A little 5-year old girl was "helping" her mother fix dinner one evening when the mother asked her to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomatoes. The little girl said she was afraid to go in there because it was dark.
The mother told her it was okay, as nothing was going to hurt her because Jesus was in there to protect her. The little girl then went to the pantry, opened the door, and said, "Jesus, if you are in there, hand me a can of tomatoes, okay?"
In relation to the book of Revelation, we are like that little girl. We are afraid and intimidated by this book, so we don’t want to get into it and study it, feeling that we will not understand it. So, we opt to stay out of it and want somebody else to give us all the information from it.
Let me assure you right now that nothing in this book is scary, except for the message as it applies to those who deny Christ. You will walk out of here today with the confidence that, you too, can fully understand this wonderful book.
So, with that, let us just jump right in and begin with Revelation 1:1.
VERSE 1 - NIV
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.”
Let’s explain each part.
. . . "The revelation of Jesus Christ" -
In some versions of the Bible, the title reads, “the Revelation of St. John.” When the Bible was written, there were no titles, chapters, or verses. It was all written as single letters. These delineations were all put there by man so he could read and remember it better. The correct title should only be, “THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST”, or even better, “THE REVEALING OF JESUS CHRIST”.
. . . "which God gave him" -
This revelation was given, not to John, but to Jesus Christ as God had given it to Him. It is the revealing of the eternal plan of God for the people He created. John was chosen to see it so he could write it down for others to read.
. . . "which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place" -
The Father gave revelation to the Son. The Son gave revelation to John. And John gave revelation to us so that we might understand the things that must shortly come to pass. The Lord is saying that when these things begin to happen, they will increase in speed until the end.
It is like having a bathtub full of water and then letting the drain plug out. The water begins to go down the drain, and when it gets to a very low level, you can see that magical whirlpool begin to form. You know, at that point, that the water is going to start draining faster and faster until it’s gone. So it will be with the events in the End Times. Be prepared, and be very faithful.
. . . "He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" -
Some versions of the Bible read “He made it known” while others read “He sent and signified it”. The original Hebrew and Greek transcripts both use words that mean “written or made known by signs.” This is why many people don’t think they can understand this book; much of it deals with signs of things that happen at specific points in time, rather than being spelled out in exact terms such as we would do today.
Words change over time and distance and societies. What I might write today could lose all of its original meaning in 200 to 500 years, but signs remain constant. All we must do is prayerfully study the word.
John, the “disciple that Jesus loved” was a mere teenager when he chose to follow Jesus. That might be one reason he remained so precious to Jesus; he never wavered in his faith and devotion. And he was chosen to write 5 letters for the people.
The Gospel of John was written so that we might know that Jesus is the Christ. 1,2, and 3rd John were written so that we might know we have salvation, and he wrote Revelation so that we might be ready.
VERSE 2 - NIV
“… who testifies to everything he saw--that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
When it comes to whom God chooses to reveal End Time information to, He seems to have one main requirement: The person must be willing to receive the information and be perfectly willing to share it with everyone else. Many people want to know about End Times, but only to fulfill their own personal curiosity, and then they are very hesitant in telling others about it once they find out.
Jesus put it this way: “Pay heed to what you have, because the one who has shall receive more.” MARK 4:24-25
If you have the mindset that you are just curious about Bible prophecy, or you want to be entertained by it, then you will not receive the full message of that prophecy. However, if you are striving to learn so you can truly understand it, and then you have the desire to share your knowledge with others, then God will reveal more of it to you.
VERSE 3 - NIV
“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”
The Greek word “reads” means to actually read out loud. How many times have we been told in school that if we want to retain what we learn that we should read it or say it out loud? There is something about hearing that multiplies our ability to remember.
For those of us who are willing to really try and understand and remember what is written in this letter, He gives us a blessing. No other book of the Bible has this promise. Why would He do that? Because He knows that the time is short, biblically speaking, and He knows what will happen to us if we are not ready. He gives us this book to help us be prepared, and for those of us who will get prepared, He gives us eternal life in His Son.
VERSE 4 - NLT
“This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; …”
John’s letter is directed to the seven churches so they can pass the information on to their congregations. “Asia” does not mean the modern-day area of Asia as we know it. In John’s writing, “Asia” meant Turkey. John was writing to the seven established churches in Turkey. And those churches paint a perfect reflection of the main stream Christian churches in the world today. What was meant for them is also meant for us.
