The Book of Revelation is the most mysterious book in the Bible. It is full of visions, symbols and numbers, and it has inspired endless speculation. Yet its message is meant to bring hope: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15).
This story about the Book of Revelation, retold in our own words, is a short and much-loved anecdote. It ends with a takeaway for sermons or reflection.
Stories in this collection:
"It Means Jesus Is Gonna Win": A Janitor's Commentary
This story is told by Bernard Travaieille and has been retold in many sermon collections. We have not been able to verify its details independently.
While he was studying at a theological college in the United States, Bernard Travaieille often played basketball with friends in the evenings. They used the court at a school nearby, where a friendly old janitor would wait patiently until they had finished before locking up the building.
One evening, Bernard noticed that the janitor was sitting quietly reading a Bible while he waited. Out of curiosity, he wandered over to see what he was reading. It was the Book of Revelation.
Bernard was surprised. Revelation is one of the hardest books in the Bible to understand. Even scholars with years of training disagree about how to interpret its strange visions of beasts, trumpets, seals and bowls. Do you understand it? he asked.
Oh yes, the old man replied. I understand it.
Now Bernard was really intrigued. Here was a book that had puzzled scholars for centuries, the favourite hunting ground of every end-of-the-world theory, and this elderly janitor with little formal education said he understood it.
You understand the Book of Revelation? Bernard asked. Then what does it mean?
The old man looked up at him and said quietly, "It means that Jesus is gonna win."
Scholars might want to add a great deal more. But it would be hard to find a better one-line summary of the whole book. For all its mysteries, Revelation was written to suffering Christians to assure them that evil will not have the last word, that God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and that the Lamb who was slain is on the throne.
Takeaway: Revelation ends with God making "everything new" (Revelation 21:4–5). Whatever we struggle to understand, we can hold on to its central promise: Jesus wins.
Source: Reported by Bernard Travaieille in Illustrations Unlimited.
Final thoughts
One quiet sentence from an old janitor. It reminds us that the deepest truths of faith are often the simplest, and that hope, not fear, is the heartbeat of the Bible's final book.
For related stories, see our Easter stories about the resurrection and stories about heaven. For further reading, Sopranu explores Augustine's The City of God and the Last Judgment.
How does the promise that Jesus will win change the way you face today?
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These stories are retold in our own words for teaching and reflection. Sources are credited under each story.
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