Verse 16 “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”
Christ holds seven stars in His right hand. We will see what these stars are a few verses later. Out of his mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword. God’s Word (truth) is compared to a two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). The sword of the spirit is the word of God (Eph. 6:17) or truth. This is the sword of Jesus Christ who uses that truth to judge, “And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it He should smite the nations.” Rev. 19:15. This speaks of the sword of truth and judgment that Christ is going to wield, and the truth is that judgment is going to come. His face was like brilliant sunshine. Again, just as his feet shone with the Shekinah glory, so does His face.
Verse 17-18 “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
John falls down as a dead man when He sees Christ in all His glory. He does shake in his boots so to speak. This is reminiscent of Daniel’s reaction in Daniel chapter 10 when he saw a man whose appearance resembles that of the description of Christ here. (as mentioned in verses 13-15) Christ lays his hand on John and tells him to not be afraid, and again reiterates that He is the first and the last. Again, he claims the same title as God the Father. In Isaiah 44:6 it says, “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” This scripture says that the Lord who is King of Israel, AND his Redeemer who is the Lord of hosts are the same first and last. They are both said to be God. This interchangeable name between the two of them shows their equality in the godhead and oneness of being. This is just one of many titles that they share. In Is. 9:6 it speaks specifically of Jesus but it calls him the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. They are one and the same.
Christ goes on to say that it is He that lives, that was dead, and will live forever more. Again the triune thought of was, is, and will be. Christ has the keys of hell and death. It is Christ who has the power over these things.
Verse 19 “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”
Christ tells John that he is to write what he has seen, what he is seeing, and what he will see. Again notice the triune thought. So now he is instructed to write what he has already seen, what he has seen and written about in this first chapter. The things which Christ will tell him which exist at the moment (the churches’ condition) which will be chapters 2-3, and the things which will be in the future which is basically the rest of Revelation.
It will be seen that when symbols are used and cannot be taken literally, there is an explanation given as to what the symbols represent. This is exactly the position taken at the beginning of this study, that everything should be taken literally and when symbols are used, they will be explained. John is told for what the seven stars in Christ’s right hand and the seven candlesticks stand. The seven stars are the seven angels of the churches. We studied back in Genesis how the angels and stars are tied to each other. We saw that stars represent angels. It is now stated outright that the stars are angels. They are the angels of the seven churches. This would seem to indicate that every church has an angel assigned to them. This should not be surprising, given that nations, (Dan. 12:1) nature, (Rev. 7:1) and people have angels having charge over them (Matt. 18:10, Act. 12:15). Why shouldn’t churches? In fact we are told that angels sit in on worship services.(1 Cor. 11:10) The seven candlesticks stand for the seven churches themselves. At this time Christ is in the midst of them, meaning He was still presently among them. In the O.T. the High Priest tended the lamp stands in the Holy Place. It was his responsibility to keep them trimmed and burning brightly. This is what Christ our High Priest is doing here. Trimming (chastising) the churches to keep them burning brightly.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Revelation 1:13-15
Verse 13-15 “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.”
In the middle of the seven candlesticks is one like the Son of man (Jesus). Christ had told His disciples that when two or three were gathered He would be in the midst of them. Here He is in the midst of seven candlesticks which we shall shortly see represent the seven churches. John sees Him in His glorified body. He is clothed with a garment down to his feet and a golden belt or sash around his chest. This speaks of somewhat regal attire. His head and hair were white, and compared to wool and snow. This description matches the description of the ancient of Days in Daniel that we previously studied. His eyes were like a flame of fire. This would be a sign of judgment. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. His feet were like brass as if they were burned in a furnace. Probably glowing or shining. (The Shekinah glory would shine out of Him). These feet will tread or stomp or trample out “the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Rev. 19:15. His voice is now compared to the sound of many waters. Think of the thundering of Niagara Falls. First it was compared to a trumpet. Now many waters. This is loud. When God speaks it is said to thunder. This voice is one that will make you shake in your boots. (which is almost how John responds). This is Christ not in His persona as the Lamb, or the Priest or the King, but as the Judge. Daniel refers three times to the Ancient Of Days. In Chap. 7:13, he distinguishes between the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days, but in verses 9 and 22 he associates the Ancient of Days with judgment, and as God the Father has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and the Father and the Son are one, the title Ancient Of Days is used for either one. The title Ancient of Days is applied to the Son of Man at the time He assumes the judgeship (Dan. 7:9-10), and since Revelation is all about judging, it makes sense He would appear in this form. This also matches the description of the “man” in Daniel 10:5-6 that we had already covered and supposed that it was the pre-incarnate Christ.
