The Unveiling of Jesus Christ Revelation 1
I began reading the book of Revelation almost 40 years ago, before I had even put my faith in Jesus Christ. We had a large, old, fancy Bible in the house and I began reading it, prompted by some music I was listening to that had a few biblical references. This book, more than any other, led me to the Lord, so it has a gigantic place in my personal story of faith. I’ve loved it ever since. Whenever I read it I feel like I’m meeting Jesus face-to-face for the first time.
At that time, of course, I didn’t understand most of it. I just realized that Jesus was coming and knew I wanted to be right with Him. Certainly some questions remain, but in all those years since that time, Revelation has now become very familiar. Like no other book of the Bible, it ties together themes and ideas from all of Scripture, especially the OT. Getting to know Revelation can motivate us to study the whole Bible so that we can see how it all fits together. One of my most earnest prayers as we go through Revelation is that you too will develop a love for this book and that through it, you will increase in your love for all of God’s holy word.
The primary background of Revelation is the Old Testament – particularly the OT prophetic books – and especially those books that can be classified as apocalyptic literature. Books like Daniel, Ezekiel and Zechariah bear a strong similarity. Still, the entire OT is represented in some way, shape or form – from Genesis and Exodus, through Psalms and even Malachi.
“No other book of the NT is as permeated by the OT as is Revelation. Although its author seldom quotes the OT directly, allusions and echoes are found in almost every verse of the book … Indeed, the reader unfamiliar with the OT is hard pressed to make any sense of Revelation. “ – Beale & McDonough.
Much in Revelation is symbolic, but that shouldn’t deter us. The symbols are often explained right in context or else somewhere else in the Bible. Contrary to what some believe, they aren’t there to confuse us, nor are they indecipherable. They are there to speak through pictures as well as words.
“John used symbols in order to communicate that which cannot be expressed in any other way, not to conceal something that could be said more straightforwardly.” – Eugene Boring
Outline:
I. Expect to see Jesus Christ revealed. 1:1-3
II. Expect to come face-to-face with Jesus as God. 1:4-8
III. Expect to be completely overwhelmed. 1:9-20
I. Expect to see Jesus Christ revealed. 1:1-3
1:1-2 The Revelation of Jesus Christ The word Revelation, or Apokalypse (apokalypsis) in Greek, means an uncovering, an unveiling, a disclosing. The very title tells us that this is not a closed book, but one that God intends us to study. It designed to reveal, not to cloud or confuse.
There are two ways to understand the title and both make sense.
A. It is Jesus who will be revealed. That is true and it will happen in ways that complete the picture of Him that we get in the Gospels and the rest of the NT.
B. The Revelation belongs to Jesus. He is revealing things to us. This is also true. Look at the whole sentence. God the Father wanted Jesus to show His servants (slaves) certain things. These are the things He wanted us to see or to know. God gave Him this revelation.
John The early church strongly supported the view that John the apostle was the author of the book. We won’t argue with that.
1:3 This gives us a glimpse into the customs of the early church. The verse
“reflects the early Christian practice of reading aloud the Scriptures in the services of the church. This, in turn, was a carryover from the procedure followed in the Jewish synagogues where most of the earliest Christians had participated. Because writing materials were expensive and scarce, so were copies of the books that were parts of the biblical canon. As a rule, one copy per Christian assembly was the best that could be hoped for. Public reading was the only means that rank-and-file Christians had for becoming familiar with the contents of these books.”
– Robert L. Thomas
Our situation is different, so consider this verse an incentive to dive into the contents of Revelation with your whole heart. We are blessed to be able to read it as much as we want.
Now a little note on the threefold blessing. The Greek construction indicates that the hearers and the keepers are one group. The blessing for hearing it really comes if we take the contents of the book to heart. Otherwise, only the reader is blessed.
“To inherit the promised blessing, every individual in the group had to combine obedience with hearing.” – Robert L. Thomas
the time is near Think back to v.1, “things which must shortly take place.” Christ’s goal is that we always be ready for his return. We should always consider it imminent or close at hand. We don’t know when it will happen, but each generation has to be ready.
II. Expect to come face-to-face with Jesus as God. 1:4-8
1:4-5 Trinitarian blessing Why does John refer to the Holy Spirit in this way?
Revelation 4:5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Revelation 5:6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
This imagery is admittedly strange, but it first appears in the writings of Zechariah.
Zechariah 4:1-10 1Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.”
4So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
5Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
6So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. 7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
8Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
9 “The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
We now see Jesus as witness, firstborn from the dead and ruler over the kings of the earth.
Witness Here we have to go back to the Gospel of John.
John 18:37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
And so Jesus Christ bore witness to the truth, first by his life, and eventually by his death.
Firstborn from the dead What good would that life and death be if it were not followed by his resurrection? He is firstborn in the sense that he is the first human chronologically to receive a glorified body. He is the firstborn also in the sense of rank as he is positionally superior to every other man that ever lived.
ruler over the kings of the earth Christ rules over everyone and everything – as this book will reveal. This supreme authority is the source of our greatest grace and peace.
“Oh, brethren! There is no tranquility for a man anywhere else but in the humble, hearty recognition of that Lord as his Lord. Crown Him with your reverence, with your loyal desires; crown Him with your love, the most precious of all the crowns that He wears, and you will find that grace and peace come to you from Him.” – Alexander MacLaren
To him who loved us Most manuscripts here read “loves us.” Both, obviously, are true. He loved us and so He washed us from our sins in his own blood – but yet, He loves us still; if anything more now than ever. His love for us is truly never-ending. He will always love us. Every saint in every age can read this and think, “He loves me.”
