Podcast #498: "Revelation” by John Rich

Show Opening

You're Listening to 'More Than a Song,' Episode #498

[Play Intro of More Than a Song by DoubleWide]

[At 12 seconds ...] Hello and welcome to this episode of More Than a Song. My name is Michelle Nezat, and this is the podcast dedicated to helping you discover the truth of Scripture hidden in today's popular Christian music.

My goal is to teach you to connect portions of God's Word with the songs you are singing along with on the radio, to help you meditate on Truths that will transform your way of thinking and, ultimately, your life.

Intro

As we get started today, I want to bring your attention to a free resource that pairs with this episode. I’ve created an episode guide with Bible interaction tools built in to help you take what I introduce today and really dive in. Grab your Episode 498 guide at michellenezat.com/498download

And If you’ve already subscribed to my email list, this guide is already in your inbox, ready to help you discover and meditate on God’s Word in new ways.

My listener, Annette, drew my attention to this week’s song, “Revelation” by John Rich. If nothing else, it has me reading a book of the Bible that promises blessing on those who do.

Before we dive into this exciting book, let’s listen...

Song Clip

Oh, revelation

I can feel it coming like a dark train running

Oh, get ready

'Cause the King is coming

The King is coming back again

Content

When it comes to the book of Revelation, I have encountered all kinds of people. I have encountered some who are afraid of it. They don’t know how to read it…and when I say that, I don’t mean reading the words on the page…when they say that, they mean they don’t know how to interpret it. It’s a valid question. What am I supposed to do with this? They don’t know how to interpret it and so they don’t read it at all.

I’ve also encountered those that are so fascinated by it, they are consumed by commentary and discussion. Many times, these folks love the controversy and debate surrounding this book of the Bible. (To be honest, I think that often repels the first group I mentioned. They don’t know how to rightly interpret it, but they’re not interested in the controversy, so they avoid the book all together.)

And recently I’ve been challenged on my own viewpoints. These haven’t kept me from reading the book, but maybe they have kept me from diving too deep. And that is the idea that the things in the book are going to happen in whatever way and order they do, and we’ll just be along for the ride. I can’t change the outcome, nor do I want to necessarily, and I’m not sure what understanding it fully does for me. I do want to address this viewpoint and how my perspective has shifted since studying in preparation for this podcast.

I’m sure there are other viewpoints along the spectrum, but let’s boil it down.

if I hear a song about Revelation and I think about the task God has given me with this podcast, then my job today is to get you to read the text of Revelation for yourself.

Listen to this.

Revelation 1:1–3 “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, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 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.”

Blessed is the one who read aloud the words of this prophecy. Blessed are those who hear. And blessed are those who keep what is written in it.

Three blessings

More than anything I want you to read this book of the Bible for yourself. But a close second is for you to have a clear understanding of why it matters. The New Testament writers mention over and over their “so what’s” in the form of “Therefore’s” and “For this reasons” And We are going to look at those.

But to get started, I want to give you some inspiration for reading the book of Revelation, and even if you have read it, a way to read it in a new way this time.

First of all, did you hear it in the opening verses of the book? John, the apostle who recorded this revelation of Jesus Christ encourages us to read the words aloud. That’s a BITE!

Reading scripture aloud is a Bible Interaction Tool Exercise that I have encouraged you to use before.

Beware! You are entering a fantastical and vibrant story. When you read this text aloud you will read about throne rooms, destruction, and dragons.

Verses like Revelation 4:2–3 “At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.”

Revelation 6:14 “The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.”

or like Revelation 12:7 “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,”

If this is the first time you have read Revelation, just follow the first BITE of reading the text aloud.

If you’ve read Revelation before and want to embark on my suggestion of reading it in a new way, then take the BITE of starting with God.

The concept of Starting With God comes from my friend Dr. Matthew Harmon’s book Asking the Right Questions. He encourages us to approach any text of the Bible by

I’m going to include a couple of resource links in the shownotes. First, is the Friday With Friends interview I did with Dr. Harmon in 2023. You can find that at michellenezat.com/matthewharmon or on my YouTube channel @michellenezattv

But I also recently discovered a complete online video course where Dr. Harmon teaches through all of the concepts in the book. I’ll link to that in the shownotes.

