Revelation
“The Unveiling of Jesus”
Chp. 1:1-8 About the book
Vs. 1-3 Purpose, origin, keys and benefits of the book
Vs. 4-8 Destination, dedication and theme of the book
Intro
Genesis and Revelation form bookends to the bible so it is interesting to note the comparisons between the two as we get into the book of Revelation:
Genesis: The commencement of heaven and earth (1:1)
Revelation: The consummation of heaven and earth (21:1)
Genesis: The entrance of sin and death (3:1-9)
Revelation: The end of sin and death (21:27, 22:3)
Genesis: The beginning of Satan and his activities (3:1-7)
Revelation: The end of Satan and his activities (20:10)
Genesis: Sorrow begins (3:16)
Revelation: Sorrow ends (21:4)
Over the centuries since John wrote this book of the things, which he heard, saw and did, it has come under much scrutiny. Some have noted the different style of writing when compared to his gospel and three letters. This is easily understandable when we consider that when John wrote his gospel and letters he most likely had a scribe but since he wrote Revelation on the Island of Patmos (1:9) he would not have had one. Also the prophetic nature of Revelation would account for a vastly different writing style. The other controversial aspect of this book centers around the differing ways people interpret what John heard, saw and did.
Four main views on how the reader ought to interpret this book:
Preterits: The word comes from the Latin word for “bygone or former,” thus what is written is “past tense”. This view sees all the events described in John’s writing as happening in the time frame of John himself and as such are “former” events as far as we are concerned. Thus those who hold this position believe that Revelation deals only with the church in John’s day and is non-predictive, Revelation was only for then and not for now.
Historicist: Here the view is that all events described by John must fit within the scope of history from the first century to the last. History is the standard by which the events are to be interpreted. Those that hold this position believe Revelation is a sweeping panorama of all church history, Revelation just provides symbols describing now.
Futurist: Here the idea is to look at the events John describes as pertaining to the future especially from chapter four on. Those that hold this position believe that Revelation deals only with the end times, the period directly preceding Christ’s return and as such has merit only for those living in the end times.
Idealist: This position sees the whole book as being written to inspire persecuted and suffering believers. Thus they look at it as being poetical or allegorical and isn’t to be taken as literal or historic but just as encouraging.
Which of these views is the correct one? John himself gives us the right way of interpreting what he heard, saw and did in the first three verses. It is important to keep in mind that this book like none other deals exclusively with Jesus Christ; after all it is even called the “Revelation of Jesus Christ”. John wrote in his gospel (17:24) Jesus’ prayer to the Father for us when Jesus said; “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” This book then is the closest we will come to the answer of that prayer this side of eternity. Twenty eight times Jesus is called the Lamb of God in this book compared to only four times in the entire N.T. So? Well what this shows us is that in heaven we will forever be reminded of the cost of our heavenly home.
Vs. 1-3 Purpose, origin, keys and benefits of the book
Vs. 1 Here John gives us the purpose and origin of what he has heard, seen and done.
Purpose: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”, literally the “shedding of light,” or the unveiling of something or someone that has been hidden. So that which is to have light shed upon it or unveiled is Jesus. Paul wrote in Eph. 3: 8-9 that he was called to proclaim among the Gentiles “The unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ”. The proper interpretation of this book then starts and ends with Jesus being unveiled and not with just “former things”, “historical things”, “future things” or “encouraging things”. Although each of these points of view hold part of how He is unveiled.
Origin: “Which God gave Him to show His servants”. Do you see that? This unveiling has come from God the Father to God the Son (Jesus) for our benefit. The unveiling was done in Glory for the specific purpose to show his servants. The word used here is dolos in the Greek and means servants by choice! Furthermore we are told that this disclosure of Jesus was dealing with, “things which must shortly take place.” The unveiling of Jesus by the father through the Son to us is an event related to Him that will swiftly come. At the very end of the book (22:20) John will proclaim, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” Like other disclosures by God to mankind it was divinely sent by heavenly messenger and it was he that brought it to John who will be told by Jesus in 1:19 to write the things which he had seen, the things which are and the things which will take place after this.
