Book of Revelation Chapter 1.

THE BOOK OF REVELATION.

VISION 1:- THE SEVEN CHURCHES.

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.

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1:1-8. Introduction. Greetings.

1:1-3. Introduction.

REV 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

REV 1:2 who testifies to everything he saw- that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

REV 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

1:1 "revelation"

(i) Word Definition.

Greek:- Apokalypsus = an unveiling, disclosure, manifestation.

Used in three main ways in the N.T.:

a) The revelation of truth that was hidden in the O.T., but now clearly revealed in the N.T.

Romans 16:25.

Ephesians 3:3.

b) Personal Illumination.

1 Corinthians 14:6,26.

2 Corinthians 12:1,7.

Ephesians 1:7.

c) The Second Coming, with its associated events.

Luke 17:30.

Romans 8:18,19.

1 Peter 1:7,13 4:13.

1 Corinthians 1:7.

2 Thessalonians 1:7.

In this sense the word means, "The Second Coming of Jesus Christ in power and Glory, at the end of the Tribulation to set up his kingdom on earth.”

The Book of Revelation has shades of all of these meanings, but primarily the word means the Second Coming.

(ii) The Book is a REVELATION.

Many say that it is a mystery, but the name of the book tells us otherwise. However if we approach it with the wrong attitude it will be a mystery.

(iii) REVELATION is an APOCALYPTIC.

The name also tells us what type of book, or literature, REVELATION is. This is a class of literature which flourished in Judaism after the closing of the OT canon Daniel is really the only OT example of this literature, but there are many others coming from the inter-Testament period. REVELATION seems to have been the last produced in this series of books, it is God's final word.

Apocalyptic has several features:

(1) They are highly symbolic - in fact it is unlikely that anything in them is meant to be taken literally.

However in this class of literature there was a set of common symbols that come through. There are five main sources of this symbolism:

(a) Astrology.

(b) The religious mythology of the Ancient Near East, which is closely related to Astrology.

(c) The Old Testament.

(d) Apocalyptic literature itself.

(e) Other Jewish writings, including the Apocrypha.

(2) They are Messianic - they look to the coming of the Messiah and his kingdom.

(3) Usually written under a pseudonym - though REVELATION, Daniel and Enoch appear to be exceptions to this.

(4) They reveal hidden things about the spiritual world.

Virtually everything we know about the spiritual realm is taken from apocalyptic literature. The OT is remarkably silent about the spiritual realm, and the NT simply borrows ideas from popular Jewish apocalyptic.

(5) They reveal things about the future, and the true meaning of events in history, particularly those leading up to the End.

REVELATION definitely fits into this class of literature.

"of Jesus Christ"

It is not John's revelation, but Christ's. This could mean, “It belongs to Christ” or it could mean, “It is a revelation about Christ”. Both are actually true.

"which God gave him"

God is the ultimate source of this revelation.

"to show his servants"

REVELATION is not a book that can be understood by anybody. There are two major qualifications to understanding it:

(i) One must be a "servant" (Greek “slave”) of Christ.

(ii) One must be a "witness" (Greek “martyr”), i.e. be prepared to give your all for Christ.

"what must soon take place"

REVELATION is a prophecy of the future - it says so.

"soon"

Greek = hitache - which is to do with SPEED of events, hence: tachometer = a device for measuring speed.

The Greeks had another word for proximity, or nearness, of time. Hence we must understand this to mean that "when these events take place they will happen quickly". John is not saying that they were going to happen shortly, i.e. soon to his lifetime, rather that they will happen quickly when they happen.

"He made it known by sending his angel"

One of the prime functions of Angels is to bring knowledge to us. Examples of this are found in Daniel 8:16, 9:21 & Luke 1:11,26 etc.

"to his servant John"

There is no good reason for thinking that this was anyone else but the Apostle.

1:2 "Who bore witness...to all he saw"

Not just this vision, but also the things recorded in his Gospel.

1:3 "blessed..."

This is the only book of the Bible to carry a special blessing on the reading, hearing and doing of it - yet it is the least read, and is generally not thought of as a "doing" book as it is a prophecy.

