The First & The Last Series

Introduction

I can still remember the first Bible study I ever went to on the book of Revelation: “Revelation made simple” they said, “come and understand it better” they said. I was 19, I left that study after two hours with a mind filled with words that I couldn’t pronounce let alone spell! I felt more bamboozled than ever! Bamboozled is too small a term, I was perplexed! I left that that study not only thinking that I could never understand it, but that no-one could understand it! One of the things they had said to ‘encourage us’ was that even the great John Calvin never wrote a commentary on it, because he claimed not to understand it! I mean how is that encouragement to try and understand it?!

So our goal and title with this series is this: Revelation made slightly less complicated! My goal is not to fill your heads and notepaper with big words, but with a big vision of God! After all this is a Revelation v1 of Jesus Christ- it’s both from Him and about Him! I will try to keep complicated words and ideas to a minimum, or if I use them I’ll explain them. I will also try to spend more time preaching Revelation than preaching about Revelation. And the stuff about Revelation I’ll spread out through the series so it’s not too overwhelming all at once. We’re also going to have a Revelation breakfast in a few weeks’ time so that you can ask any big questions about the series so far- more details to follow.

There are four basic schools/approaches/ways of reading. There are literally hundreds of variations and combinations of these four. Most of what you read, hear or watch comes under these four:

You can make it all about the past- some think it was all done and dusted by 70 AD when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.

You can make it all about the future- nearly everything in Revelation is about a period in history still to come

You can make it about the whole of history between Christ’s first and second coming- Either in order- looking for specific people and events in history, or in principle- these are timeless truths that apply to every age.

And the more I’ve looked this week the mor I’ve seen there’s something to commend each one. Even in the early church three of those ideas existed and there was a spirit of mutual acceptance between the different groups- something we should seek to copy. The late comer was the whole of history in order, but that’s because at that point there hadn’t been a lot of history since Christ! And that particular view has an excellent pedigree: Jan Huss, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Zwingli, Luther, Knox, Wesley, Edwards, Whitefield, Spurgeon, some think Calvin though, as we said, he never wrote a commentary on Revelation. That list has got to make you sit up and think- even if you disagree!

All views have something to commend them as we’ll see as we go through, because it’s true Revelation does contain prophecy about the future, but it’s also true that Revelation it is steeped in imagery of the first century- it has a context. It’s also true that we can see the outworkings of what this book speaks about in history- history that has been and history still to come. I do favour one position- as will become clear as we go through- but we need to bear all these things in mind as we go through- there is a reason good Bible believing Christians disagree on this.

But as I said before I don’t just want to preach about Revelation. All Scripture is God breathed and useful for us, so let’s dig in to chapter 1 and see Revelation in action, how it works and what it has to show us today.

A Revelation of Jesus Christ v1, 5-7, 12-16

The book is described as a Revelation of Jesus Christ. The phrase is ambiguous. It is Jesus’ message that we’re getting here, but like the rest of the Bible this is not just from Jesus, but about Jesus. And it’s Jesus who takes centre stage in this first chapter, look at verses 12-16.

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash round his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (Revelation 1:12-16 ESV)