Introduction - Revelation

Introduction

Ian Paul, Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel, vol. 20, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2018), 1.

Ian Paul gives an approach to Revelation that includes four important guidelines for study.

Give disciplined attention to the text itself.

Pay careful attention to the way John draws on the Old Testament and the way that he uses and reuses such words and ideas.

It is vital to understand how John’s message was understood by his original audience.

Make connections between the text and our contemporary world.

The Author

The author of Revelation names himself as “John” four times in the text (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8).

Early church tradition established John as John the Apostle, son of Zebedee.

Date

Revelation was written about A.D. 95, according to Irenaeus (about A.D. 180).

Recipients

Revelation was written to the churches in the Roman province of Asia, who show a mix of fidelity and internal weaknesses.

Occasion and Purpose

Under the inspiration of the Spirit and the Old Testament, John had no doubt been reflecting on the horrifying events occurring both in Rome and Jerusalem when he was given “the prophecy” of what was impending—the intensification of the spiritual warfare confronting the church (1:3) perpetrated by an anti-Christian state and numerous anti-Christian religions.

The purpose of this message was to provide pastoral encouragement to persecuted Christians by comforting, challenging, and proclaiming the sure and certain Christian hope, together with the assurance that in Christ they were sharing in the sovereign God’s method of totally overcoming the forces of evil in all its manifestations. Revelation is also an evangelistic appeal to those who are presently living in the kingdom of darkness to enter the Kingdom of Light (22:17).

Jack W. Hayford, ed., Spirit Filled Life Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1997), Re 1:1.

The Prologue

Revelation 1:1–3 ESV

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Revelation (ἀποκάλυψις)

The very first word of this book, apokalypsis (translated The revelation), sets the stage. The word means the uncovering of something hidden, the making known of what we could not find out for ourselves.

It makes plain that the book it introduces is not a book of human wisdom, nor for that matter a discussion of philosophical or theological problems. It is revelation. It is a setting forth of what God has made known.

Of Jesus Christ

This revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which could mean either that the revelation was made by Jesus Christ or that it was made about him or that it belongs to him. In one way or another all three are true. But in view of the following which God gave him we should probably understand it to mean possession. It is his revelation and that of no-one else that we are to read. And it came from God the Father. It is not a human, or even an angelic production.

To Show His Servants (δοῦλος)

This revelation is concerned with prediction. It is expressly said that it is to show God’s servants things that must happen soon. Soon is not defined. The exact expression occurs again in 22:6, and a similar one in 2:16; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20. This could mean that the fulfilment is expected in the very near future. But we must also bear in mind that in the prophetic perspective the future is sometimes foreshortened. In other words the term may refer to the certainty of the events in question. The Lord God has determined them and he will speedily bring them to pass. But this refers to his time, not ours, to the quality of the time rather than the quantity. With him one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day (2 Pet. 3:8). It is also possible that we should see the meaning as ‘suddenly’, i.e. ‘without delay when the time comes’.

These things must soon take place, but the emphasis here is not so much on the immediate nature of the events (the meaning of tachys in Matt. 5:25; Luke 15:22; and John 11:29) but on their suddenness when they come (en tachei; cf. Acts 12:7; Rom. 16:20).

Ian Paul, Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel, vol. 20, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2018), 59.

Sent through His Angel (ἀποστέλλω)

The revelation was not made directly by God to John. God ‘sent’ it through his angel and made it known, ‘signified’ it, where the verb is cognate with ‘sign’. We must not press the point, but it is natural to associate this with the many ‘signs’ narrated in the book. John calls himself God’s servant, i.e. ‘slave’, a designation Paul uses quite often (Rom. 1:1; etc.).

John Bore Witness to the Word of God (μαρτῠρέω)

Revelation is the record of what God has said to John through his angel and of what Jesus Christ has said to him. John saw the word and the testimony, a most appropriate way of putting it in a book like this where there are so many visions.

Blessed (μᾰκάριος)

This is the first of seven beatitudes scattered through the book (1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14).

We should not understand prophecy to mean ‘prediction’. The word does allow for prediction (and there is certainly a liberal element of prediction in this book), but basically it points to divine origin. The prophet was a man who could say, ‘Thus says the Lord.’ This book is from God. John proceeds to call not only for a hearing of it but for an observing of what is written in it. He does not wish merely to stimulate interest but to influence action. Scripture is a guide to conduct as well as the source of doctrine.

Leon Morris, Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 20, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987), 51–53.

Conclusion

The importance of responding is because the time is near, but John here uses kairos, suggesting moment, opportunity, rather than chronos, which has days and hours more in view. The phrase here is reminiscent of Jesus’ early preaching that ‘The time [kairos] has come, and the kingdom of God is near’ [engizō, from the same root as the word ‘near’ here], Mark 1:15, AT). In Aristotle’s theory of rhetoric, kairos referred to the moment when the speaker could persuade the listener and win him or her over. As you hear these words being read out, today, this is the day to respond (cf. Heb. 3:13).

Ian Paul, Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel, vol. 20, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2018), 60.