Vs. 2 Next we are given the key to interpreting the book:
Key to interpretation: “Who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.” What then is the key to its interpretation? Is it looking at the events in the time frame that John wrote? Is it to be found in our understanding of history and how the things written are symbolic of things now? Is it only in our ability to comprehend future events? Or are we only to make sense out of it by ascribing to it an allegory? John gives us the answer; all the things, which he heard, saw and did concerning the unveiling of Jesus is to be found in the “Word of God”. Simply put we need to understand the unveiling of Jesus by letting scripture interpret scripture. We have no need to look outside of God Word, which is the testimony of Jesus Christ for our understanding. What did John see? Well he tells us in 1:12, 19 the “glorified Jesus”. Just what are the “things that are”? Well he tells us in 1:11, 20 “the seven churches”. And what are the “things which must take place after this”? He will tell us in chapter 4 as he describes the 70th week spoken of in Daniel.
Vs. 3 Finally John has a word to say about the benefits of reading this book:
Benefits: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” The blessing is “joy” in difficult and confusing times. How will these words be a blessing that causes spiritual joy? Well they will remind us as we read, hear and keep these words concerning the glorified Jesus that He has won and with Him we have as well!
Vs. 4-8 Destination, dedication and theme of the book
Here John reveals the book’s, “destination, dedication and theme” for all who read it.
Vs. 4 Destination: “To the seven churches that are in Asia:” John tells us that he is merely the pen, in fact 12 times in this book he is instructed to write. The letter is to be read and studied by “the seven churches which were in western Asia” in the area now known as Turkey. Why these Churches and not others that we know existed in that region? The truth is only two out of these seven are even mentioned outside of this book (Ephesus and Laodicea), although Thyatira is mentioned in Acts 16:14 as the place where Lydia was from. Is it not interesting that the Church that “left its first love” (2:4, and the church that is “lukewarm” (3:16), are the only two that we even know of outside this book? It is safe to assume that Revelation was to be a circular letter and would be read first at Ephesus and then passed to each church. I find it interesting that there are seven churches listed and seven is the number of perfection in scripture. It is my opinion as well as others that this is meant to show that these churches represent not only their time frame but all of church history as well. Though these words had specific significance to these churches at that time they also represent church periods throughout history as well as Christians today:
Ephesus: 1st century church, A.D. 30 to 100.
Smyrna: 2nd century church, 100 A.D. to 300 A.D. a time of great suffering as more Christians were killed during this time then any other.
Pergamos: This time began with the Roman emperor Constantine’s profession of faith in which he integrated pagan rituals with the Church. This made the church a state religion and as such no longer cared about the things of God.
Thyatira: This was the beginning of the Catholic church in 606 A.D. and is often called the church of idolatry and it will continue through the great tribulation.
Sardis: The protestant church, which began in 1520 at the reformation and will continue through the tribulation as well. It is often called the dead church.
Philadelphia: The evangelical church, which began in 1750 and will continue until the rapture. Though this church only has a little strength it nonetheless keeps His Word and does not deny His name as it looks for His return.
Laodicea: This is the liberal church which began in the 1900’s and sees itself as rich but is neither hot nor cold.
The truth is there are elements of each of these churches in our own lives as believers. Thus in reading about these churches we ought to examine our own hearts and apply that which Jesus suggests for each church.
Notice the greeting that John addresses to each of these seven churches, “Grace to you and peace”. Seven times this greeting is used in the N.T. and it is God’s desire for all of His children. What encouragement this is no matter what circumstance, time frame or personal failure we might have, God wants us and we must have abundant provisions of His grace and peace.
These two words capture His attitude towards his church.
Grace: Reveals His heart’s attitude towards us. If it was anything other than His unmerited favor then we would be doomed.
