REVELATION REVEALED part 1 Word notes

REVELATION REVEALEDPart 1“Glorified Messiah”

Jesus said to the Apostle Peter a 3rd time:John 21:17-24 "17…Feed my sheep. 18I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"  20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is going to betray you?’) 21When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’ 22Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.’ 23Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?’ 24This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.”

In these passages, Jesus predicted that John would live much longer than Peter. He is the only one of the 12 not martyred. But in his older years, John was banished to a lonely island called Patmos for his witness. Patmos was located in the Aegean Sea around 60 miles SW of Ephesus and 100 miles east of Athens.

Patmos was tiny, about 10 miles long and 6 miles wide. It was barren of trees and extremely rocky. In short, no vacation resort. It was on this tiny island that John was enslaved in chains. He was forced to work the mines of the island with nothing but criminals. Because of John’s connection to it, Patmos today is a destination for Christian pilgrimage. Visitors can see the cave where John is said to have received his Revelation (the Cave of the Apocalypse), and several monasteries on the island are dedicated to Saint John.

Now, at the time of John’s banishment, the church was experiencing vicious persecution. Nero had burned Christians in his garden and now Domitian was wreaking havoc with the church.

John’s revelation came at a time of an anti-Christian state—the Roman Government—and a multitude of anti-Christian religion. The immediate intent of the Revelation was to provide encouragement that Jesus was Lord and in control, and an evangelistic appeal to the lost.

The Revelation came to him on just an average workin’-in-the-coal-mines kind of day. The Bible records that John was spiritually translated by the spirit of God. He was given a succession of visions so incredible that they’ve boggled the minds of thinkers throughout the ages.

His Revelation reached far beyond his day and has rolled down to the very end of time and into eternity.

WHAT WE’RE GOING TO SEE.

Keys to understanding the Revelation

It is not always chronological; that is, John will sometimes jump from the future to the past, then back to the future.

Examples: Jesus is born in Chapter 12, is exalted in Chapter 5, and is walking in the midst of His churches in Chapter 1. The beast who attacks God’s two witnesses in Chapter 11 is not brought into existence until Chapter 13. John wrote as it came to him. The Revelation constantly uses the words “like” or “as” ”appeared to be” or “something like.” This is because John was grasping for ways to describe what he was seeing. So he uses pictorial language through the use of metaphors and similes. For instance, if we were watching an Amtrak train speed by we might say something like, “It shot by me like a bullet.” Or watching a firework display, we might say, “That skyrocket fell like a shooting star.” John is a 1st century man describing 20th and 21st century events the best he can.

Why should we study the Revelation?

It’s part of the Bible. No story is complete without reading the last chapter. Revelation is the last chapter in God’s book, describing how the beginning in Genesis ends up. Revelation gives us a sense of urgency. Men must accept Christ now because Revelation events could begin at any time. And most of all, there are a total of 66 books in our Bible, but only one of them promises some kind of a special blessing for those who read and keep the words contained in it - and that is the Book of Revelation. Revelation 1:3 - “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.”

Let’s Begin:Revelation 1:1 - “This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant, John.”

REVELATION is from the Greek word “apokalupsis” (ap-ok-al'-oop-sis)” We get “apocalypse” from this word. It means “to bring to light.”

So what God is doing with the Revelation is bringing out of hiding or out of cover things that had never been revealed before. It was given to show His servants (that’s us) “things which must shortly take place.”

The phrase MUST SHORTLY TAKE PLACE is a Greek expression meaning a rapidity of execution once it does begin; a domino effect.

What we’re going to find is a series of sevens.

Revelation 1:4 - “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 seven-fold Spirit before his throne…” The Lord Jesus is revealed as He Who was, is, and is to come. The seven spirits John references are seven different manifestations or attributes that flow from God’s majesty to the Messiah. They are:

The Spirit of…

This agrees perfectly with Isaiah’s description of the Messiah that was to come in Isaiah 11:1-2 – “1Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—      yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—      the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,   the Spirit of counsel and might,      the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Next, John describes in verse 7 the 2nd coming of Christ at the end of the ages:Revelation 1:7 - “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Him and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Him. Even so [must it be]. Amen (so be it).”

This is a great example of how John jumps to the end of things before he begins the beginning! When Christ Jesus returns—which will be the final climactic event to history as we know it—those who pierced Him (the Jews), all tribes of earth (nations and peoples), will mourn, literally “beat themselves,” over what they missed.

In verse 10 he says:

Revelation 1:10-11 - “I was in the Spirit [rapt in His power] on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a great voice like the calling of a war trumpet…” The voice he heard instructed him:“What you’re seeing, you will write in a scroll. And you will send it to the seven churches…”

The churches He names were near Patmos. John was a row-boat away from Greece where they were. Contrary to what some may think, these churches were not full of believers. They are imperfect bodies of people containing true believers and unsaved “professors,” but not “possessors.” Jesus sends the equivalent of a postcard to each of these churches with a warning to the lost, and correction and encouragement to the saved.

When John turned to see the source of the voice, he saw:Revelation 1:12-13 - “…seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands [One] like a Son of Man, clothed with a robe which reached to His feet and with a girdle of gold about His breast.”

LAMPSTAND was a lamp holder with seven spirals coming off it. Oil was placed in each one with a wick in it. The phrase SON OF MAN has no article in the Greek. It simply reads “One like Son of Man.”

The description of the risen Son of God is awesome and stunning! Revelation 1:13 - “…clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.”GOLD symbolizes deity in Revelations GIRDLE was a leather censure that literally held the guts together during work. “Gird yourself with truth” Paul says in Ephesians.

Revelation 1:14 - “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire…” Remember the use of “like” and “as.” John is using the word “like” to describe what he saw.

WHITE depicts wisdom; gray hair, etc. FIRE pictures cleansing and purging, and purifying judgment. His eyes were cleansing, and carried the gaze of purifying judgment.

Revelation 1:15 - “His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;” BRASS OR BRONZE are used in scripture to symbolize strength VOICE LIKE MANY WATERS commanded attention like a rushing river.

Then John sees that the risen, glorified Messiah is holding something:

Revelation 1:16 - “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.”

SEVEN STARS: “STARS” is from Greek word “ASTEROS” and they represented the seven churches to whom John was initially addressing the Revelation. TWO-EDGED SWORD: This depicts judgment when the glorified Messiah speaks.

When John sees all of this, he faints. Jesus says to him, “Don’t be afraid (literally panicking). I am the first and the last.” In verse 18 He assures John that He “holds the keys to death and Hades.” KEYS represent absolute control and authority.

THE KEY TO THE ENTIRE BOOK is stated in verse 19: “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.”

Clearly, the glorified Messiah is informing John that he is about to be shown the future; “The things which will take place after this.”

The first chapter is closed out with an explanation of some of the things he had just seen: Revelation 1:20 - “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”

SEVEN STARS WERE THE SEVEN ANGELS (ANGELOS) were probably the pastors of the seven churches. SEVEN LAMPSTANDS were the churches themselves.

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