In the middle of the seven candlesticks is one like the Son of man (Jesus). Christ had told His disciples that when two or three were gathered He would be in the midst of them. Here He is in the midst of seven candlesticks which we shall shortly see represent the seven churches. John sees Him in His glorified body. He is clothed with a garment down to his feet and a golden belt or sash around his chest. This speaks of somewhat regal attire. His head and hair were white, and compared to wool and snow. This description matches the description of the ancient of Days in Daniel that we previously studied. His eyes were like a flame of fire. This would be a sign of judgment. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. His feet were like brass as if they were burned in a furnace. Probably glowing or shining. (The Shekinah glory would shine out of Him). These feet will tread or stomp or trample out “the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Rev. 19:15. His voice is now compared to the sound of many waters. Think of the thundering of Niagara Falls. First it was compared to a trumpet. Now many waters. This is loud. When God speaks it is said to thunder. This voice is one that will make you shake in your boots. (which is almost how John responds). This is Christ not in His persona as the Lamb, or the Priest or the King, but as the Judge. Daniel refers three times to the Ancient Of Days. In Chap. 7:13, he distinguishes between the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days, but in verses 9 and 22 he associates the Ancient of Days with judgment, and as God the Father has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and the Father and the Son are one, the title Ancient Of Days is used for either one. The title Ancient of Days is applied to the Son of Man at the time He assumes the judgeship (Dan. 7:9-10), and since Revelation is all about judging, it makes sense He would appear in this form. This also matches the description of the “man” in Daniel 10:5-6 that we had already covered and supposed that it was the pre-incarnate Christ.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Revelation 1:10-12
Verse 10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.”
John was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard a great voice. This voice was as loud and blasting as a trumpet, but it was not a trumpet blast. This is merely a simile, a grammatical device. A voice as of a trumpet. John was in the spirit. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and was given a vision (the book of Revelation). It says that this happened on the Lord’s day. The day that Christians now worship (Sunday) was never called the “Lord’s Day” historically until a hundred years after John. It was always referred to as “the first day of the week”. This is the only time this phrase is ever used in scripture, and since it was not used by Christians at the time to refer to a Sunday worship day, it is unlikely that John would use a term with which they would not identify. Actually I don’t think it matters if it was a Sunday or not. I am going to put forth another idea of what this might mean. Of all the languages that I have studied, and I have studied a few, English is the only one that I have studied that uses apostrophe “s’s” to denote possession. In every other language that I have studied, and of course I haven’t studied them all, possessions are done this way. The hat of Mary. The car of Bob. So another way of saying the Lord’s day would be to say, The Day of the Lord. Considering that that is exactly what John is about to see, The Day of the Lord, it really wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he was in the spirit (given a vision) on the Day of the Lord. I don’t think it matters either way as it isn’t crucial to the message. It’s just another possibility.
Verse 11 “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
The voice announces Himself to John. Christ is now repeating what He said before only with a slightly different twist. Christ says that He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last instead of the one who was, is and will come. Calling Himself the first and the last, while essentially meaning the same thing as alpha and omega directly correlates to God calling Himself the first and the last in Is. 41:4, 44:6, and 48:12. This shows that the Father and the Son are one. Now He gives John some instructions. He tells John to write what he sees. To write it in a book and send it to the seven churches in Asia. Then He lists the seven churches that were already mentioned.
