Intro to Revelation Part 1

A study on Revelation

Introduction to Revelation Part 1

Revelation 1:1-8

Theme: God lays out the preparation for the book.

Introduction: Mankind has always been fascinated with the future. Men have sought to know and predict the future. The prophetic book of Revelation is written with the future in mind but it is not written like history. We cannot know the future like we know history because there are many details that are only known by God.

God alone knows the future and while man may think he knows the future, he must surrender the future to God. The Bible is perfectly accurate to the future and there are many details that we just don’t know. This is my third time teaching through Revelation and much of the past information has changed. Not God’s Word but the seeming prophetic signs have.

In the early 70’s right after I accepted Christ, the study of the end times was at all-time high. There were men who were experts and have memorized the prophetic portions of Scripture. They would take current day events and say this is a fulfillment of this prophecy. There was a well-known evangelist in those days by the name of Jack Van Impe. He was called the “Walking Bible.” He memorized so many large passages of Scriptures that he rarely looked at his Bible when he was preaching. I personally went to his crusade with the church I attended and he made many predictions that were totally out of the perimeter of Scripture.

For instance, Revelation has several numbers in the passages which we will examine. This evangelist has used the numbering system to predict the rapture, the identity of the Antichrist, and nations which will be the key nations. There have been over the years many who have their own manufactured system of teaching prophecy.

Tonight, by way of introduction I want to give four considerations as we study this book.

1. I do not claim to know every minute detail nor do I consider myself any expert on prophecy.

2. The book of Revelation is authoritative and will not be fulfilled until God chooses to fulfill it.

3. God is the only authority that states what is fulfilled. There are some events which look like fulfillment of prophecy, but only God tells us this is fulfillment.

4. Be careful with predictors of prophecy because only God knows. No person has divine insight into fulfillment of prophecy or a “special” revelation from God.

“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:36) We must accept there are many prophetic events we will never know until God is ready to reveal it.

Since the book is rich with symbolism and prophecies there are four basic interpretative methods to understand the book.

1. Preterist-all the events in Revelation were fulfilled during the days of either Nero or Domitian. The book is prophetic only of that era. This view was developed by the Jesuits and is still held today by man in the Roman Catholic church and by some Protestants. This view reduces the book to no more than a relic of antiquity with no message for later generations.

2. Historical-this is a Postmillennial belief that Christ will return at the end of the millennial age. Revelation is a panorama of church history from the initiation of the apostolic era to the consummation of the age. This position was held by Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, and most of the reformers, except the Anabaptists. The multiplicity of interpretation of metaphors and symbols quickly becomes intolerably subjective.

3. Idealist-Amillennialism is the belief that there is no millennial reign of Christ on earth. The apocalypse is not to be construed as a representation of actual events, whether past or future. The book is only a symbol or metaphor to depict the great struggle between good and evil. This concept was spawned in the Alexandrian school of philosophy and theology by Origen and is maintained by a host of liberals and some conservative Bible students today. The wedding of pagan philosophy to Christian theology has never created a fruitful union. Nowhere is that clearer than in this method. The early Fathers of the Church are overwhelming in their support of Revelation as representing actual history in some sense.

4. Futuristic-Premillennialism-the belief that Christ will return to usher in the millennial age. (Our statement of faith). Beginning with chapter 4, the events described belong to the future age and constitute a marvelous prophecy of God’s program for the consummation of the age. This view has wide acceptance among evangelical believers around the world. Anabaptists of the Reformation era were futurists. Numerous church fathers from the initial Christian centuries also were advocates. The futuristic perspective is in perfect harmony with the message of the entire Bible. Far fewer interpretative enigmas are engendered by this approach.

The book of Revelation has 22 chapters, 404 verses, and 11,995 words. The author is John the Apostle who wrote the gospel of John, I, II, III John as well. There are several key words-revelation, Lamb, and the number seven is used 54 times.

Key verses: 1:19-20, 13:8

John wrote from the Isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea (1:9) just 18 miles off the western coast of Asia Minor.

The book is divided: 1:1-20-history, 2:1-3:22-present, and 4:1-22:21 future

There are four visions in the book:

Patmos-Christ in the churches: Son of Man

Heaven-Christ as the merciful Lamb: throne and the Lamb

Wilderness-Christ as the King and Victor: Woman and the Beast

Mountain-Christ as the Bridegroom in glory: New Jerusalem

There are around 550 references to OT passages. The book is a sequel to Daniel and Zechariah.

The book presents the visions of grace, visions of government and the visions of glory.

The scenes alternate between heaven and earth which fulfills the model prayer of Jesus “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The overarching characteristic: heaven no time so these events are not marked by times only by the will of God when He chooses to excute His plan.

Domitian became the Roman Emperor in 81 AD who was intellectual, bitter, and coneceited. The cult of Caesar worshipped thrived and Jewish communities suffered from intense persecution. The early believers who were zealous to spread the gospel became targets of Domitian’s reign. The persecution was very intense and we learn in Revelation to keep our focus on Christ.

The presentation of the book 1:1-3

It’s content v. 1

Verse 1—The revelation of Jesus Christ

Revelation is singular-is the title from the meaning of the Greek-apokalupsis. The term is a combination of two words-kalupto-to veil and apo-from-means to remove the veil or reveal.

Jesus Christ is what is unveiled-means revealed in this book is preeminently the glorified and enthroned Christ. Sequential visions prophesy the course of the age beginning with the Great Tribulation and culminating in eternity. The future kingdoms and movements are unmatched by the conquering Christ who comes in His full armor of glory.

This is not a revelation of John but it is a revelation TO John OF Jesus Christ. The book is filled with events that are related to the vindication and glory of Jesus Christ, the prominent One. “The book of the Revelation, above all other books, directs our whole being to the one grand Person of history, the preeminent and peerless Christ. (Strauss).

This prophecy was given nearly two thousand years ago but it is still future in fulfillment. This helps us appreciate the Scripture text which says

“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8)

The events will shortly come to pass-tells us when and how they will come. If one day is a thousand years, then patience must be exercised according to God’s plan. They will occur very speedily. Since the catastrophic events of this book are mostly Divine judgement, it is a warning that often Divine judgment comes so fast that the unbeliever will not have time to repent. We are told to be ready always.

The bottom line to the book: Jesus is coming when God chooses to send Him the second time.