The Book of Revelation

Introduction

Nearly 2 years ago, we began considering God’s Story in Scripture. We sought to consider a bit of the overarching story of scripture as we looked at each book of the Bible. We did this in order to sort of lay a Biblical foundation together.

We started with:

Creation - thinking through the foundation that God started it all. He is the one who spoke the universe into existence. He is the source of all life (including the first humans) and the designer of all that we see and can know.

Corruption - the first humans rebelled against God’s good decrees, causing sin to enter into the world - a sin that exists in all humanity.

Catastrophe - Because of the rampant sin in humanity - God caused a global flood to cover the earth.

Confusion - even after much of the restart of creation with a singular family, sin was still present and the rebellion of humanity caused God to confuse the languages - dispersing people throughout the world. much of the OT is in this section. We also got to see how God instituted...

Covenants with various individuals and the people of Israel.

As we came to the NT, we got to learn about

Christ and the..

Cross - in the gospels.

the Church in Acts and the epistles. - this is the age in which we live.

Today, as we come to the last book of the Bible we get a glimpse at

Consummation - when God will be fully united with his people and will cause his Kingdom to be fully realized.

Background

Author and Time

Right near the beginning of the book, the author identifies himself as John (Rev. 1:4). Traditionally, this is understood to be the Apostle of Jesus - one of the sons of Zebedee. As we learned a few weeks ago, in his later years, John served as a sort of regional overseer, serving several different churches in Asia.

It is likely this was written during the reign of Domitian around 95AD.

Audience

After some opening remarks, John communicates that he was given a mandate to write what he saw and send it to the seven churches - Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Rev. 1:11).

This message was to be sent around to those churches and read aloud.

Organization

With all of the fantastic imagery and beauty of the book, there is sort of a simple outline - and it is represented in an opening declaration from God and then repeated in the praises around the throne that John sees in Heaven.

What was (Ch. 1)

What is (Ch. 2-3)

What is to come (Ch. 4-22)

John records this declaration from God:

Revelation 1:8 ESV

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

God, being the source of all things, the beginning and the end, is the source of this message.

A bit later on, John gets a glimpse into the heavenly throne room and hears the praise that is repeated:

Revelation 4:8 (ESV)

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

Some interesting elements

If you’ve read the book, you’ll notice that there are a lot of fantastic images. There are creatures with numerous horns and eyes. There are creatures with the head of one type of animal and a body of something else. This a throne room. There are dragons and other beasts.

Many of these images find their roots in OT literature - Daniel and Ezekiel especially. Some commentators suggest that the initial audience would have recognized those creatures from their early religious education - almost as a fulfillment of what the prophets foretold centuries before.

It’s easy to get caught up into all of the imagery and try to decipher what’s happening. There are a variety of schools of thought that seek to interpret all of that imagery. In many ways, any interpretation of that is educated guessing.

Today, as we walk through the book, we’re going to look more at the broad brush strokes. We’ll see a bit of the imagery and their implications, but we’ll focus on the broader themes.

One thing that I found quite interesting is the contrast between what John heard and what he saw.

The Voice and the Lampstand

Revelation 1:10–16 ESV

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

Lion and the Lamb

After seeing into the heavenly throne room, John hears one description of someone who can open the scrolls and sees something completely different.

Revelation 5:1–6 ESV

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

John was expecting to see someone strong - a lion - and yet he sees a lamb - which seems to indicate that this battle is not waged in ways that we would understand. There is so much more to this than we recognize.

The Sealed and the Assembly

In the midst of some of the great judgments that are happening, there is a sort of pause in order to seal or protect the people of Israel.

Revelation 7:2–4 ESV

Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

He saw the angel and heard the declaration - 144,000 - sort of like a military census (cf. Num. 1; ref. Bible Project). After the listing of 12,000 from each of the tribes, John continues:

Revelation 7:9–10 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

It’s not simply an army of 144,000, but it is a vast array of people who have been redeemed by the lamb - people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

I point these differences out because I think it seems like what John hears is what he expects (a being with a powerful voice, a great warrior, a powerful army), but what he sees is the reality that God’s ways are not our ways. He fights and wins, but He does so in ways that we don’t fully understand. The churches (or the lampstands) at the beginning have significance for God’s Kingdom. The Lion who conquers is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The military strength of the Kingdom is not limited to those from one people group, but rather those who have been redeemed - everywhere. His Kingdom is bigger and more expansive than John expected.