Verse 12 “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;”
John turns to see the speaker. What he sees is seven golden candlesticks or lamp stands. These would be the type that were displayed in the temple. Large candlesticks that were more like floor lamps filled with oil.
John was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard a great voice. This voice was as loud and blasting as a trumpet, but it was not a trumpet blast. This is merely a simile, a grammatical device. A voice as of a trumpet. John was in the spirit. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and was given a vision (the book of Revelation). It says that this happened on the Lord’s day. The day that Christians now worship (Sunday) was never called the “Lord’s Day” historically until a hundred years after John. It was always referred to as “the first day of the week”. This is the only time this phrase is ever used in scripture, and since it was not used by Christians at the time to refer to a Sunday worship day, it is unlikely that John would use a term with which they would not identify. Actually I don’t think it matters if it was a Sunday or not. I am going to put forth another idea of what this might mean. Of all the languages that I have studied, and I have studied a few, English is the only one that I have studied that uses apostrophe “s’s” to denote possession. In every other language that I have studied, and of course I haven’t studied them all, possessions are done this way. The hat of Mary. The car of Bob. So another way of saying the Lord’s day would be to say, The Day of the Lord. Considering that that is exactly what John is about to see, The Day of the Lord, it really wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he was in the spirit (given a vision) on the Day of the Lord. I don’t think it matters either way as it isn’t crucial to the message. It’s just another possibility.
Verse 11 “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
The voice announces Himself to John. Christ is now repeating what He said before only with a slightly different twist. Christ says that He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last instead of the one who was, is and will come. Calling Himself the first and the last, while essentially meaning the same thing as alpha and omega directly correlates to God calling Himself the first and the last in Is. 41:4, 44:6, and 48:12. This shows that the Father and the Son are one. Now He gives John some instructions. He tells John to write what he sees. To write it in a book and send it to the seven churches in Asia. Then He lists the seven churches that were already mentioned.
Verse 12 “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;”
John turns to see the speaker. What he sees is seven golden candlesticks or lamp stands. These would be the type that were displayed in the temple. Large candlesticks that were more like floor lamps filled with oil.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Revelation 1:7-9
Verse 7 “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen”.
Now John addresses what Christ had told the disciples back in the Olivet discourse. Christ will come with clouds (we saw that sign) and every eye shall see him. This will be a glorious, brilliant coming that nobody will miss. Everyone on the planet will see this happening. The Jews are separated out here for special mention when he says “and they also which pierced him”. Zech. 12:10 “And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourned for his only son. Everyone will wail because of His appearance. The Jews will realize they missed out on their Messiah and mourn for their loss, and the rest of the world will realize that Christianity is true and that it is too late for them because judgment is about to fall.
Verse 8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
John now writes what Christ has spoken. He says that He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. He says of Himself that He is, was, and will come. This is like God the Father who was described as the one who was, is, and will come. He is the source of our beginning, and the source of our ending. He uses the Greek alphabet letters to denote beginning and end as alpha is the first letter of the alphabet, and omega is the last.
Verse 9 “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
John introduces himself. He is our “brother” (in Christ), and companion in tribulation, the kingdom (millennial) and patience of Jesus Christ. Tribulation is expected for Christian and we will all reign in the millennial kingdom. Now here is the first mention of patience (as I said earlier). What is this patience all about? Is it patience waiting for the Lord’s return? Actually yes, that is exactly what it means. But what some don’t understand is that it isn’t the simple patience of waiting while you lead a normal life, it is that patient endurance that will require so much faith when it would be so easy to give up hope that He will return.
John had been exiled to the isle of Patmos because he was preaching the gospel. John is the only one of the twelve apostles that died a normal old age death rather than being martyred.
Now John addresses what Christ had told the disciples back in the Olivet discourse. Christ will come with clouds (we saw that sign) and every eye shall see him. This will be a glorious, brilliant coming that nobody will miss. Everyone on the planet will see this happening. The Jews are separated out here for special mention when he says “and they also which pierced him”. Zech. 12:10 “And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourned for his only son. Everyone will wail because of His appearance. The Jews will realize they missed out on their Messiah and mourn for their loss, and the rest of the world will realize that Christianity is true and that it is too late for them because judgment is about to fall.