Peace: Reveals our standing based upon His attitude. We only have peace with Him because He has chosen to act in grace towards us. As such my peace with Him is not conditional on me to maintain!
Oh dear Christian how much of our failures would be overcome if we lived in those two truths? Do not miss this saint, what is the source of grace and peace? If you are not presently experiencing grace and peace where might you find it?
John attributes their only source as being found exclusively in the:
Father: “From Him who is and who was and who is to come”: The source is from God the Father who alone is self-existent. His grace and peace are available in the present, As He is the One who is. Furthermore they were just as available in the past as it is He who was. Finally they will be available in the future, as He is who is to come. God has the corner market on all grace and peace that we need.
Holy Spirit: “from the seven Spirits who are before His throne”: The Holy Spirit is described in His perfection and completion as Seven Spirits. This is a quote from (Isaiah 11:2) where we are told concerning Jesus that; “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord”. The whole focus of the Holy Spirit is to elevate to us the person and work of Jesus thus His work is to make sure that we can grasp the instrument of grace and peace.
Son vs. 5a “from Jesus Christ” : And John expounds further upon the instrument of grace and peace by describing Him in His threefold office:
Prophet “The faithful witness”: Jesus said if you had seen Him you had seen the Father. Furthermore in John 8:28 He said, “that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.”
Priest “The firstborn from the dead”: The author of Hebrews speaks of this in 7:27 as he shows the superiority of Jesus over that of the High Priest in as much as the; “high priests, offered up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He (Jesus) offered up Himself.”
King “The ruler over the kings of the earth”: Not just a prince but a ruler he is the King of Kings. 1 Tim 6:15-16 tells us that at the “Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”
Vs. 5b-6 More than this John describes a threefold work of distributing this grace and peace to us:
Justification: “To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood”. In our salvation Jesus has distributed his grace and peace toward us while we were yet sinners.
Sanctification: “Has made us kings and priests” Furthermore after we have been saved He continues to distribute His grace and peace towards us as He sees us as kings and priests.
Glorification: “To His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Finally His grace and peace are ours for eternity into our glorified state.
Vs. 7-8 Finally we are given the theme of this book:
To see Jesus: John describes the reality that all will see Him as he is at His second coming. We know this is the second coming because “every eye will see Him,” those who are Jews as well as the gentiles and they will mourn because of Him. In 1 Thess. 4: 16-17 we are told of the rapture (being caught up); “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” The clear difference is that in the second coming every eye will see Him and it won’t cause joy or comfort.
Vs. 8 And who is Jesus? Well we are told here in this verse, He is God! Yeah but is this the Father or the Son speaking? It matters not as we shall see in chapter 22:13-16 that it will be Jesus who speaks these same words. Almighty is literally, “the one who has his hand on everything” the word is used ten times in the New Testament, and nine of the ten occurrences are found in Revelation.
Revelation
“The Unveiling of Jesus”
Vs. 9-20 Unlocking what John heard, saw and did
“Turning to see the voice”
Vs. 9-16 What John heard and saw
Vs. 17-20 Let’s meet the author
Intro
In the first eight verses John introduced us to specific things about the book:
Purpose
Origin
Keys to understanding it
Benefits
Destination
Dedication
Theme
It is what you would find in most textbooks in what is called the preface, in the rest of chapter one we will see more things about the book as well as get introduced to the author Himself.
Vs. 9-16 What John heard and saw
Vs. 9 John gives us the specifics as to when this unveiling of Jesus took place. We know by church history that John was around 96 years old and as such had walked with Jesus some 65 years. Apparently the Roman Emperor Domitian had tried to boil John in oil, this having no effect he was exiled to a small Island South West of Ephesus called Patmos.
John gives the reason for his exile as twofold:
“For the word of God”: John was placed on the Island for insisting on the claims and promises of the Bible.
“For the testimony of Jesus Christ”: Also for the life changing relationship that he had with Jesus whose life was manifested in his.
