The Book of Revelation is “the revelation of Jesus Christ,” and yet much of it is about the evil of men. The ultimate evil that is to be revealed in men is also a focus of this Book, which is the “antichrist,” or “man of sin” who is a personification of the sin of man. Even so, all of this is a revelation of Jesus Christ. It is the revelation of the depravity of man without Him and the victory that will ultimately be realized by Him. As there is a revelation of Him in all of these things that unfold, can we see Him in the things that are happening today? This must be our ultimate quest, not to just know what is happening, and even why it is happening, but to see Jesus and the coming of His kingdom, abiding in Him and preaching Him.
The apostolic gospel was, and is, Jesus. Over and over in the Book of Acts we read how they preached Jesus and the resurrection from the dead. In Him was the message of salvation, which included healing, deliverance, and inclusion in the ultimate society—the church. At the end of this age, the message is still about Him; it still includes salvation and inclusion in His bride, but we also see that the gospel of the kingdom must be proclaimed throughout the earth before the end of this age can come.
Jesus preached the kingdom, and His people preached Him. Now we will begin to see His message combined in the message of Him. As we see in Daniel 2 and other places, there is a time when the little stone that is His kingdom will strike the feet of man’s kingdoms and they will all collapse. The little stone will grow into a mountain, which represents government, and then it will continue to grow until it “fills the whole earth.”
Presently the church looks weak and impotent, riddled with scandals and failures. The reason the church looks this way is because it is the scandals and failures that make the news. Overall, the church is strong and growing stronger. Worldwide the church is currently the most powerful entity on the planet; she is just too divided and self-focused to use that power as she is called to, but that will change. Her finest hour is yet future.
Churches that are just self-focused are the ones that usually implode or fall to devastating problems. Those who are mission-oriented are the strongest churches, but they too can become weak if they do not continue to grow in sound doctrine and strengthening the foundations. The Apostle Paul wrote:
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work (I Corinthians 3:11-13).
As we see in the Ephesians 1, all things are going to be summed up in Christ. As we are told in John 1, Colossians 1, and other places, Jesus is the Creator, who came to His creation, and His own creation did not recognize Him. All things were made through Him and for Him, and in Him all things hold together. The Apostle Paul also wrote about seeking to present every man complete in Christ (see Colossians1:28), and how he labored that Christ might be formed in His people (see Galatians 4:19). That is the true work of an apostle—to see Jesus formed in His people, not to just get the people into a certain form or church life. Jesus is the message, Jesus is the mission, and Jesus is the goal of all things. In everything that was created, the Father was looking for His Son, and He is looking for His Son in us. At the conclusion of His work, all will be summed up in Him.
This being true, how are we growing in Him now? How are we becoming more like Him? How are we doing His work by His Spirit that indwells us? This is the ultimate goal—the ultimate quest. The main way we get there is by taking up the cross daily. Paul also wrote of being so crucified with Christ that it was no longer he who lived, but Christ who lived in Him (see Galatians 2:20). That is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.