This should suggest to us:

(i) There are plenty of things in this book we can "do". In particular it teaches us things about the world and the spiritual realm we need to be aware of and avoid.

(ii) We need to read it more often. It is foolish to miss out on a blessing that is so easily obtained.

(iii) God must have known what our natural feelings towards the book would be like, so he has given us special warning not to neglect this book. It is often said, "Familiarity breeds contempt". This is partially true about REVELATION. Because the meaning of it is not immediately obvious people treat it with a sort of contempt. However perseverance in reading and meditating on it brings a reward in understanding and in character change that cannot be obtained any other way. A casual familiarity has bred contempt, but a real familiarity breeds respect.

"reads aloud"

In ancient times there was no other way of reading.

Ambrose, Bishop of Milan in the third century was renowned for his "silent reading". It was such a new and unknown phenomenon that many were frightened by his unique ability. Others were in awe of him because of it. Even today in the third world reading is normally done aloud.

Reading aloud is important. The vocalising of the word is confession, and confession of the word causes it to come true in some mysterious way. God wants us to be aware that the end is going to come, but by our reading out loud the predetermined events we, in some mysterious way, cause them to come to pass.

"and keep what is written within"

REVELATION is not ethereal knowledge, mystic truth that has no relevance to living. We are to "do it".

"the time is near"

Even as a day in God's sight is like 1000 years. It was near then, it is nearer now.

1:4-8. Greetings.

REV 1:4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,

REV 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

REV 1:6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father- to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

REV 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

REV 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

1:4,5(a). John's Greeting.

"the seven Churches in the province of Asia."

These were not the only Churches in Asia Minor (today called Turkey), but were chosen as representative of the Churches there. The particular selection of these seven was determined by the events happening in them. See later for comments on this point.

"Grace"

The regular Greek greeting, which in Christian literature has become loaded with extra meaning. Grace is the free, unmerited favour of god given to man and received by faith. It sums up the fullness of what God has done for us in Christ. (John 1:14,17).

"Peace"

The regular Hebrew greeting, and means the state of Peace and Wholeness which comes from living in fellowship with God.

"from him who was, and is, and is to come"

This phrase always denotes God the Father in REVELATION, and is an important title of God in the book. It is full of meaning.

(i) It speaks of his eternal nature - He is and was and always shall be.

(ii) c/f 1:8, 4:8, 11:17, 16:4.

Notice that in 16:4 the phrase "and is to come" is missing. The context here is earth after the Second Coming. God has therefore already come so the phrase is omitted. Hence the phrase "and is to come" has a reference to the Second Coming. It can therefore be translated "the Coming One". This is an ancient Messianic title, but the reality is it is not only Christ who is coming, the Father is also!

"and from the seven spirits"

In REVELATION the Holy Spirit is never seen as a distinct unitary person, rather we have a more OT concept where the Spirit is multifaced, and is really GOD IN ACTION.

(i) The Seven fold spirit - Isaiah 11:2,3 Zechariah 3:9.

(ii) Seven, in REVELATION, symbolises totality, i.e. this is the whole Spirit.

(iii) There is a direct link in REVELATION between the seven spirits, the seven angels and the seven stars (i.e. Planets), as we shall see later. It is as if the seven archangels are really manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

"who are before his throne"

(i) In REVELATION it is always the Father who is on the throne. Christ is never pictured as such.

(ii) The seven spirits, i.e. the Holy Spirit is (Greek literally) "always before God's throne". This contradicts the Dispensational viewpoint that the appearance of the Holy Spirit in Heaven in ch 4 proves the rapture has taken place by then. In fact the Holy Spirit is always everywhere at once, so is always in God's presence, even while active on earth.

(iii) The real message here is that the Holy Spirit is before God, always ready to do his bidding.

1:5 "and Jesus Christ"

The whole Trinity is involved in this disclosure of God's purposes.

"the faithful witness"

1 Timothy 6:13, Psalms 89:37, Revelation 3:14.

He is the one who was totally faithful in his witness, even unto death. Hence the word for witness (Greek = Martyr) came to mean "one who dies for a cause".

