I’m now up to day 333 of my reading plan (it was 222 when I last posted about it) and very near the end. In just over a week’s time I’ll have reached the final portion of readings and have read the bible from cover to cover in the English Standard Version (ESV).

The most recent thing that has stood out as new to me was a few days ago when I was in Revelation 10. Verse 4 says, ‘And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”’ For all who like to treat Revelation as a puzzle to be solved, this is a reminder that a chunk of the picture is missing.

Personally, I lean towards the view that Revelation is not about things to happen in our near future (as 21st century Christians) but words that would have been clearly understood as about the present by 1st century Christians. We should come to it not looking for clues about when Jesus will return (only the Father in heaven knows that) but as a reminder that he is awesome, he is King and he is with us in our present troubles. I do believe that Jesus will return but I want to be found ready, obediently doing what he has prepared for me, rather than trying to figure out when it will be and missing the wood for the trees.