As we dive into a bit more of the message of Revelation, I want us to consider the message by considering three questions (who is on the throne? what is he going to do? what will we do about it?).

First of all...

Who is on the throne?

John is given several visions and dreams where he gets to see a variety of things - a lamb, a storm, a city and a glorious throne room (Dever). What we learn in the book of Revelation is that

God is on the throne - with

the Lamb (Jesus) by his side.

The storm is the unleashing of his wrath and

the city is vision of a new creation.

Ultimately, Revelation is a revealing of or about Jesus. God is ruling over everything, but Jesus is acting, fulfilling the mission of God’s Kingdom.

Emperor Domitian, the ruler of the Roman Empire at that time, had decreed that when people would enter his presence, they were required to say “you are worthy.” (Dever, 534). So when John sees this picture of a heavenly throne and hears the praise around the throne directed toward God, this sort of becomes a rallying cry or source of encouragement for the church.

In Chapters 2-3, John is instructed to write to the seven churches. For some, he provides a commendation - an encouragement for the work that they are doing. For others, he provides a correction - scolding them for compromise.

While I believe that these churches were real churches, the battles they face are battles that all churches will face. (ESVSB, p. 2465)

Ephesus: was commended for their doctrinal stance and endurance, but they had lost their first love (Rev. 2:1-7)

(possible story of meeting with “Albatross” (Nighthawk’s dad at Cedarbrook camp) and his adoption of kids with special needs - being let down by much of the evangelical church)

Smyrna: endured persecution and was spiritually rich, they were encouraged to be faithful to the end (Rev. 2:8-11)

Pergamum: did not deny their faith and remained loyal to Christ, but endured false teaching (Rev. 2:12-17)

Thyatira: they were growing in love, but lacked discernment and tolerated heresy (Rev. 2:18-29)- in many ways we could see this as we allow varying social concerns to dictate our theology.

Sardis: some remain pure and loyal, but their works were dead - maybe going through the motions (Rev. 3:1-6)

Philadelphia: patiently endured and remained loyal (Rev. 3:7-13)

Laodicea: “spiritually blind, bankrupt…lukewarm” (Rev. 3:14-22)

So, I guess what each of these churches had to recognize and what we need to ask ourselves...

Who is on the throne of the church?

There are pressures that we will face and are called to endure. Will we remain true and faithful? Will we patiently wait until the final consummation? Or will we buckle to loyalties in this world?

So, as we consider the book of Revelation, no only do we ask the question, who is on the throne?

Secondly, we get to ask...

What is He going to do?

When John sees the throne room, he sees one “like the son of man” sitting on the throne and in his hand is a scroll that has seven seals. This is more than just a sticky seal that we might put on a letter, but these seven seals are like wax seals that have been poured onto the the scroll and stamped with a signet. Since the Lamb is the one who is truly worthy to open the scroll, to unlock the seals, He gets to do so. With each seal, there are new judgments or terrors that are released on the world. These judgments are released three series of seven judgments - or roughly 21.

These judgments begin with:

Seven seals (Rev. 6-8a) - during these judgments, there are great plagues poured out on the earth represented by four horsemen who unleash war, conquest, famine and death on great portions of the earth. There are six initial seals opened that have escalating furies. After a break, the seventh seal encapsulates the next series of furies, which are announced by...

Seven Trumpets (Rev. 8b-11) - There are elements of these plagues that are reminiscent of the the plagues that took place in Egypt in the book of Exodus - hail, blood, poisoned water, darkness, locusts. As with the first set, there are six initial trumpets, a brief break, or parenthesis, and then a final, seventh trumpet which contains...

Seven Bowls (Rev. 15-16) - like the seven trumpets, the seven bowls seem to bring pictures of the plagues of Egypt, leading some commentators to believe that these series of sevens are not progressive but rather re-statements or repetitions.

Whatever nature of these furies or plagues, the result is clear - there will be a great final battle where Jesus will defeat the principalities and powers of this world and martyrs will be vindicated.

