. Through this record of his visions, we get to see the realities of heaven and earth from the perspective of heaven. Apart from this divine revelation, we’re limited to what we can see with our eyes and perceive with our senses. But with this divine revelation we can see into the worship of heaven. We can see the true nature of things on earth so that some of the things that seem valuable or beautiful are actually worthless and ugly. Likewise, what may seem like defeat is actually victory. What may seem insignificant from the vantage point of earth is actually of great worth.