"the first born of the dead"

1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Colossians 1:15, Romans 3:14.

The title "first born" has a cultural meaning that is not immediately obvious to us today. The first born son had a special role in the family. He was to take care of the family should the father die. For this reason he received a greater inheritance than any of the other brothers. He received a double portion of the inheritance. The first born son also had special authority in the family. On reaching adulthood he could assume all the authority of the Father.

So the title "first born" really means "the prime (or even "sole") heir". It is not a reference in the N.T. to the birth process, but rather is a reference to the rights, responsibilities and privileges that the first born has as Heir. It is therefore a title of STATUS.

Hence here we are not to ask questions about whether Jesus is subordinate to God, the title is really speaking about his equality with God as the first born.

Here the title is modified "The first born of the dead", meaning that he is the heir of all that has died, i.e. in himself. He is the one with complete authority over life and death, and in particular over those who have accepted his death on their behalf. It is these who will inherit the New Heavens and Earth which John will talk to us about later. Of all of these in the new order to come Christ is the Heir, i.e. he has complete authority in the New Age.

"the ruler of kings on earth"

Not only ruler of the age to come, Christ is now ruler of the present age.

c/f Matthew 4:7-9 - Satan had the kingdoms, but now they are Christ's. Hence we are to see an implication in this title that Christ is ruler of:

(i) The earthly kings.

(ii) The Satanic Princes that motivate the earthly rulers (see Ephesians 6).

1:5(b)- 7. Doxology.

1:5 "To him who loves us"

Present tense.

"and has freed us from our sins by his blood"

Past tense.

1:6 "and has made us to be a kingdom..."

Past tense.

"a kingdom and priests to our God"

It is a kingdom made up of priests. All the believers in Christ are priests. To reign as a king we have to learn to serve as a priest.

"to serve his God and Father"

God is the God of Christ.

1:7 The Second Coming.

The theme of the book.

"he is coming on the clouds"

1:8. God's Greeting.

God sets his seal of approval on the book.

"Alpha and Omega"

The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It could imply:

() God sums up all knowledge.

(ii) God is the beginner and ender of everything.

"the Almighty".

The all-powerful ruler.

1:9-20. John Commissioned as a Prophet.

REV 1:9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

REV 1:10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

REV 1:11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

REV 1:12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

REV 1:13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.

REV 1:14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.

REV 1:15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.

REV 1:16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

REV 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

REV 1:18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

REV 1:19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

REV 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

1:9. Three things we share in Christ:

(i) "The Suffering", or tribulation. This is the lot of God's people in this age.

John 16:33 Acts 14:22.

(ii) "The Kingdom". It is already present, it came in Christ. But it is hidden to all but the servants of Christ. It exists alongside of the kingdoms of this world, but it will swallow them up at the End (Revelation 11:15). Until then they are in conflict. It is this conflict which causes the "tribulation".

Hence we find need of a third thing:

(iii) "Patient endurance". Without it we will not be saved (Matthew 24:13).

"the Island of Patmos".

One of a group of small islands off the S.W. coast of Turkey. 10 miles long x 6 miles high, and rising up to 1000ft high. A bare, barren, rocky, volcanic island. Rome sent political prisoners there.

"on account of the word of God".

Was he there:

(i) To Preach?

(ii) As a prisoner?

(iii) To receive the REVELATION?

We do not know.

1:10 "in the Spirit".

Caught up into God's presence? In an ecstatic trance? Probably not, rather he was involved in prayer and worship, and was conscious of his spirit being one with the Holy Spirit in their flow.

"the Lord's Day".

Sunday. It was the day of the resurrection so took over from the Sabbath for the Church.

Acts 20:7 1 Corinthians 16:2.

1:11. "a book"

I.e. a scroll, but one with several pages.

1:12-16. Prophetic Vision of Christ.

Following the pattern of the OT prophets, John has a theophany. A prophet is not a prophet without one! We see a picture of Christ - the details are similar to many seen in the OT where God reveals himself. Clearly we are being told that the "God of Israel is the God of the Church, and Jesus is his Revelation".

