Living in the Last Days

Revelation 1:1-3

The first five words of this book is actually the title- “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” So what is a revelation? What does it mean? We will be going over some basic information about Revelation and Bible Prophesy today that will help you as we dive deeper into the latter chapters of Revelation. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to join our Wednesday night Bible Study where we are currently in the book of Daniel. As we finish Daniel, and move into Ezekiel and Zechariah, you will find that studying these OT books of prophesy before you dive deep into Revelation will vastly help you understand and decode the symbolism in the latter part of Revelation. The word translated ‘Revelation’ (Apokalypsis) is the word from which we get the English word apocalypse. It means “an uncovering” or “to reveal.” The book of Revelation contains events that have been concealed but are now revealed.

The human author is John the apostle, who wrote 4 other books in the NT-the gospel of John and 1,2, and 3 John. He has reached further back into eternity past, and further into eternity future than any other human author. For more information on John, you can refer to 1 John. So who was Revelation originally written for? Was it written primarily as a book of prophesy? Or primarily as a biography of Jesus? No, it was originally written to the 7 churches of Asia-Minor (in the western part of modern day Turkey.) Revelation was written by John while he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, which was an island of volcanic rock in the Aegean Sea. As the last living apostle, John wrote the final book of the NT to reveal God’s prophetic plan for all of mankind. As a pastor, John wrote Revelation to the suffering churches to whom he had ministered in order to encourage them to faithfulness in Christ. The bulk of Revelation centers around the judgments and personalities of the 7 year Tribulation period (Rev. 4-19), but the book also outlines the course of the Church Age, (Rev. 2-3) and God’s plans for the Millennium and Eternity Future (Rev. 20-22).

So what is the theme of the book of Revelation? It’s the revelation of Jesus Christ. We are always asking ourselves for God or Jesus to show Himself to us. Well it’s been right here in front of us our entire lives. All we have to do is open up this book and read it. Revelation is Jesus revealing Himself to us. The book of Revelation was given to Jesus, who through the Holy Spirit, gave it to John to pass to his readers ‘things which must shortly come to pass.’ Revelation 1:1 “THE Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John” The word ‘shortly’ (tachos) means when the events begin to take place, they will take place in rapid succession- not that they will take place immediately. These events must be understood from the perspective of Heaven rather than Earth. The events that must shortly come to pass will occur in rapid succession in a brief period of time. They are imminent, but not necessarily immediate. Getting the most from studying Revelation requires keeping three things in mind.

1.) The Author-The Divine author is Jesus, who originally revealed the events in the book of Revelation by sending His angel to His servant John. The name of the angel is not given, but many believe it to be Gabriel, who also brought messages to Daniel, Zechariah, and Mary. Revelation was given to offer hope to believers enduring horrific persecution. John wrote in graphic symbols about the ultimate victory of Christ over Satan.

2.) The Application- Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” This is the first of seven beatitudes of the book. Revelation is the only book to promise a special blessing to he that readeth.... they that hear..... and keep those things which are written in it. The participles (verbs used as adjectives) readeth, hear, and keep are present tense. This means reading, hearing, and obeying the commands and principles found in this book are to be a way of life. It is not enough just to read or hear. We must keep God’s Word. The phrase ‘for the time is at hand’ reiterates that the events described in this book are imminent. The word translated ‘time’ (kairos) means season, era, or epoch. Another Greek word is (chronos) which we get the English word ‘chronology’ and it refers to time on a watch or calendar. Kairos refers to the final era of God’s plan for the redemption of the world. It describes a period of time rather than a point in time. The purpose of this study is not for us to point to a specific date on the calendar for the Second Coming of Christ. Acts 1:7 “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” Revelation was written to motivate us to live a holy life in a very unholy world.

3.) The Approach- There are 4 basic approaches to interpreting Revelation.

A.) The preteristic approach- Latin meaning ‘the thing that is past.’ This view teaches the events in this book have already been fulfilled in the distant past.

B.) The Allegorical Approach- (symbolic or idealistic) This view regards all the visions as an allegory of age old conflict between good and evil. It teaches neither historical or future events are specifically portrayed.

C.) The historical approach- This approach that the predictions cover the entire period between John’s day and the return of Christ. This view sees the visions as symbols of the rise of papacy, the corruption of the church, and various wars throughout history.

D.) The futuristic approach- This view interprets all events from chapter 4 on as future happenings. This is a more literal approach, interpreting judgments describes in chapters 6, 8, 9, and 16 as literal, future events expressed in symbolic terms. No events in history have come close to these. For example, when the first of four trumpets is blown, hail and fire mingled with blood are thrown down to the Earth. As a result, one third of the Earth was set on fire, one third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned up. This is literal and not symbolic. Those that object to the futuristic approach say that the book of Revelation would not have been a comfort to its original readers if it is largely furturistic. However, immediate application of distant events that reveal the ultimate victory of righteousness has been a source of comfort from the time of the OT prophets to believers today. Therefore, while in this series through Revelation, we will be using the futuristic approach. To get the most from this study, remember the author, the application, and the approach.

Note that there are no prophetic events that must precede the Rapture. All the signs in Scripture point to the Second Coming of Christ with His saints at the end of the Tribulation period. (seven years after the rapture) and not to the Rapture itself.