As these are released, we find that the Lamb is...

… judging his adversaries

As we read through the book, as I mentioned before, it’s easy to want to go right into “decoding” the symbolism. We want to try to figure out exactly what all of the creatures are and how they fit in to everything and when everything will happen. But in doing so, we may fail to see the true storyline and be able to trust that Jesus will actually unleash judgments on his adversaries. The symbols that make us look back to the Old Testament help us to have confidence that this will happen in the future.

Ultimately, there will be a final point of judgment when Satan and all those who follow him will be eternally punished.

Revelation 20:11–15 ESV

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Not only do we find that he is judging his adversaries and the principalities in this world, but we find that these judgments ultimately reveal...

… justice for Jesus’ people

in pouring out these judgments, Jesus is bringing justice or vindication for his people - especially for those who have been martyred for the faith.

Revelation 19:1–3 ESV

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

Ultimately this justice will bring relief from the persecution. The one who is ultimately in charge is not those who have hurt the church or the followers of Christ.

So we’ve considered, who is on the throne (God), and what is He going to do - but we also are forced to ask...

What will we do about it?

With all of the imagery and symbolism, it’s easy to look at the future and think “God’s got this” - and not make any change. I believe that part of what the book of Revelation does is that it forces people to ask - “what will we do about what will happen?”

Practically speaking, we must look at the our response from two different perspectives. First of all..

Christians

Will we remain faithful? remember - the early Christians - those who first received this letter were living in a culture that worked against them. It was illegal to be a Christian. persecution was expected. Faithfulness was a challenge. As our culture continues to move away from God (which, in reality, it doesn’t need to, if we are doing our job) - will we hold fast and remain faithful?

Revelation 14:12 ESV

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Resist worldly pressures to deny Christ - I believe that part of the purpose of the early letters is for us to recognize that we are or can be each of those early churches. We can move from our first love. We can compromise our convictions. We can go through the motions. We can also resist the temptations that are around us.

Wait - Revelation and other parts of scripture give us hope that there will be a day when Christ will return, a day when God will ultimately realize His reign in this world and dwell with us. Oh what a day that will be!

new city - holy of holies (Dever) - a picture of that place that only priests were allowed to enter once a year - a place where we will get to live eternally.

But, I believe the message of Revelation is for Christians and..

Non-Christians

I believe that part of the call of revelation is for those who are far from God. It is a call to come.

Revelation 3:20 ESV

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

These words were actually written to the church of Laodicea- the lukewarm church - but I believe they can be applied to those who are far from God. Jesus is standing at your door - the door of your heart - will you let him come in?

In addition to an invitation - there is a warning - these things will happen - there will be a time when God will be done with it all, when He will judge the world and He will judge you and me. Ultimately - it will come down to those whose names are written in the “Lamb’s book of life” and those who are not.

Revelation 20:11–14 ESV

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

There will come a day when you and I will have to give an account for what we have done. Our names can only be written in the Lamb’s book of life if we have responded to the call of God - if we have responded by faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us. Have you done that? Have you responded? Will you today trust in what Jesus has done?

Gospel - write this down on a page - G.O.S.P.E.L (the Christian artist Propaganda coined this acronym):

God - created everything just the way he wanted to

Our - this is all of us - everyone in creation - we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Sin - sin requires death - God offered his perfect son as the perfect substitute for our sin.

Paying - his life for ours - the perfect replacement

Everyone - it’s sufficient for the whole world - (John 3:16) -

Life - purposeful life and eternal life

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Friend - will you respond today? The things in this book are a picture of things that will happen. God has proven himself faithful in the past - he will be faithful in the future. Will you allow your name to be written in the lamb’s book of life?

Jesus says...

Revelation 22:12–13 ESV

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Respond today!

Memory Verse: Rev. 21:3-4

Revelation 21:3–4 ESV

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Benediction

Revelation 22:21 ESV

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

References:

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/revelation/

Crossway Bibles. The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.

Dalrymple, Rob. Follow the Lamb: A Guide to Reading, Understanding, and Applying the Book of Revelation. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018.

Dever, Mark the Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005

Gromacki, Robert G. New Testament Survey. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1974.