"seven golden lampstands".

Israel was represented in the OT as a single lampstand with seven branches (Zechariah 4:2, Exodus 25:36ff). Israel is not a witness to God unless it exists as a united whole. For Israel to be divided it loses its power to witness.

The Church, however, is seen as seven separate lampstands. Each local Church is seen to be a witness in itself, complete and not compromised. The unity of the Church is not seen in its organisational unity, that is not important. Rather its unity is seen in that each lampstand is tended by the same Person, the Christ.

However the message to us here is that the Church is now the light of the world. That function of witness which was once given to Israel has now passed over to the Church.

Here we see the first example of REVELATION taking a symbol of Israel and giving it to the Church.

"a son of man".

A significant title of Christ. One he preferred to use of himself. It has several depths of meaning, but the root idea is that he is "one who has taken on himself the character and form of man, in that he became a man". It shows his complete identification with mankind.

However in the OT it is also used of the Messiah (Daniel 7:13 also 1 Enoch 46:2-8). Because of this background it meant one who was more than just an ordinary man, rather this one was the man of God.

"long robe... golden girdle".

Dressed as a high priest (Exodus 28:4, 39:29). Christ is depicted as the new High Priest of a new Israel. Another symbol of Israel is taken and reapplied, c/f Hebews 7-9 where

Christ is acknowledged as High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

The feet are not actually covered by the robe so we can see them.

"girdle" - a belt of truth (Ephesians 6).

"gold" - a type of divinity, royalty, purification by testing.

As the High Priest he is seen tending the lamps of God.

"hair...white"

Like the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9).Symbolising wisdom from great age, yet a pure wisdom, white.

"eyes...as a flame"

Penetrating vision, omniscience which sees all and judges all.

"feet...bronze"

Speaking of judgement. "To trample the nations".

Isaiah 63:3.

"voice...many waters"

Like the sound of a waterfall or surf beach. The idea here is of strength and power, not of beauty and gentleness.

"right hand" - speaks of power.

"Holds the seven stars"

The Greek implies “tightly, authoritatively, a firm grasp.”

"seven stars"

I.e. the seven planets known to the ancient world. This is the first hint of Astrology. Christ is the sun in the centre, the Churches are simply planets, reflecting his light. He holds the Churches in his hand, nothing can take them out or harm them, but the idea here is also implied that he controls their destiny. The stars do not control our fate (as astrologers would say), rather Christ controls the fate of the stars.

Vs 20 tells us that that the stars are actually the angels of the seven Churches. This is a continuation of the ancient belief that every star had an angel, or was an angel. Every physical body has a spiritual counterpart, or spiritual authority.

With Israel Michael the archangel was their angelic protector (Daniel 12), and the whole Church is also protected by him (Revelation 12). However each local Church is also given an angelic protector. This is similar to the nations, each nation has an angel (Daniel 9).

"mouth...sharp two edged sword".

Hebrews 4:13, Ephesians 6:17, Isaiah 11:4, 49:2.

It speaks of the spoken word of God sent forth to perform the will of God. In Revelation 19:5 it is Christ's only weapon at Armageddon. He speaks and it is done. So too we should speak out the Word of God, read it aloud. The kingdom of God is not established by human force, but by the word.

"face...like sun...radiating glory"

2 Corinthians 3:7-18 Exodus 34:29-35.

In the last days the glory of God will come on his people who are walking in his will. It will not be possible to hide your faith - it will shine out - it won’t be worth it to be a nominal Christian.

1:17 "fell at his feet"

In worship. But the sight of the Divine causes the loss of (carnal) strength (Isaiah 6:5, Ezekiel 1:28, Daniel 8:17, John 18:6). Hence Christ touches him with his "right hand", the symbol of strength, thus imparting power.

"first and last"

Another OT name of Yahweh, now applied to Christ (Isaiah 44:6). It indicates that he is the origin of all and will be the cause of the End. It also indicates that all that is included between the beginning and the en is under his control, and finds it's meaning in him.

1:18 "the living one"

Eternally living, though he once died.