Verse 8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
John now writes what Christ has spoken. He says that He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. He says of Himself that He is, was, and will come. This is like God the Father who was described as the one who was, is, and will come. He is the source of our beginning, and the source of our ending. He uses the Greek alphabet letters to denote beginning and end as alpha is the first letter of the alphabet, and omega is the last.
Verse 9 “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
John introduces himself. He is our “brother” (in Christ), and companion in tribulation, the kingdom (millennial) and patience of Jesus Christ. Tribulation is expected for Christian and we will all reign in the millennial kingdom. Now here is the first mention of patience (as I said earlier). What is this patience all about? Is it patience waiting for the Lord’s return? Actually yes, that is exactly what it means. But what some don’t understand is that it isn’t the simple patience of waiting while you lead a normal life, it is that patient endurance that will require so much faith when it would be so easy to give up hope that He will return.
John had been exiled to the isle of Patmos because he was preaching the gospel. John is the only one of the twelve apostles that died a normal old age death rather than being martyred.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Revelation 1:4-6
Verse 4-6 “JOHN to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
This is the salutation. John is writing to the seven churches in Asia. We will see that the number seven is repeated in many forms throughout Revelation. Seven is the number of perfection, the number of God. It will be used over and over. The seven churches are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. They were all located in what is today the very western part of Turkey. John salutes them with grace and peace from “him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ.” First he speaks of God as the one who has always been, is, and always will be. God is eternal. He is the “I AM”. The one who has always existed and always will exist. Then he mentions the seven Spirits before the throne. Some people believe this is speaking of the seven angels which blow the trumpets, but that would seem to be out of place here. First, in Revelation, angels are always referred to as angels, not spirits. Second, this personage is inserted between the Father and the Son. That place is reserved for the Holy Spirit which is the third member of the Trinity. It would be completely out of order to introduce the Father, then a group of angels and then the Son. We can find an answer to the seven spirits in the O.T. Isaiah tells us of these seven spirits or the seven-fold character of the Holy Spirit in chapter 11:2. “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Christ), the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. There is a slightly different reference in Zech. 4:2-10. It refers to the seven lamps on the candlestick, followed by the statement that it is not by might, nor power, but by His spirit that things are accomplished. The seven lamps are the eyes of the Lord which see everything on the earth. Since only the Trinity is omnipresent, this must be a reference to the Holy Spirit. This is two references in which the Holy Spirit is spoken of a having a seven-fold character, so it would seem likely that this reference is to the Holy Spirit also.
Then John mentions Jesus as the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead (Christ is the first fruits of the resurrected) and the prince of the kings of the earth. He is mentioning the three important events of Christ’s life. His death, resurrection, and 2nd Coming as King. Then John praises Christ for what He did for us, loving us so much that He died and washed our sins with His own blood. Through His death and resurrection, He has made us kings and priests unto God, Christ’s Father.
This is the salutation. John is writing to the seven churches in Asia. We will see that the number seven is repeated in many forms throughout Revelation. Seven is the number of perfection, the number of God. It will be used over and over. The seven churches are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. They were all located in what is today the very western part of Turkey. John salutes them with grace and peace from “him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ.” First he speaks of God as the one who has always been, is, and always will be. God is eternal. He is the “I AM”. The one who has always existed and always will exist. Then he mentions the seven Spirits before the throne. Some people believe this is speaking of the seven angels which blow the trumpets, but that would seem to be out of place here. First, in Revelation, angels are always referred to as angels, not spirits. Second, this personage is inserted between the Father and the Son. That place is reserved for the Holy Spirit which is the third member of the Trinity. It would be completely out of order to introduce the Father, then a group of angels and then the Son. We can find an answer to the seven spirits in the O.T. Isaiah tells us of these seven spirits or the seven-fold character of the Holy Spirit in chapter 11:2. “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Christ), the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. There is a slightly different reference in Zech. 4:2-10. It refers to the seven lamps on the candlestick, followed by the statement that it is not by might, nor power, but by His spirit that things are accomplished. The seven lamps are the eyes of the Lord which see everything on the earth. Since only the Trinity is omnipresent, this must be a reference to the Holy Spirit. This is two references in which the Holy Spirit is spoken of a having a seven-fold character, so it would seem likely that this reference is to the Holy Spirit also.
