Remember, the most important key to understanding the book of Revelation is understanding the first verse: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place” (see Revelation 1:1).

       There is much in the book of Revelation about the evil that would arise in this age and the sequence of events that would transpire from the time John received this vision to the second coming of the Lord. But let us never forget that this is a revelation of Jesus Christ—not the antichrist—and this is not just a sequence of events, even though these help reveal Him.

       From the disobedience and fall of mankind in the third chapter of Genesis to the last three chapters of Revelation, the entire Bible between those six chapters is essentially about one subject—restoration. This is the restoration of mankind and the earth from the consequences of the fall. This includes the restoration of mankind to the high position we were created for in God’s creation and the earth to the paradise it was intended to be.

       So, all that was lost by the fall of mankind will be fully recovered. This is God’s purpose for the original creation, but added to that is the “new creation.” This is what Paul referred to as “a better resurrection” and the “high calling of God in Christ” in Philippians 3. We will note the purpose of this new creation as it is referenced, but this purpose is not the same as the restoration of mankind and the earth. In this, God’s redemption opened the way for the redeemed to attain an even greater place than Adam had.

       The great evils that began to arise on earth after the fall are the devil’s attempts to supplant and forestall the coming kingdom of God that will fully restore mankind and the earth. The devil seeks to supplant the kingdom by having mankind serve that which is the opposite of Christ and His nature. In this way, these evils also reveal Christ by being the reverse image of Him and what He is returning to the earth to do. These are also revelations of the ultimate evils that will mature in mankind in the final age before His return. These will be a witness for all, for all time, of what we would all become without Christ.

       The antichrist is not just a false Christ, but is a substitute for Him and pretends to actually be Him. This terrible state that the world falls into is the state into which all rebellion against God ultimately leads. For this reason, what transpires on the earth—the maturing of evil into its ultimate corruption and debauchery—will be a witness to all of creation for all time the consequences of turning from God and trying to run this world without Him. It is also a revelation of what we as individuals become when we seek to run our lives without Him.

       All of the depths of this evil are being allowed to mature on the earth and do their ultimate damage to God’s creation before Christ returns to restore it from the fall. This will be a witness to all of creation for all of eternity of the power of evil, but also God’s power to redeem and restore. There is no power of evil beyond the power of the cross.

       When God threatened to destroy Israel in the wilderness because of their rebellion, Moses protested that this would be a witness to the nations that God had the power to free His people from Egypt, but He did not have the power to bring them into their promised land. The full restoration of mankind and the earth to the paradise that it was created to be will forever silence Satan’s boast that God has the power to redeem, but He does not have the power to really change man. God will not only fully restore man to what Adam had before the fall, but He will even surpass this with the new creation.

       The new creation man will be a witness to all that God can restore man and the world from the consequences of the fall, and He can also use any attack on His creation to bring forth an even greater creation. God does indeed turn all things into good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, but He will open the way for it to result in an even greater good.

© 2026 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.