Sermon Tone Analysis

Jesus holds the Keys January 5, 2022

It has been just over a month since we have been in our study of end times, and I pray that God has moved in your life during our time of prayer and fasting.

I considered and prayed about continuing it, and if God leads you to continue praying and fasting, please be obedient to that, but I also believe we need to study God’s Word.

With that said, I am praying that you will learn from this study and will grow spiritually from this study.

This would be week 5, as we have been through 4 weeks prior to our prayer and fasting time.

Week 1 was an introduction to the study, week 2 we looked at what must soon take place and looked at the first three verses of chapter 1 of Revelation, week 3 we looked at symbols, signs and numbers and what they all meant in Revelations and end times, then in week 4 we looked at triumph of the Lamb, looking at Revelation 1:7-8 and also Ten Things John saw about the Lord who is to come.

Now tonight in week 5 of the study we will be looking at Jesus who holds the keys and we are going to start off, by looking at the title, target, group, subject, author, publisher, and dedication of the book of Revelation.

This may sound odd, but almost every book has these things, and when we examine these things, it opens us up to information that helps us to see the big picture of Revelation and end times.

Jesus Holds the Keys:

First is the title:

in verse one it states The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which literally means the unveiling or unfolding of Jesus Christ.

Second is the target group:

again Revelation 1:1 – The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants (slaves) what must soon take place.

The target group then is God’s servants (slaves).

In the Greek this word servant is doulo, which is given as servant here, but is more accurately translated as slaves or bondslaves.

In Bible times a bondslave was not always subdued against his will; sometimes he willingly submitted himself to another person.

Just like we willing submit to Jesus as Lord of our Life.

Servants have a way of becoming friends.

Servants know secrets.

When you become a servant of the Lord Jesus, you will experience intimacy with the Lord Jesus.

Revelation is a book written to Christ’s servants.

The only way you will understand this book or any book of the Bible is to submit yourself to Christ.

Third is the Subject:

Revelation 1:1 again, what must soon take place.

The subject is about things that will happen in the future.

People may say, well I do not understand what it means by things must soon take place.

How can that be?

That was two thousand years ago!

Well we need to understand the word soon or shortly.

It is the Greek word tachei from which we get a few English words, such as tachometer, a gadget that registers speed revolutions per time unit.

Also the word taxi, is another word.

We all know what a taxi is and does.

It gets us somewhere quickly.

The Greek word Tachei means quickly.

It means the events described will come suddenly.

The idea is not that these things will happen immediately but that they will burst upon the world rapidly when they do come.

We must understand that in the end times, history picks up speed.

Have you noticed the acceleration of technology in the last fifty years?

If you pick up your Bible with one hand and a newspaper in the other, you can tell that we are living in the closing shadows of the end of time.

Fourth is the Author:

Revelation 1:4 reveals the author - John: to the seven churches.

John was the author but he got the outline from God.

Where do most authors get the theme, the idea of their book, the outline from the publisher.

Fifth is the Publisher:

Revelation 1:4-5 reveals the publisher if you will, we could name it the Trinity Publishing Company.

“From the one who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”

Sixth is the Dedication:

Revelation 1:5-6 tells us who the Book of Revelation is dedicated too.

“To him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father - to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.