As I was reading the Book of Revelation just now, I got very scared. Have you seen this stuff? It's frightening!  Here are some of the scary scenes that caught my attention.  First, there's a guy running around with a double-edged sword . . . in his mouth. Ouch! Doesn't this stunt go on the "Don't try this at home"  list,  right below running with scissors?  As it turns out, this guy happens to be Jesus, so I guess he knows what he's doing, but I still don't think his mother would approve.
  Then there's a parade of the strangest creatures imaginable, including a dragon with seven heads.  Speaking personally, I find single-headed dragons to be extremely scary, but a dragon with SEVEN heads?  That's unbearable.  No wonder he's called Satan.  Then there's the Antichrist, who looks mostly like a leopard, with feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion.  Who assembled him--Dr. Frankenstein?  Nope.  Satan is the creator of this particular monstrosity.  Apparently he uses spare parts.
 
  You probably already know how the war between God and Satan turns out.  Yep, Satan gets his butt kicked.  But he and his associates put up quite a fight in the process.  In one scene, Satan's cronies incite a mob to kill two good guys who work for God.  When the crowd has done the deadly deed, they break into a giant party, dancing in the streets and over the bodies.  It's sick.  But the festivities are squashed three and a half days later when the corpses come back to life!  Then the two formerly dead guys fly up to heaven in a cloud, leaving the silenced revelers staring at the sky.  That kind of thing tends to shut up any party.
  I won't even mention the dozens of blood-curdling things Satan does to people all over the world.  You can read it for yourself. (Safety Tip: Don't read this book right before you go to bed.)  Eventually, God puts an end to Satan's crime spree and locks him up in Hell.  You'll cheer in that scene. But before that happens, a LOT of people get hurt.  And many of them follow Satan to his new fiery headquarters.  Like I said, it's a scary book.

  I'm no Bible expert, but I think I'm starting to understand the point of this scary book.  It's here to send us a message: JESUS IS COMING BACK: BE READY!
  It kind of reminds me of those fire drills at school.  Every time there's a drill, the buzzers go off, everyone marches out of the building, and the principal stands outside with a stopwatch to measure our readiness.  You never know if it's the REAL THING.  But you're ready . . . just in case.
So if you read the Book of Revelation, do what I did.  Hide under the covers.  No, don't do that part.  Do this: Pretend you're going through a FIRE DRILL.  When the buzzers go off (actually, they'll be trumpets), will you be ready?  Is your life in order?  Are you properly packed?  What's your escape route? (Hint: There's only one.)  Because one of these days, IT WON'T BE A DRILL.  And those who aren't prepared will be toast.
Are you confused by Revelation's strange details?  Join the club.  Does all the blood and gore scare you?  Me too--that's why I've been sleeping with the light on.  Do you know what to do to survive?  It's simple: Get right with God through Jesus.  He's the only one who can rescue you from the trouble ahead.  He's the ultimate sword-slashing, dragon-slaying, life-saving hero.  He even rides a white horse.
There, I feel better.  Thanks for listening.  Now do me another favor. Make sure you're ready for Jesus when the trouble starts.  Then we can listen to those trumpets together.