I used the illustration in our study in the Book of Revelation of a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. I said that in Revelation God has given us snapshots of what will take place at the end of history. He wants us to know generally what will happen but not necessarily all the specifics. I laid the 500 pieces of a jigsaw puzzle face up on a table for everyone to see. I did not show them the box so they did not know what all the pieces correctly fitted together would look like exactly. Then I asked the group to tell me what they thought the puzzle was a picture of. They concluded that it was a farm scene with windmills, a silo, farmhouse and some other buildings. It appeared that on the farm was a field of corn. From the blue pieces of puzzle, it was also evident that the scene was captured on a bright sunny day. By examining the various pieces, you could tell generally the theme of the puzzle.
Similarly, this is what the Book of Revelation tells us – the general theme, some of the elements involved and the mood. All we need to know without having most of the specifics being spelled out for us. The puzzle pieces of the Book of Revelation tell us that during the last days times will be terrible – lots of death and pain. They tell us that the godless will persecute the followers of God and His Christ. They tell us that Jesus Christ will return and defeat Satan. They tell us that for believers there is a happy ending and for unbelievers there is destruction. There is so much we do not know – when it will all take place, whether the church will go through the Tribulation or not, who the antichrist is, what the mark of the beast is, and so on. We can only conjecture. We can merely venture a guess. Maybe we’re right and maybe we are not. There is enough that we DO know, however, that can be acted upon without being privy to all the details.
At the end of the Revelation study, I brought the jigsaw puzzle back into the class. This time it was completely fitted together. The completed jigsaw puzzle represents the Book of Revelation after everything in it has been fulfilled (at the end of history). All 500 pieces correctly pieced together revealed that the group’s initial conclusion of a farm scene with windmills, silos, farmhouse, corn and it being a clear day were correct. What was evident now that had not been evident before were a multitude of the specifics. For example, on the farm there were (1) at least 12 separate buildings; (2) the main large white farmhouse had four levels; (3) the terrain was rolling; (4) the corn was partially harvested and a neat pile of corn stalks was in the foreground; (5) there were several dairy cows grazing in a nearby field; (6) across the cornfield was another farm with buildings barely visible; (7) some propane tanks; (8) a deck; (9) windmills approximately 50 feet high; (10) a fishing pond out front; (11) several people walking around in the background; (12) four different kinds of trees – oak, ash, cedar and maple. But all these details did not change the fundamental fact that what the group identified previously was still true. It was a farm scene with corn, silos, etc.
When you study Revelation, God will reveal what you need to know. Act on that knowledge and don’t get all wrapped up in the trappings of the details. The details don’t really matter. What matters is the Master’s message. Who cares who the antichrist is? Jesus is the only One that matters and you need to settle who HE is and whether you are with HIM or not. Who cares when it will all happen? All you need to know is that it WILL happen in God’s appointed timetable. Act now on what you know. The details will take care of themselves in due time!
