Today we begin a six-week journey through one of the most fascinating and misunderstood books of the Bible: Revelation. When many people hear the word "Revelation," they think of the end of the world, strange creatures, secret codes, and predictions about the future. But Revelation was written as a message to ordinary Christians trying to follow Jesus in an uncertain time and in times of persecution. Over the next six weeks, we'll discover that Revelation is not a book for the end of times, like the “Left Behind” books suggest. It is a book about hope. It is not about predicting the future. It is about remaining faithful in the present. The Christians who first received this book lived in a world shaped by political power, cultural pressure, economic uncertainty, and competing loyalties. Sound familiar? As we journey through Revelation together, we'll learn how to read its strange images and symbols, what John was trying to say to the churches of his day, and what God might be saying to the church today. And we begin where Revelation begins: with a vision of Jesus Christ, the One who walks among his churches and says, "Do not be afraid."