Vs. 10 As I stated before the purpose of this book is the unveiling of Jesus Christ and John sees this unveiling in three distinct places ,“In heaven, in His Church and on the earth”, today we shall see what John saw in heaven concerning this unveiling.
John starts off by letting us know what happened to him when this unveiling took place;
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet”.
There are two possibilities with this phrase:
That on the first day of the week John went into some kind of trance.
That God brought John into a new and greater state by which he saw the Lord’s day.
Wuest in his Greek translation of this verse offers this, “I entered into a different experience in the sphere of the Spirit, (His absolute control) unto the Lord’s day.” In other words the Holy Spirit took complete control of John by which John was brought into seeing the Lord in His glory. In Acts 6:15 we are told Stephen was before the Sanhedrin and that, “his face was as the face of an angel.” Then in 7:55-56 at his death we are told he was “full of the Holy Spirit” just before he said; “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” My point? Well it would seem to me that John is describing a possession of the Holy Spirit by which he was carried into the presence of the Lord. Paul describes a similar experience in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 where he says that he was, “caught up to the third heaven,” though he was not sure if he was in his body or in his spirit but while in “Paradise he heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
There is yet one other verse I want to take you to that deals with what John heard and it is in 1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life”. The words in the Greek literally state , “which we have heard and is still ringing in our ears”. Sixty years had passed since he had last heard the voice of the Lord and yet as he said in first John it was still ringing in his ears. John had heard Jesus say as much as he told us in John 10:27 of Jesus’ words saying, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Vs. 11 In verse 8 the Alpha and Omega refer to God the Father, here based upon the words of verse 18, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore”, they must be applied to Jesus and as such offer proof of his deity.
We saw last week that these seven Churches have three significances:
To the churched in that time frame
To the Church through our history
To each and every individual Christian who has these same characteristics
Notice that the Lord tells John first to write what he saw, which was the glorified Jesus in heaven. Above everything else, no matter what my circumstance and failure in life as a believer all can be transformed with a fresh glimpse of Jesus in His glory. Paul wrote in Romans 12 of our need to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Oh that we would regularly receive a fresh dose and vision of our glorified Lord!
Vs. 12 Notice that John turns towards the voice, that is to say that he turned toward the Word of God to see who spoke to him. I like that, I think that is what you and I ought to always be doing to turn to the Word, as it is He who speaks to us! There is never any attempt to describe the earthly physical appearance of Jesus; the only scriptural reference concerning Him is a prophetic one in Isa. 53:2 where we are told that “He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.”
As John turned the first thing that caught his eye was what surrounded the voice who spoke to him, “having turned I saw seven golden lampstands”. Verse 20 of this chapter gives us the interpretation of what the “seven golden lampstands” are as Jesus tells John those are the “seven churches”. In the second and third chapters the Lord will speak of how His light shone through those churches. For now we notice that they are “golden,” why are they so? Well they are golden because they are His lampstands and He is in their midst. Why lampstands?
Well you will recall Jesus declared two very important things in the gospels:
John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” The key here is following the source of light, Jesus!
Matt. 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Speaking to the Church He declares that we are the light of the world and of course it is because He is in our midst thus we reflect His light!
Vs. 13 The descriptive phrase “Son of man,” is used 194 times in the Bible and 87 times of those are in the New Testament, 85 of those are Jesus’ use of them to describe Himself. In fact the only other two people that use this phrase are Steven at his stoning and twice in this unveiling as John describes Jesus. This is Jesus’ favorite way of describing himself in scripture, but why?
Well I can think of two reasons:
Prophetic Isa. 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Immanuel literally means “God with us”, so clearly Jesus wanted all to know that He was the One whom this verse was speaking of.
Identification: Phil. 2:5-8 “Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus wanted all to understand that for the purpose of redemption He identified in appearance with us sinners.
Before we look at John’s glorious description, notice again that Jesus is in the midst of His Church, (you and I). Then allow your mind to go to where Jesus is in Matt. 18:20, “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Jesus is with us and for us in every practical way since we can imagine, His desire is to let His glory shine through to light up a world that is dead in their darkness!