Then John mentions Jesus as the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead (Christ is the first fruits of the resurrected) and the prince of the kings of the earth. He is mentioning the three important events of Christ’s life. His death, resurrection, and 2nd Coming as King. Then John praises Christ for what He did for us, loving us so much that He died and washed our sins with His own blood. Through His death and resurrection, He has made us kings and priests unto God, Christ’s Father.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Revelation 1:3
Verse 3 “Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”
This is the only book in the Bible that has a blessing attached to it. That indicates its importance in God’s eyes. Many people, in fact many pastors, do not even read or study this book as they feel it is irrelevant to Christians. From personally being told this by more than one pastor, and having been brought up with this belief, I can say without prejudice or rancor that this attitude comes from believing that they won’t be here when all these things take place. It is an unfortunate side effect of that belief. Growing up I saw this attitude in many, many people as a result. The blessing is given to those who read, hear, and keep the words of prophecy in this book. I guess if you don’t think you will have to endure anything in it, the blessing is irrelevant, as there is nothing you have to “keep”. The blessing is for those who not only read and understand, but keep the words in this book. If you can’t understand, you can’t keep the words. Therefore, to understand, it must be that it has to be taken as literally as possible. This is the only way that everyone could have the same understanding. The words of most importance, as we will see, are the words that keep coming up, and that is for Christians to overcome and patiently endure to the end. The blessing is that they will know what is coming, live accordingly, and possibly escape those things which lie ahead (as Christ had told them to pray in the Olivet discourse). We are told that the time is at hand. Once Christ died on the cross, it enabled the next phase, which will lead to the end, to start. We shall shortly see what that is.
This is the only book in the Bible that has a blessing attached to it. That indicates its importance in God’s eyes. Many people, in fact many pastors, do not even read or study this book as they feel it is irrelevant to Christians. From personally being told this by more than one pastor, and having been brought up with this belief, I can say without prejudice or rancor that this attitude comes from believing that they won’t be here when all these things take place. It is an unfortunate side effect of that belief. Growing up I saw this attitude in many, many people as a result. The blessing is given to those who read, hear, and keep the words of prophecy in this book. I guess if you don’t think you will have to endure anything in it, the blessing is irrelevant, as there is nothing you have to “keep”. The blessing is for those who not only read and understand, but keep the words in this book. If you can’t understand, you can’t keep the words. Therefore, to understand, it must be that it has to be taken as literally as possible. This is the only way that everyone could have the same understanding. The words of most importance, as we will see, are the words that keep coming up, and that is for Christians to overcome and patiently endure to the end. The blessing is that they will know what is coming, live accordingly, and possibly escape those things which lie ahead (as Christ had told them to pray in the Olivet discourse). We are told that the time is at hand. Once Christ died on the cross, it enabled the next phase, which will lead to the end, to start. We shall shortly see what that is.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Revelation 1:1-2
Finally we are getting to the book of Revelation. We could have taken a lot more time in the O.T. prophets, but where we need to fill in more details, we will just go back as needed. Since this is an end times study and most people think this is the only book that covers that subject, I’m sure most will think it is time that I finally got around to going over this book. You will see that all that we have reviewed so far, though, makes the book of Revelation far more understandable now than it would have been had we not done all of these preparatory studies.
Revelation Chapter 1
Verses 1-2 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.”