But when we start with God we are looking for his character, his conduct, and his concerns.

It’s funny. Because when we read the Bible, and especially Revelation, we often jump to what’s in it for me? What is going to happen to me? Why should this matter to me? But when we start with God, we reorient our thinking toward God.

Why does this matter to Him? What are HIS plans? What’s going to happen to HIM? Why does it matter to HIM?

That’s how I want you to read Revelation this time. Start with God…specifically start with Jesus. What do you learn about Him? What aspects of His character are revealed? What is He doing? What is He concerned with?

I read this in the commentary Exalting Jesus in Revelation.

Exalting Jesus in Revelation (When God Speaks from Heaven (Revelation 1:1–8))

Revelation is a book that has puzzled, confused, and frustrated the minds of the best biblical scholars. Neither John Calvin nor Martin Luther wrote a commentary on it, and Luther was quite harsh in his evaluation of Revelation’s value, saying,

My spirit cannot accommodate itself to this book. There is one sufficient reason for the small esteem in which I hold it—that Christ is neither taught nor recognized. (Preface to Luther’s Bible, 1522)

I jumped at this quote. Because I had been reading through Revelation again at this point and I found that statement to be alarmingly false.

Jesus is absolutely taught and unwaveringly recognized.

The commentator went on to say what I was feeling.

Exalting Jesus in Revelation When God Speaks from Heaven (Revelation 1:1–8)

Wow! One wonders if Luther was reading the same book we have in our Bible. Revelation is certainly a mystery, but it is also a masterpiece. It does not constitute an unsolvable puzzle but contains a definite promise and a magnificent portrait of the coming again of the Lord Jesus.

And THAT is where our study pairs with our song. The chorus says, “oh, get ready. The king is coming back again.”

YES! That should thrill your soul as you dive into the mystery.

So, read the text aloud and start with Jesus.

I would pair these BITEs with taking the BITE of journaling your discoveries.

Even if it takes you some time, on the other side of it you will have pages of notes about our King who is coming back again.

Let me get you started in your discovery.

Just in verses 4 and 5 of chapter 1 I learn this about Jesus.

who was who is and who is to come - if I were to write this in my notes, I would write down the exact words of Scripture and put 1:4 in parentheses and then add my own interpretation of this name of Christ. This reflects the eternality of Christ. You might put timeless. Or infinite. But Jesus is not created He is eternal. He is God. You may refer back to a creed to say he was “begotten not made”. Whatever you put in your own journal. This is worth noting, don’t you think?

faithful witness - at this point I might take my time to define the word faithful. A few synonyms I found in a quick search include, dependable, steadfast, reliable, trustworthy, steady, incorruptible. All things I know to be true about my Savior. But He is not just described as faithful here, but a faithful witness. A witness can give testimony or attest to a fact or an event. Let’s go back to the last thing we learned about Jesus. He is eternal. He was, He is, and He is to come. We can trust his testimony. We can trust His revelation that He is giving John. We may not completely understand it. But we stand on the words of our faithful witness.

firstborn of the dead - I’m thinking of another place in Scripture here where Jesus was referred to as “firstborn from the dead,” so I may take the BITE of following the cross reference to Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” BUT let’s say you’ve never heard this name of Jesus. You can just log it in your notes and put a question mark by it to explore later. I give you permission to write down things you don’t understand. Trust me, there will be enough in your notes that you DO understand that it will become a thrilling treasure hunt to learn more.

ruler of the kings on earth

loves us

freed us from our sins by his blood

This is all in TWO verses. I’m still shaking my head at Martin Luther. Christ is neither naught nor recognized my foot.

Just follow this pattern and make your way through this book and see all that you can learn about Jesus as you are shown the things that must soon take place.

