Jesus

The Day of the Lord

When people talk about Jesus, they usually focus on his birth, life, death, and resurrection. Sometimes they might also talk about his ascension​ — that's the day he left earth after his resurrection and returned to be with his Father (you can read that story in Acts 1:1-11). But the story of Jesus starts long before Christmas and it goes way past his ascension.

When people talk about The End of Time, they usually focus on some apocalyptic movie about Armageddon. Or they envision a cataclysmic natural disaster or global war. The Day of the Lord will be cataclysmic (he’s God, after all), but no one knows exactly what it will be like or when it will happen. We do know this, though: that's when Jesus will make all things right.

Parts of the story of Jesus are in the book of Revelation — a really strange book written in a style called apocalypse. It's sort of like an ancient version of sci-fi and fantasy with lots of strange creatures, places, and events. But it tells a true story. The Jesus that we see in Revelation might at first seem really different from the Jesus we read about in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But he's the same guy, the same God, the same Messiah and King.

Talk about the questions below, watch the video, and read the Bible passages to learn more about Jesus and the Day of the Lord.

Warm-Up

  • What comes to mind when you hear the words "apocalypse," "Armageddon​," or "end of the world"?
  • Where did those images and ideas come from (movie, song, video game, book)?
  • How do you think Jesus fits into all of that?

Watch

“Day of the Lord”​ (6:01) *This video mentions Eden, Babylon, Amos, Israel, and the Passover Lamb.

Respond

  • Talk about the temptation of power (at school, at work, etc.). Why do you think people desire power? Why do you think power often ruins people?
  • What are some ways people try to define good and evil for themselves?
  • Describe some of the things in today’s world that make it the current “Babylon.”

Read & Engage

Read these Revelation passages out loud. Listen to how Jesus is described.

  1. Revelation 1:5-8
  2. 1:13-18
  3. 19:11-16
  • What do these descriptions tell us about Jesus?
  • The video says: “The day of the Lord is an invitation​ to resist the culture of Babylon, and it’s also a promise​ that God will one day free our world from corruption and bring about the new thing he has in store.” If you are a visual person, create some kind of design or doodle that contrasts the “culture of Babylon” with the “new thing God has in store.” If you're a word person, describe these things with its own list. Or if you're a conversation person, talk about each of these with another person.

End

No one knows when the world will end. No one knows when Jesus will return and make all things new. But it is​ going to happen sometime, and those who follow Jesus and are God’s beloved children have nothing to fear. They will be part of the new thing God has in store. That is part of your identity already, here and now. Remember that always!

P.S.

  • For centuries, people have been trying to “crack the code” of Revelation. They believe that each image represents a specific, person, event, or moment in history. So far, no one’s figured it out — probably because that's not how Revelation works.
  • Some people read Revelation like a chronological timeline, where events happen one after another. Other people read Revelation like a panoramic movie that describes one major event (the full arc of human history) from different camera angles.
  • Here's a great article​ from BibleProject​ on apocalyptic writing in the Bible.
  • For more about the complete book of Revelation, check out these videos and books:
  1. BibleProject: Revelation Ch. 1-11
  2. BibleProject: Revelation Ch. 12-22
  3. The Throne, the Lamb, and the Dragon: A Reader’s Guide to the Book of Revelation​ (Paul Spilsbury, 2002)
  4. Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination​​ (Eugene Peterson, 1991, 2000).
  5. Revelation for the Rest of Us: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus as a Dissident Disciple​ (Scot McKnight, 2023)