"I have the keys to Death and Hades"

(i) This may imply a descent to Hades doctrine - he went there to get them off Satan.

1 Peter 3:18,19 4:6.

(ii) Beyond this it indicates that as the keys are in his possession he is shown to be Lord of Death and Life.

1:19 "what you see" = Christ.

"what is" = the Seven Churches.

"what is to come" = ch 4ff, but also applies to the prophetic element of the letters to the Seven Churches.

NOTE ON THE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA.

The choice of these Seven Churches form among the Churches in Asia has aroused some discussion as to "Why these, and not some of the others?" There were at least ten to choose from, some larger than these. These were not necessarily the most important in terms of influence or size at that time.

Several reasons have been suggested:

(1) Geographic.

Looking at a map it seems that a traveller on foot visiting these seven Churches would naturally do so in this order. Hence what we see here could be the observations of Christ as Shepherd of the Churches doing his pastoral round of visitation. But if this is the case why choose the Churches of Asia, and why not do them all, why only these seven?

(2) Typical.

It seems that their importance is found in the events happening in these Churches. What we see in these Churches happens in every Church to some degree at different times in its existence. Seven is a number in REVELATION which is clearly symbolic of TOTALITY, hence SEVEN Churches means "THE WHOLE CHURCH". Hence we are to see the messages in these letters as addressed to the whole Church. In fact Christ mentions at the end of each letter that the whole Church, in every age, should "hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches (plural)".

The letters are relevant to us then in that they are talking about the repetition of patterns and problems that can arise in any Church. Baalam, Jezebel and the Nicolaitans are always with us.

The letters form seven verses of a poem. In fact the whole form of the letters is that of Hebrew poetry, and in each stanza the SENSE is repeated. Hence each letter basically says the same thing, "Beware of Babylon". Christ thinks this is so important that he says it in seven different ways.

(3) Prophetic.

It is also likely that these letters go beyond a simple warning. They appear to be a prophecy, in chronological order, of the struggle of the Church with Babylon. Hence they become a prophecy of the Church age. Some interpreters reject this interpretation, but the evidence is there to see:

(i) From our vantagepoint we can look back into history and see that it is so, if we care to understand the true meaning of the warning Christ is trying to get through. The real problem is not that these letters do not prophecy the history of the Church, rather the problem is that those in the Church cannot, or do not want to, see that Babylon has totally invaded the Church and has it in its grip. In short the Church structures Christ condemns in these letters are actually a vested interest to those who reject this interpretation.

(ii) Also the OT has detailed prophecies about the History of Israel. It is inconceivable that God would go to all that trouble to detail the future of the "shadow" and not give as much detail to the REALITY, which is the Church. These letters are the detail.

In summary we can say then that the seven letters speak of three things:

(1) Seven Churches in existence at the time of writing.

(2) Seven types of Church that make up the Church in all ages.

(3) Seven phases of Church history, in which the type of Church detailed becomes the predominant type for a season.

Literary Structure of the Letters.

(A) Order of the Letters.

They seem, to be ordered geometrically, so that there is a relationship between different groups of the letters. The arrangement is the Hebrew Chaistic form as follows:

(1) Ephesus - Laodicea.

Both have problems in the area of Love. Ephesus has so much zeal for God that they are over critical, resulting ion a lack of brotherly love and love for God. Laodicea has wrongly defined love to mean tolerance, so have become lukewarm in it's zeal for God.

Both get strong warnings from God that they are likely to be rejected.

(2) Smyrna and Philadelphia.

Both have no internal problems, but are under pressure form outside, from the Jews. Neither has any criticism from Christ.

(3) Pergamum and Sardis.

Both beset by compromise with the Babylonian system.

(4) Thyatira.

Stands alone, but is totally immersed in Babylon.

(B) Structure of Each Letter.

They all follow the same pattern:

(1) Address.

(2) Title of Christ applicable to their need.

(3) Commendation - Not in Sardis and Laodicea.

(4) Condemnation - Not in Smyrna and Philadelphia.

(5) Instruction.

(6) Warning.

(7) Promise.

(8) All finish with a general call for all Christians to take note.