Revelation Illustrated

I gathered several good books written by respected Christian experts on the Book of Revelation, and I began my preparation for teaching. First I would pray for guidance to teach Revelation effectively. Then I would read the scriptures and prepare my lesson considering various authors' opinions on the meanings of the visions described in the Book of Revelation. After that, I would read the scripture again and again, asking for God’s guidance to illustrate the visions that were described in His word. Some visions were immediately crystal clear and in exciting technicolor in my mind as soon as I read them, while others took much more time and even fasting for several days! The creating of one illustration during which I actually felt demonic forces opposing me was “War In Heaven; Michael Defeats the Dragon” from chapter 12. That one took over a month to do. Only after fasting and praying for 3 days was I able to finish that one. A few times I awoke in the middle of the night with the inspiration of how to do an illustration that I had been praying about. I would always clear my mind of any preconceived ideas, so it was just like the blank drawing board before me. I would ask for the Holy Spirit to fill the void. Eventually, the pictures took shape. First in my mind, I believe inspired by the Holy Spirit, and then on the illustration board in pencil and then eventually in full color. This may sound strange, but at times I would feel a supernatural power surge of creativity that would start at the top of my head, travel through my body and out the tip of my paintbrush! 

The Revelation art series was actually done in two separate groups. The first group of 19 illustrations were done in 1981 through 1982 while I was teaching over a period of 9 months. The second group of 21 illustrations were done 10 years later in 1992, while I prepared to produce the “Revelation Illustrated” video. I needed more illustrations to complete the story on Revelation, filled in some of the visual gaps that I had not had time to do while teaching it the first time. That explains why there are two copyright dates on my Revelation art series. The artwork was done in opaque and transparent watercolors and also in airbrushed acrylics. In a few of the earlier illustrations I even used regular enamel paint from spray cans because I could not afford an airbrush and a compressor to achieve the look and effect that I had in my mind. If you take a look at “The Four Horsemen” please note that the background was done with matte “barbecue black” and reddish auto body primer! When funds are minimal you have to be extra creative! The illustration process was exciting but also tiring. I felt a real responsibility to my students to capture every detail of the scripture as accurately as I could because I knew that they would remember what they saw longer than what they heard or read.

There was one particular incident which made me realize without a doubt that God was guiding my creative endeavor. While at the library gathering some research materials, for some reason I felt led to check out some classical recordings. I knew almost nothing about classical music and really never cared much for it, but I thought that maybe I would just listen to some soothing music while doing my artwork. That evening I started to illustrate chapter four of Revelation, while at that same time I began listening to the musical works of George Frederick Handel. The music helped tremendously while I was illustrating the description of the vision in which Apostle John describes the “Emerald Throne Scene In Heaven”. I’ll never forget as I was painting the tiny faces of the singing angels in that glorious heavenly scene and suddenly realizing that the very words being sung at that moment, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive honor and glory and blessing...”, were the very words I was illustrating!  I broke down into tears of joy and amazement. I later came to learn that Handel was also led by the Lord to do his great “Messiah” and he used many of the scriptures from Revelation. There were many other little incidents that happened to me that made me realize again and again that the Lord was in control of what I was doing. The addition of these visual interpretations of the difficult to imagine visions in Revelation truly enhanced my students’ ability to remember what they learned in my classes. After that class was over  I felt led to do much more with the artwork the Lord had given me. Inspired by the artwork I had produced, our pastor Stan Ott suggested that I think of a way to share the Revelation artwork with the whole congregation. My husband Joel, my cousin Jim Julian and I  decided to put together a slide presentation, set to classical music recordings, with Jim doing the narration of the scriptures. We would call the presentation “Revelation Illustrated”. It was at this point that the spiritual warfare began.