9-10-23 Revelation Bible Study

Boyd Thrash

Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Revelation 1:1–20

0 ratings

· 5 views

Notes

Transcript

Revelation 1:1-20

-----------------------------------------------------------

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, 2 who testified to God’s word and to the testimony about Jesus Christ, in all he saw.

The first verse announces the subject of the book, namely, the things which must shortly take place.

The book of Revelation is primarily an unfolding of the future.

This revelation of future events was given by God to Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus, in turn, committed it to His angel, and the angel made it known to His servant John.

John’s purpose in writing the Book was to share the information with the Lord’s servants, that is, with all true believers.

In doing this, John bore witness to the prophetic word which God had spoken to him and to the testimony to which Jesus Christ had borne witness.

In short, John testified to all things that he saw in heavenly visions.

The words,,, He sent it and signified it,,, in the HCSB,,, and the KJV,,, as well as,,, He made it known,,, in the NIV,,, are from the Greek verb,,, meaning “to make known by signs or symbols,” but the verb also includes communication by words.

The angel messenger is not named,,, but some believe he was Gabriel,,, who brought messages to Daniel,,, Mary,,, and Zechariah (cf. Dan. 8:16; 9:21–22; Luke 1:26–31).

The reference to John as a servant (doulos, which normally means “slave”) is the term used by Paul, James, Peter, and Jude (cf. Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1) in speaking of their positions as God’s servants.

1:2. John faithfully described what he saw as the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

What John saw was a communication,,, from,,, —and about,,,—Jesus Christ Himself.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verse 3 said: 3 The one who reads this is blessed, and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near!

1:3. This introduction in these first verses,,, concludes with a blessing on each individual who reads the book as well as on those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it.

The implication is that a reader will read this message aloud to an audience.

And then,,, not only is there a blessing for the reader and the hearers, but there is also a blessing for those who respond in obedience.

It was obviously God’s intention that this Book should be read in church because He promised a special blessing to the one who reads it aloud and to all those in the assembly who hear it and take it to heart.

John concluded his prologue with the time is near.

The word “time” (kairos) refers to a period of time, that is, the time of the end (Dan. 8:17; 11:35, 40; 12:4, 9).

The end time, as a time period, is mentioned in Revelation 11:18 and 12:12.

In 12:14 the word “time” means a year (cf. Dan. 7:25); and the phrase “time, times, and half a time” means one year (“time”) plus two years (“times”) plus six months (“half a time”), totaling three and one-half years—the length of the time of “the end.”

Revelation 1:3 includes the first of seven beatitudes in the book (1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14).

The prologue presents concisely the basic facts underlying the entire book: its subjects, purpose, and angelic and human channels.

It is most important to observe that the book was primarily intended to give a practical lesson to those who read and heed its contents.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verses 4-6 said: 4 John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.

My Believer's Bible Commentary said: seven churches in Asia were not the only ones in Asia (a western region of modern-day Turkey), they were influential and located on a well-known circular route.

The number seven often denotes fullness or completion in the Old Testament (e.g., Gen 2:2; Lev 26:18; Josh 6:4).

John uses the number in this way throughout Revelation—most notably in the judgment sequences (seven bowls, seven trumpets).

The seven churches would have been understood as representing all the churches of Asia, and perhaps the entire worldwide Church.

The Bible dictionary said:

The seven churches are those in seven cities of the Roman province of proconsular Asia on the west central coast of Asia Minor.

They are the addressees of Revelation (1:4, 11, 20), and individual letters are addressed to each of them in Revelation 2–3. The use of the article indicates that the seven churches were a recognized group: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

The question arises, “Why does the author only write to seven churches when there were others in the province of Asia?” These other churches include Troas (Acts 20:5–12; 2 Cor 2:12), Colossae (Col 1:2; 2:1), and Hierapolis (Col 4:13). Ignatius addressed letters to Magnesia (Magn.) and Tralles (Trall.) less than two decades later.

More fanciful explanations are that these seven churches are symbolic of the types of churches to be found during the church age, or of seven sequential periods of church history.

A more accepted explanation takes into account that seven is a number of completeness. The seven churches are representative or heads of all the churches in the region with which the author is familiar and expects his letter to reach, or are representative of the Church at large.

The explanation of William Ramsay (1904: 171–96) has received wide support. He proposed that these church cities were selected because, in their given order, they are the postal and judicial districts which a courier from Patmos would encounter and from which his letter could be distributed most effectively throughout the province of Asia.

From Patmos, the letter courier would arrive at Ephesus, travel N to Smyrna and Pergamum, and then turn SE to Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. This forms a circular route through the west central portion of the province.

Other church cities not mentioned are located beyond the main circular route and could easily be reached on a secondary route from one of these seven cities.

Ramsay’s explanation has the advantages of fitting the geographical positioning of the seven cities, maintaining the sequential order in which they are presented, and explaining why other church cities are not mentioned.

It also corresponds to what we know of early Church communication elsewhere.