By extending the salutation “Grace and peace be to you”, John is letting them know he writes this letter in love, and it is written from the ever-eternal Jesus Christ – or as when Moses asked God who He was, the answer he received was, “I am that which I am.” Also, note the order in which John begins this sentence: “Grace and peace ….” It is impossible to have peace without first knowing God’s grace.
This answer became so sacred to the Jews that they would not even write the name using vowels. All they used was consonants, which were JHWH, or where we get our modern-day word, pronounced “YAWEH”.
In JOHN 14:9, Jesus is recorded as saying, “Don’t you know that he who has seen Me has seen the Father, too?”
VERSE 5 - NLT
“… and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us,”
Jesus Christ is certainly the Faithful Witness of all things. He is the first risen from death and He is the absolute ruler of all kingdoms. He deserves all glory because of His great love for us, we have been freed from the slavery of sin through His shed blood on the Cross.
VERSE 6~7 - NIV
“and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen. Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.”
According to REVELATION 5:10, we will rule the earth as kings and priests during the 1,000 year millennial reign of Jesus Christ, in which we will serve God the Father. And for that, He deserves all the power and glory forever.
And when things get to where they look bleaker than they have ever looked before; when there seems to be no hope left in the world; and when things could not get any worse, we can look up into the clouds and see Him coming back – just like He said He would! Everybody on earth will see Him, even those who opposed Him. And people the world over who have rejected Him will begin to mourn as they see the reality of the decisions they have made. And so be it!
VERSE 8 – NIV
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
The Alpha and the Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. By using these words, God is saying He was evermore and will be evermore, including all times in between … terms we humans cannot fully comprehend because we need a beginning point and an ending point for our clarity of understanding.
Also, in the original manuscript, John writes out the word “Alpha” but only used the letter symbol for “Omega”. I think that is because God is the end that has no ending.
VERSE 9 - NIV
“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”
John said he was their brother in suffering. He was a pastor to the seven churches under his care, and he personally identified with them in their time of persecution. And he tells them that he was on Patmos as a result of being persecuted himself because of his faithfulness in Christ Jesus.
VERSE 10 – NLT
“It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.”
John was a pastor, but he was also a poet. He wanted his people to not just have flat doctrine to live by, he wanted them to feel emotions as they endured the troubled times. He wanted them to eel the reality of the Lord’s coming as it gave fire to their hopes and faith. The same applies today. If we read this book as nothing more than a piece of history written so many years ago, we will have lost most of the intimate meaning behind the words.
In the original text the word “kuriakē” was used to describe “the Lord’s Day”. It has far more meaning than being one day of the week set apart to honor the Lord. That word is only used here and in 1 CORINTHIANS 11:20. It implies a time of total devotion to, or a time of absolute nearness with the Lord. It might have been that John was worshiping the Lord so intently that He was favored to actually walk into the Lord’s very presence.
It was at this time that he heard a great voice behind him. To equate it as a trumpet shows how sudden, unexpectedly loud, and how sharp it must have sounded.
VERSE 11 – NIV
“… (the loud voice said) …"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."
Why did John repeat the Alpha and Omega statement? I believe it was to encourage them. They knew God was in the beginning, and they knew God would be at the last, but it was the present the people had a problem with. Why would God let the pain and destruction exist? John wanted them to know that God was there during the prior good times, He will be here for the eternal heaven, and He was also there walking with them as they suffered. He wanted them to know God was there.
John was whispering to his people again and again, repeating it over and over, that God was with them.
It is important to note that each of the seven churches represent a different church age, too. We would be in the Laodicean church age. In other words, what the Laodiceans were doing in their churches is very similar to what today’s churches are going through. We will discuss these things in detail in the next few weeks.
VERSE 12 – NIV
“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands…”
John turned to see what the loud voice behind him was. He “turned to see”. I am reminded of how the shepherds strained to see the angel of the Lord when Jesus was born, or how an old prophet named Simeon turned to see when he heard a baby cry out, and thus discovered the Savior, as told in LUKE 2:26-28.
My question to you is this: When you hear the evidence of Christ in your life, do you “turn to see” or do you keep focused on the task you are doing, thereby missing a possible blessing that is awaiting you?
John “saw” the seven gold lampstands. These refer to the candlestand that has three stems on each side representing what Jesus referred to when He said, “I am the vine and you are the branches” in JOHN 8, and they also refer to Jesus being the light of the world. And they also refer to the seven churches John was writing to.
VERSE 13 – NIV
“… and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.”
Can you imagine being in John’s position? You are seeing things that are purely of a spiritual nature, and you really don’t have all the words to adequately describe everything you are seeing. He sees someone like Jesus, in a long robe with a gold belt around his upper torso.