This comes from the man who referred to himself in his Gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” The love that John experienced personally, we his readers experience now.
1:6 Kings and priests more literally, “a kingdom, priests” There was an anointing with blood in Exodus, for both the priests and the people. We are purified not with the blood of animal sacrifices, but with the precious blood of Christ.
Has made us Take a close look at these words. John is talking about an accomplished fact. We have already been made rulers with Christ. Just as His kingdom is not totally apparent yet, so neither is ours, but the title and position belong to us. We are part of the royal family and there is a certain dignity that comes with the position – a dignity that we should possess.
We are not only rulers we are priests. We have direct access to God. We should stand in His presence often and relish those moments, offering Him thanks and praise. We are the mediators between God and the rest of the world. The way the world knows Him is largely through us. We must represent Him well.
1:7 This verse combines words and ideas from both Daniel 7 and Zechariah 12. There is a mourning of repentance that takes place among those who are waiting for Him. A mourning of despair is what’s left for those who have rejected Him. Jesus said it first before His crucifixion.
Matthew 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
“Taken in this sense, the statement provides a grim preview of what lies ahead for the world. The return of Christ is anything but a comfort to those who continue in their rebellion against Him.” – Robert L. Thomas
1:8 Alpha and Omega God the Father is speaking. One commentary (Beale & McDonough) puts it, “God, who transcends time, guides the entire course of history because he stands as sovereign over its beginning and end.”
III. Expect to be completely overwhelmed. 1:9-20
1:9 This is the John, who with his brother James (and their mother, apparently), once asked for a special place at the right and left hand of Jesus when He came into His kingdom. He certainly has a special place, but look at how he now views himself. He is an equal to his readers in every way – and even put in a lowlier position, writing from exile all because of his ministry.
Patmos was an island about 40 miles off the coast of Ephesus. The Romans made it one of their prison colonies – a 1st Century Georgia, Australia or Siberia. According to early Christian tradition, John was sent here during the reign of Domitian (81 – 96 A.D.). When Domitian died, he was allowed to return to Ephesus.
John points out that we all share in the kingdom, but we also share in tribulation and patience. John wasn’t on Patmos for a vacation. He was put there to remove him from his place of influence in Ephesus. Yet it’s here that God gave him his most influential writing of all.
Patience Tribulation, in order to achieve the desired effect, has to be combined with patience, godly patience. This is more than mere waiting; it is closer to perseverance. It is a determination not to give up. The author of Hebrews uses the same word in Hebrews 12:1, when he encourages us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The word picture involved is one of bearing up under a great weight. MacLaren reminds us,
“A vivid metaphor underlies the word – that of the fixed attitude of one bearing up a heavy weight or pressure without yielding or being crushed. Such immovable constancy is more than passive. There must be much active exercise of power to prevent collapse.”
So as believers, our difficulties are like spiritual workouts that make us stronger. We’re pumping spiritual iron. Regardless of difficulties we continue in well doing, we continue in growth, we continue to push forward in the race toward greater Christian maturity and usefulness.
1:10 The term the Lord’s Day probably means Sunday. There is evidence the term was used this way in that part of the world not long after this. Maybe John used it first since it appears nowhere else in the Bible – or maybe believers were using it that way already.
1:11 Alpha … Omega This is Jesus speaking. Compare with v.8.
1:12 I turned to see the voice This is a little awkward. It’s incongruent to turn to “see” a “voice,” but it does also kind of show the authenticity of John in writing this. He is expressing himself naturally rather than aiming for literary excellence.
1:13-16 You can compare with Daniel’s vision in Daniel 10 (but we won’t do that here). He will explain the seven stars and seven lampstands in v.20.
1:17 Fell at His feet as dead Other OT prophets had similar responses. Remember this was one of Jesus’s closest friends.
1:18 Jesus Christ totally controls life and death. Life is one of His primary attributes. He became dead at one point because we needed Him to do so. Now His work on the cross is complete and life is His to give. He holds the key to death itself and can release us from its power.
1:19 Some see this as something of an outline for the book, much as Acts 1:8 gives us an outline for that book. As in Acts, there is a bit of overlap. No biblical outline is perfect, but I tend to agree.
1:20 The stars and lampstands are here explained. This will be clarified in the next two chapters.
Conclusions:
• Incentive to read, hear and keep the words of this prophecy. Learn to love this book and you will learn to love the whole Bible.
• As a church we need a well-informed, balanced view of prophecy. So, a few points on that:
o Never fall for speculative date-setting. Church history is littered with books, pamphlets and large movements that have claimed with great authority that Christ was returning at such and such a time. They all seem to have three things in common:
They set a date that would fall within the lifetimes of the hearers.
They worked a bunch of people up into a last-days frenzy which made them say and do all kinds of stupid things.
They were all wrong. We’re still here waiting for Jesus.
o Don’t cause that to make you disbelieve the prophecies. Peter dealt with this problem:
2 Peter 3:3-4, 9 3knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” … 9The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
o Always be ready for Christ’s return. The time will always be unknown and the time will always be near. Christians can always say, “We might be the last generation – the generation that sees Christ return.” We should never say, “We are the last generation.”
• The reality of the love of Christ (v.5). In a world where true love is hard to find and harder to hold onto, remember that Christ’s love is never-changing and never-ending.
• Consider John – a close friend of Christ during His ministry – being overwhelmed by Jesus now (v.17). How does that compare to our attitudes toward Christ?