For example, if Ephesians is an encyclical,

(a papal letter sent to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church. or Encyclicals started as letters of the Pope to be “circulated” within a specific group within the church to address issues of concern, point out dangers that might affect the Church or the world, exhort for action or constancy, and prescribe remedies.)

then it may have been similarly distributed to neighboring churches. Also, when Paul sent his letter to Colossae, the Colossians were to send it on to Laodicea, and Laodicea was to reciprocate with their letter from Paul as well (Col 4:16).

The words grace and peace concisely summarize a Christian’s standing before God and his experience.

“Grace” speaks of God’s attitude toward believers; “peace” speaks both of their standing with God and their experience of divine peace.

The greeting is unusual in that it describes God the Father as the One who is, and who was, and who is to come (cf. 1:8).

The seven spirits probably refers to the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa. 11:2–3; Rev. 3:1; 4:5; 5:6), though it is an unusual way to refer to the third Person of the Trinity.

Of the three Persons in the Trinity, Jesus Christ is here mentioned last, probably because of His prominence in this book.

He is described as the faithful Witness, that is, the source of the revelation to be given; the Firstborn from the dead (cf. Col. 1:18), referring to His historic resurrection; and the Ruler of the kings of the earth, indicating His prophetic role after His second coming (chap. 19).

Christ’s resurrection was from the dead.

As the “Firstborn,” He is the first to be resurrected with an everlasting body, which is a token of other selective resurrections including those of saints who die in the Church Age (Phil. 3:11), the Tribulation martyrs (Rev. 20:5–6), and the wicked dead of all ages (20:12–13).

-----------------------------------------------------------

The Seven “Beatitudes” in Revelation

“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” (1:3).

“Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. “Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them’ ” (14:13).

“Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed” (16:15).

“Then the angel said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” ’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God’ ” (19:9).

“Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years” (20:6).

“Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book” (22:7).

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city” (22:14).

-----------------------------------------------------------

In His dying on the cross Christ who loves us is the One who freed us from our sins by His blood (some Gr. mss. have the word “washed” instead of “freed”). Believers are now a kingdom and priests with the purpose now and forever of serving God. This prompted John to express a benediction of praise and worship culminating with Amen (lit., “so be it”).

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verse 7 said: 7 Look! He is coming with the clouds,

and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the families of the earth

will mourn over Him. This is certain. Amen.

This blessed One is coming back to earth in chariots of clouds.

His Advent will be neither local nor invisible, because every eye will see Him (cf. Matt. 24:29, 30 ).

Matthew 24:29 (HCSB)

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days:

The sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not shed its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the celestial powers will be shaken.

Matthew 24:30 (HCSB)

30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The people who were guilty of His crucifixion will be aghast.

In fact, all the tribes of the earth will be plunged into mourning because He comes to judge His enemies and set up His kingdom.

Believers do not mourn His Coming; they say, “Even so, Amen.”

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verse 8 said: 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

There is a change of speaker.

The Lord Jesus introduces Himself as the Alpha and the Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), the Beginning and the End.

My Faithlife Study Bible says: 1:8 the Alpha and the Omega The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The expression is a merism—a figure of speech that distinguishes opposites in order to accentuate the whole. God is the beginning and the end and everything in between.

It defined merism as: An expression using contrasting parts to indicate totality, e.g. “head to toe” or “heaven and earth.”

He spans time and eternity, and exhausts the vocabulary of excellence.

He is the source and goal of creation, and it is He who began and will end the divine program in the world.

He is and was and is to come, eternal in His being and the Almighty in power.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Revelation 1:9 (HCSB)

John’s Vision of the Risen Lord

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus.

Back to John, who introduces himself as a brother and companion of all believers in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.

He here links tribulation, perseverance (patience), and the kingdom.

Paul similarly linked them in Acts 14:22 when he exhorted the saints to “continue in the faith, … saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’ ”

John was in prison on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea because of his loyalty to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.

But his prison became an anteroom of heaven as he received visions of glory and judgment.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Revelation 1:10–11 (HCSB)

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

John was in the Spirit, that is, walking in unclouded fellowship with Him and thus in a position to receive divine communications.

This reminds us that a person must be near to hear. “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him” (Ps. 25:14).

My Believer’s Bible Commentary says: It was on the Lord’s Day, that is, the first day of the week.

That was the day of Christ’s resurrection, of two subsequent appearances to His disciples, of the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost.

The disciples gathered to break bread on the Lord’s Day, and Paul instructed the Corinthians to take a collection on the first day.

Some think that John refers to the time of judgment about which he will be writing, but the expression is quite different in the original.

My BKC says: Some have indicated that “the Lord’s Day” refers to the first day of the week. However, the word “Lord’s” is an adjective and this expression is never used in the Bible to refer to the first day of the week. Probably John was referring to the day of the Lord, a familiar expression in both Testaments (cf. Isa. 2:12; 13:6, 9; 34:8; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Zeph. 1:7–8, 14, 18; 2:3; Zech. 14:1; Mal. 4:5; 1 Thes. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10).

And when it says,,, “In the Spirit” could also be rendered “in [my] spirit” (cf. Rev. 4:2; 17:3; 21:10). That is, he was projected forward in his inner self in a vision, not bodily, to that future day of the Lord when God will pour out His judgments on the earth.