Now in this glorified description where John describes Jesus as “clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters”.
We can see four things:
Vs. 13 “Clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band” This description of the clothing is very characteristic of clothing that would be worn by a priest or a judge. This tells us that Jesus in His glory is dressed in His righteousness and holiness. The fact that John declares that He is girded about the chest and not the waist speaks to the fact that He is ready for action not service. Further more that which is girding Him is Gold reveals that He is God.
Vs. 14 “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire”. In these next two verses John describes the glorified Lord from head to toe. In Dan. 7:9 He saw the same vision as he wrote “the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool.” Thus John’s description speaks to Jesus eternal nature, He is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present. John specifically notices His eyes which are a flame of fire, bright and piercing. We are reminded of the words in 2 Chron 16:19 where we read, “the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” In 1 John 1:5 John described God as being “light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Then in 1 Tim 6:15-16 Paul tells us “Jesus Christ is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” Folks there is no place to hide from those eyes, yet why should we want to? It is in those eyes that we have experienced His never-ending love!
Vs. 15 “His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters”. It will be at these feet that every knee shall bow and every tongue confesses that He is Lord. These are the feet that have bruised the head of Satan. The fact that they are of brass speaks of judgement and notice that they have been refined in a furnace. He has walked as a man as we have yet without sin, His is a life of victory thus none can say, “Jesus you just don’t understand what temptation I had to endure.” His voice is the sound of many waters so as to hear nothing else. His are the only words that matter; all other voices and opinions will be silenced by His majesty and glory. Yet it is to this same voice of a shepherd that we His sheep come the moment He calls.
Vs. 16 “He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.” Finally we are told more of His glorious nature. Verse 20 reveals that the seven stars are “the seven angels or messengers of the seven churches”. Some see this as it relates to the pastors of the churches which is interesting seeing that they are in His right hand. In the Psalms it mentions things being attributed to being in God’s right hand. For instance in Ps. 16:11 we are told that in His “right hand are pleasures forevermore.” In John 10:28-29 Jesus spoke of those that belonged to Him as being secure as no one would be able to “snatch them out of His or His Father’s hand.” Wow, what a comfort that is to know that whatever may come my way it will not dislodge me from Him.
Out of His mouth is a “sharp two-edged sword”, not just the dagger of Heb. 4:12 where we are told that the Word of God “is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” No it is a sword not a dagger. In John 14:10 Jesus said that, “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” There are no wasted words in Jesus’ mouth; it is always the truth in love! His countenance is the “sun in its strength” which ought to remind all that He can bless as well as burn!
Vs. 17-20 Let’s meet the author
Vs. 17-18 This is the same apostle who described his time with the Lord on earth as “leaning on Jesus’ bosom”, yet here seeing Jesus unveiled he falls “at His feet as dead.” But because of Jesus’ work on the cross on our behalf we need not be afraid. He has according to Col. 2:14 “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” We are in the hand of grace from Him who is the First and the Last. He alone is the One who has always been and always will be, He showed Himself to be this by overcoming death on our behalf and now He alone holds the keys of Hades and Death. It is great to realize that Jesus holds our future in His hand and our being there has nothing to do with our works, only His!
Vs. 19-20 Finally we are given the outline of the book:
“Write the things which you have seen”: 1:11-18 The vision of Jesus in Heaven.
“And the things which are”: Chapters 2-3 The vision of Jesus through His church.
“And the things which will take place after this”: Chapters 4:22 The vision of Jesus as seen in the events after the things of the Church.
One eighth of the book deals with the vision of Jesus through His Church yet there is always the tendency to become preoccupied with the things that will take place after the Church to the exclusion of the vision of Jesus through His church.
Clearly the Word of God is the key to the interpretation of the book as we can see right here in verse 20. A “mystery” in scripture is that which was once hidden but now in Christ Jesus has been made known!