Daily Reading

What are the conditions or circumstances in which this writing is given?
If we know the circumstances surrounding the writer at the time he writes, it will help us to understand what he is saying. For example: many people have great difficulty understanding the book of Revelation. But if we know the circumstances under which the book was given, it will help us to understand its message. The writer of Revelation was John, the apostle. He had been imprisoned by the Roman government on a rocky island called Patmos. This was done because he was a Christian. The heathen Roman government was persecuting the church of Christ near the end of the first century (about A.D. 95 to 100). The things which were revealed to John were "things which must shortly take place" (Revelation 1:1). The book of Revelation was intended to encourage those Christians who were being persecuted in the first century (Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5, 12, 21). Any time that Christians are persecuted, they can gain great encouragement from studying the book of Revelation. The Bible is God's inspired Book. It is His revelation to mankind. But in order for us to understand the Bible, we must learn how to study it properly. We must “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). If we will ask these five simple questions as we study, we will find that we can indeed understand God’s Book!