We’re going to take verse 7 from chapter one and chapter 22 and add a few things to our journal and then use it as a jumping off point to answer the question I asked at the top of the episode. The “so what” question.

Revelation 1:7 “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”

Revelation 22:7 ““And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.””

Our song and this book reminds us that the king is coming back again. And the so what isn’t so that we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt what every image means in Revelation or completely understand the timeline, but so that WE’LL BE READY.

Jesus Himself says that we are to be aware of the details of His return so that we’ll know that he is near. Matthew 24:33 “So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” Matthew 24:42 “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” and then He goes on to teach parables of what it looks like for servants who are ready and those who are not ready.

And Jesus takes this readiness seriously.

Just listen

Matthew 24:48–51 “But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The next parable talks of ten virgins going to meet the bridegroom. 5 were ready and 5 were not (in fact they are identified as foolish).

Listen to how it ends up for them.

Matthew 25:11–13 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

The next parable is about the master and the talents he distributes to his servants. Three servants were illustrated here and two got the coveted response “well done” and the third…well…just listen how it ended up for him.

Matthew 25:30 “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

These are illustrations of what will happen when Christ returns. There are dire warnings here and they are all for servants of the king.

I just don’t think we take the actual words of Scripture seriously enough sometimes. Jesus wants servants who are ALL IN and ready for his return.

Paul teaches us that we are to ENCOURAGE one another with the details of Christ’s return. 1 Thessalonians 4:18 “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” and then gives the same warning Jesus gave. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 “So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”

When you spend some time in Thessalonians you see Paul encouraging his readers to not only stay alert, but armor up. 1 Thessalonians 5:8–11 “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

We won’t avoid the battle, but we are assured the victory.

Peter joins Paul in his admonishment. 1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”

In Peter’s second letter he refers to the pending destruction that the coming of the Lord will bring. In chapter 3 he goes into great detail…some of the details you will read in Revelation. But in verse 14 Peter includes a therefore.

He gives us our SO WHAT. We read about the heavens and the earth passing away. We read about fire and destruction. We read about souls perishing for eternity.

Peter says there’s a SO WHAT in all of this. A “this is how you should respond.” In light of what is coming we should be recognized by lives of holiness and godliness.

2 Peter 3:14 “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

This life of holiness and godliness will take diligence. Our salvation is not a heaven card we put in our pocket to continue to live as if our sins were not paid for by the very blood of Christ. Eating and drinking as in the days of Noah as if Jesus isn’t coming back.

Peter also issues this warning in the same part of the letter…2 Peter 3:17 “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.”

If there is a warning here, it is because it is possible that what he warns will happen could happen.

You will be tempted to be carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. That is absolutely going to be a possibility and one that you must guard against by STAYING AWAKE, BEING SOBER MINDED, AND EXPECTING THE RETURN OF CHRIST AND ALL THAT IT ENTAILS.

But Jude gives us an encouragement along these lines. Jude 24–25 “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

We are at risk of losing our stability and stumbling, but Jesus is able to keep us from stumbling. We are to be holy and godly, and it is only through abiding in Christ that we are able.

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

So, What’s Next?

My challenge to you is to read the words of Revelation for yourself. Read them out loud. Keep your antenna up for all that you can learn about Jesus—His character, conduct, and concerns in the last days. Then, as you read and study in other areas of the New Testament, look for how the New Testament authors think we should respond to the truth that our King is coming back again. “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

Calls to Action

While you're in God's Word, let me know how you are doing! I’ve added a new feature to my podcast where you can text the show! It’s a one way text, so if you want me to respond, you can still email me at [e-mail], but if you just want to send me a message, click the link in the shownotes.

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More Than a Song is a proud member of the NRT Podcast Network. Check out other podcasts in the network and Christian music resources at NewReleaseToday.com

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Show Closing

{outro music}

Well, that's it for this episode of “More Than a Song" {drop level to -14.2}

Next time I will be featuring "That's My King” by CeCe Winans to dive into Scripture.

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“Until next time, take time to meditate on God's Word and consider His ways.” {fade out music}