JESUS UNVEILED

INTRODUCTION:

Revelation 1:1–3 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

Heaven is God’s space, where full reality exists, close by our ordinary (‘earthly’) reality and interlocking with it. One day heaven and earth will be joined together for ever, and the true state of affairs, at present out of sight, will be unveiled.

N. T. Wright

The word “revelation” is a translation of the Greek apokalypsis, meaning “an unveiling” or “a disclosure.”

John Walvoord

TRUTH: The Lord Jesus Christ is the most important person to have ever lived.

TRUTH: The Bible is the most important book that to have ever been written.

1. THE SUPREME SUBJECT = THE REVEALING (UNVEILING) OF JESUS CHRIST

John 17:8 “for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.”

Revelation Introduction (1:1–3)

This claim excludes the possibility that this prophecy is human speculation or mere religious reflection. Contemporary interpreters must make a decision. Either John is conveying to his readers precisely what God said, or else he is guilty of prevarication. Any patronizing suggestion that John was mistaken, though sincere in thinking that he heard from God, is inadequate.

2. THE SOVEREIGN SOURCE = GOD THE FATHER

3. THE STATED PURPOSE = TO REVEAL TO HIS SERVANTS THE THINGS WHICH WILL SOON TAKE PLACE

4. THE SPIRITUAL MEDIATOR = HIS ANGEL TO/THROUGH JOHN

5. THE SURE PROMISE = BLESSING TO THOSE WHO:

READ THE WORDS OF THIS PROPHECY

HEAR THE WORDS OF THIS PROPHECY

HEED (KEEP) THE WORDS OF THIS PROPHECY

6. THE SURPRISING URGENCY = THE TIME IS NEAR (AT HAND)

NOTE: If these things were near at hand in 95 AD, how much nearer are they today, in 2024!?

Revelation Introduction (1:1–3)

Because those times will embrace both cataclysmic judgment and costly witness, the message revealed is vital.