This book is commonly known as the Revelation of Saint John the Divine, but that is only because he is the one who wrote it all down. The first verse tells us whose revelation this actually is. It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show us His servants what will shortly come to pass. The word “Revelation” or “apokalupsis” means “unveiling”. This book is considered by many people to be a book that cannot be understood by the average person. It is considered mysterious, cryptic, frightening, and in general just plain confusing. But that is not what Christ intended. This was supposed to be understood. He expected that the average reader/listener would understand it, because He presumed that we would all have studied the entire scope of the scriptures thus far, and that the symbols, signs, and terminology would all be familiar to us. Unfortunately many Christians never read or study their Bible so when it comes to understanding this book, they are totally lost. The book of Revelation is an unveiling or revealing of information and truths of what is to come. It has been given by God the Father to Jesus Christ to show to his servants, us, what is shortly to come to pass. This book is intended for Christians (not unbelieving Jews), as it was given to Christ to give to His servants and that is us. We are the ones for whom the information is vital.
The word shortly is translated in Luke 18:8 as speedily and in Acts 12:7 and 22:18 as quickly. So the phrase “shortly come to pass” can be taken several ways. First it can mean that the events will happen soon in the normal sense of soon, or second it can mean that it will happen soon from God’s perspective. It has been two thousand years, but in God’s eyes and in terms of eternity, that is a short time. One day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. A third way it can be interpreted is to mean that the events being outlined will happen quickly once they being to happen. So the question as to how to take this statement is,…… is John speaking of when things will happen or how things will happen? Since nobody but the Father knows the day or the hour, John couldn’t for certain say that the time was near in the usual sense. And it has been almost 2,000 years, so we can rule out the idea of the normal sense of soon. The two ideas left are: 1) soon in terms of God’s perspective, and that certainly works, and 2) soon in the sense of it will happen quickly. It will be seen that most of the events that will be outlined in Revelation refer to that time period of three and a half years after the abomination of desolation, so there is reason to say that this phrase can mean how things will happen, which is quickly.
This revelation was given by God to Christ who gives it to an angel who signifies it to John. It was signified to John. The word “signified” means to make known by signs. The book of Revelation is a book of signs. Signs that we are meant to study and then recognize as they come to pass. It is God’s way of letting us know what events we will have to look forward to (unpleasantly so in most cases), so that we won’t be deceived. Remembering the warnings by Christ from the gospels, it has all been given to us so that we might not be deceived. When you travel someplace you get directions from signs. Whether they are a map, written words, or objects for which you are told to look. By that way, you get to your destination without mishap or getting on the wrong road. So it is with this journey. We are to follow the signs so that we don’t get on the wrong road.
This revelation is sent to John. It is pretty much agreed upon that this is the beloved disciple John, who was pastor to the church in Ephesus before being exiled to Patmos. In the gospel of John, he related that when Peter asked about John’s future, Jesus asked Peter if John were to still be alive when He returned, what business was it of Peter’s. John 21:22. This wasn’t saying that John would still be alive then, it was saying that even if he were, it wasn’t Peter’s concern. However, in showing John the Day of the Lord and His return, John did in essence remain alive to see the Lord’s Second Coming. It was a sort of prophecy about what would happen to John at Patmos.
Further, John identifies himself as having been the eyewitness to the fact that this is the word of God that he is writing, and the testimony of Jesus, and that he actually saw what we are about to read. Remember he is writing from the perspective of having already had the entire vision when he writes this introduction. John also bore record of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ in his gospel. Here he is saying that he wrote only what he actually saw and heard. He makes a point of saying numerous times (I haven’t counted them although I have heard it said that they amount to a number that is a multiple of seven, and the number seven is important in Revelation) I heard, I saw, I beheld, I looked, etc.. He was writing exactly what he heard and saw, so we shouldn’t spiritualize things in this book simply because they may sound bizarre at first. We have to look for a literal interpretation first. The symbols that are spiritualized are either defined in Revelation itself, or are symbols that have occurred in other scriptures, so we can use those to define the symbol.
Revelation Chapter 1
Verses 1-2 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.”