That speaks of His priesthood, having a robe that stretches to His feet, as stated in EXODUS 28:42. His entire body was covered, just as the body of Christ (we Christians) are covered by His righteousness, as seen in ISAIAH 61:10.
He had a gold sash around his chest again refers to His priesthood. In the Old Testament, priests would wear a girdle-like belt around their midsection, but here we see Jesus wearing it around his chest. Could it be that it is wrapped around His heart, showing that there is no crying and no tears because He is in control and everything, after all, will be “all right?”
VERSE 14~15 – NIV
“His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.”
Jesus’ hair was white, signifying pureness. His eyes were blazing, but not as something that is going t burn you. The same with his feet, glowing like a furnace. They were burning more like a warm and inviting fireplace, inviting us in to His loving kingdom. How relaxing and soothing is the sound of a waterfall, or a stream? That describes the sound of Jesus’ voice; soothing, relaxing, inviting, and everything good.
VERSE 16– NIV
“In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”
The seven stars represent the seven angels (or messengers, or bishops) of the seven churches, each angel representing one individual church. Don’t miss the poetry John uses here. It isn’t like Jesus opens His mouth and a sharp sword comes out. The sword spoken of here represents the Word of God with its strength and sharpness.
And as far as his radiance, He had the full radiance of the Lord God Almighty, just as we are told later in this book that the new heaven will be a place of eternal light that is so bright there will be no need for the sun, yet that brilliant light will not hurt our eyes, but comfort our spirits.
VERSE 17– NIV
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.”
Notice the order here. John heard, he saw, he fell at his feet, and then he was touched, and then he was comforted. The same is true when we meet Jesus in our lives. We hear Him calling; we turn to see; when our hearts humble we fall at His feet, where He touches us with forgiveness and comforting.
Again, John uses the allegorical style of writing to show that Jesus is the everlasting Lord, the one who never changes, the one who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He was here at the first and he will be here at the last.
VERSE 18– NIV
“I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive fo ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Jesus introduces Himself to John, saying He was dead but is now alive and will be so forevermore! He also says that He holds the keys to Hades. We have heard all our lives that Satan is in control of hell, but we find out in this book that he is not; Jesus is.
But these keys aren’t just to eventually lock people up! They are also used to let people out! In other words Jesus holds the keys to set us free from our bondage to sin and spiritual death. He offers us a full pardon if we will but only accept it.
VERSES 19~20– NIV
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
John is told to write down all these things that have been revealed to him; the things that are happening now and the things that must take place later. And then he is again told the mystery of the stars and the lampstands. The stars are the messengers of each of the seven churches and lampstands represent the seven churches. And the churches are what Jesus uses to keep the light of God lifted up so others might see.
And it is very important that the churches remain intently focused on the truth of God’s Word, and not get derailed by man’s on-again / off-again philosophies about religions. Concentrating not on what we think but on what God knows, we shall walk uprightly and have our pathways lit, all the way thru this book and on to meeting Jesus on that glorious Day!
Let us close in prayer.
NOTE:
If you are giving this as a group study, I have included some very simple questions to ask the individuals who sat through this teaching. These are simple, yet will act to keep their mind focused on what you just taught.
QUIZ ON REVELATION 1
1. God gave us 10 laws, or commandments. What did man do with them?
. . . We kept them all
. . . Decided which ones were more important to keep
. . . Turned them into over 600 all-but-impossible to keep laws.
2. Where are the most important things of God learned?
. . . In Sunday school
. . . In Bible college
. . . In the everyday life of a Christian as we pray and strive to be obedient.
3. Why was John on the Island of Patmos?
. . . He had a vacation home there
. . . He was sent there in exile as punishment for being a Christian
. . . He was searching for diamonds
4. When do we experience our own Island of Patmos times?
. . . During times of deep persecution or troubles
. . . When we wake up and find that we have not been walking with the Lord
. . . Both of the above
5. The Book of Revelation was written for which two purposes?
. . . To keep us focused and to keep us encouraged
. . . To teach us what will happen to us if we are disobedient and to scold us
. . . To give us insight into the glory of heaven and a renewed focus on Jesus.
6. Verse 3 tells us that if we read or even hear this book being read, we will receive what?
. . . Salvation
. . . Insight
. . . A blessing
7. The seven stars represent ….
. . . The seven days of the calendar week
. . . Seven angels who wait until they are called into action
. . . The seven messengers (leaders) of the seven churches