This book is commonly known as the Revelation of Saint John the Divine, but that is only because he is the one who wrote it all down. The first verse tells us whose revelation this actually is. It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show us His servants what will shortly come to pass. The word “Revelation” or “apokalupsis” means “unveiling”. This book is considered by many people to be a book that cannot be understood by the average person. It is considered mysterious, cryptic, frightening, and in general just plain confusing. But that is not what Christ intended. This was supposed to be understood. He expected that the average reader/listener would understand it, because He presumed that we would all have studied the entire scope of the scriptures thus far, and that the symbols, signs, and terminology would all be familiar to us. Unfortunately many Christians never read or study their Bible so when it comes to understanding this book, they are totally lost. The book of Revelation is an unveiling or revealing of information and truths of what is to come. It has been given by God the Father to Jesus Christ to show to his servants, us, what is shortly to come to pass. This book is intended for Christians (not unbelieving Jews), as it was given to Christ to give to His servants and that is us. We are the ones for whom the information is vital.
The word shortly is translated in Luke 18:8 as speedily and in Acts 12:7 and 22:18 as quickly. So the phrase “shortly come to pass” can be taken several ways. First it can mean that the events will happen soon in the normal sense of soon, or second it can mean that it will happen soon from God’s perspective. It has been two thousand years, but in God’s eyes and in terms of eternity, that is a short time. One day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. A third way it can be interpreted is to mean that the events being outlined will happen quickly once they being to happen. So the question as to how to take this statement is,…… is John speaking of when things will happen or how things will happen? Since nobody but the Father knows the day or the hour, John couldn’t for certain say that the time was near in the usual sense. And it has been almost 2,000 years, so we can rule out the idea of the normal sense of soon. The two ideas left are: 1) soon in terms of God’s perspective, and that certainly works, and 2) soon in the sense of it will happen quickly. It will be seen that most of the events that will be outlined in Revelation refer to that time period of three and a half years after the abomination of desolation, so there is reason to say that this phrase can mean how things will happen, which is quickly.
This revelation was given by God to Christ who gives it to an angel who signifies it to John. It was signified to John. The word “signified” means to make known by signs. The book of Revelation is a book of signs. Signs that we are meant to study and then recognize as they come to pass. It is God’s way of letting us know what events we will have to look forward to (unpleasantly so in most cases), so that we won’t be deceived. Remembering the warnings by Christ from the gospels, it has all been given to us so that we might not be deceived. When you travel someplace you get directions from signs. Whether they are a map, written words, or objects for which you are told to look. By that way, you get to your destination without mishap or getting on the wrong road. So it is with this journey. We are to follow the signs so that we don’t get on the wrong road.
This revelation is sent to John. It is pretty much agreed upon that this is the beloved disciple John, who was pastor to the church in Ephesus before being exiled to Patmos. In the gospel of John, he related that when Peter asked about John’s future, Jesus asked Peter if John were to still be alive when He returned, what business was it of Peter’s. John 21:22. This wasn’t saying that John would still be alive then, it was saying that even if he were, it wasn’t Peter’s concern. However, in showing John the Day of the Lord and His return, John did in essence remain alive to see the Lord’s Second Coming. It was a sort of prophecy about what would happen to John at Patmos.
Further, John identifies himself as having been the eyewitness to the fact that this is the word of God that he is writing, and the testimony of Jesus, and that he actually saw what we are about to read. Remember he is writing from the perspective of having already had the entire vision when he writes this introduction. John also bore record of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ in his gospel. Here he is saying that he wrote only what he actually saw and heard. He makes a point of saying numerous times (I haven’t counted them although I have heard it said that they amount to a number that is a multiple of seven, and the number seven is important in Revelation) I heard, I saw, I beheld, I looked, etc.. He was writing exactly what he heard and saw, so we shouldn’t spiritualize things in this book simply because they may sound bizarre at first. We have to look for a literal interpretation first. The symbols that are spiritualized are either defined in Revelation itself, or are symbols that have occurred in other scriptures, so we can use those to define the symbol.
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