The
book of Revelation is written by the John.
Who was John? He was a faithful
friend and disciple of Jesus. He was a
servant of Jesus. He wrote 5 books of
the Bible – John, 1 & 2 & 3 John, and Revelation. He suffered because of his beliefs and his
boldness in speaking of Jesus Christ. He
was exiled on the island of Patmos and left there to die. There on Patmos he had a vision of Christ and
was told to write the book of Revelation.
He is an eye witness to these things told in Revelation. This book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Revelation
is when God shows His truth to us. In
Revelation God shows us what we must do and say. He shows Himself through Jesus Christ. It’s all about Jesus. The Bible is full of God’s prophecy. It reveals His redemptive story and its final
chapter, Revelation. This book describes
the glorious fulfillment of God’s eternal plan.
It tells us about the future climax of world history with God’s final
judgment. He will judge those who don’t
believe in Him. For those who do believe
it is a book of joy.
Revelation
is apocalyptic literature, full of symbolism.
Each image represents something literal.
People interpret it differently so we are focusing on the themes of the
book.
Themes
in Revelation:
Fulfillment
of God’s redemptive plan.
Jesus
is coming soon, which gives us hope.
We are
not to be afraid, but stay faithful.
Satan
will try to accuse us before God, but Christ defeats him.
God
will create a New Heaven and a New Earth.
Revelation
reveals that John and other fellow Christians suffered, but patiently
endured. They worked hard for God and
suffered many hardships, but persevered through and were faithful. Some lived in poverty, yet they were rich. There are similarities in the church
today. Christians are suffering around
the world. There is persecution and even
death because of their beliefs. Many
have lost their first love like the church in Ephesus.
Attributes
of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are revealed:
God is
holy. He is sovereign. He is the Lord God Almighty who was and is
and is to come. He is to be worshiped
and will be continually worshiped in Heaven by all, because He is creator of
all things.
Jesus
is the only one worthy to open the scroll because He was slain. The Holy Spirit speaks to all who will hear
Him. All make up the Trinity. Each is an entity, but are the same.
Revelation 1 – The Things You Have Seen
The
Revelation begins from God to Jesus to His angel to John and then to us. John is to tell all he saw and be a testimony
of Jesus Christ. The Revelation is that
Jesus Christ is Lord of all. It is the
Revelation of God’s power and glory. “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”. - Rev. 1:3. Revelation is the only book in the Bible that
says you will be blessed when you hear, read, and put in practice what it says.
I hope
this verse convinces you to read this book.
Don’t be afraid that you won’t understand, because none of us completely
understand it all and never will until we are in heaven. God will reveal to you exactly what you need
to know.
The
early church read the entire book of Revelation each time they met. The reader and the congregation that read,
hear and heed the teaching taught here will be blessed. In other words your life will be
changed. You will live your life
differently. You will realize the
collision course the world is on and the terrible times that are coming for those
who are not saved. You will have a
clearer picture of God’s plan for the saved and the unsaved. You will know “the end of the story”. Keep these things in your mind and remember
them. You will know the truth when
trials and temptations come.
“The
time is near” is true more so for us today than people thousands of years
ago. We are closer to the end. The rapture of the church is imminent. We don’t know when, because God’s timing is
different from ours. It may be in a 100
years or it may be tomorrow. We must
know the truth and be ready. Are you
ready?
John
began by writing to the 7 churches in Asia that existed at that time. 7 actually signifies completeness in the
Bible. He was actually writing to all
the churches and even to the churches today.
You will see what they were doing, what God expected, and where they were
falling short. Hopefully we will see
where we too are not living up to God’s standards.
He
started by giving grace and peace from Jesus Himself, which is comforting
because in Revelation we will see a lot of judgments, earthquakes, and
destruction of the earth and its people.
He also mentioned the 7 spirits before His throne. What are these 7 spirits? “And the Spirit of
the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” –
Isaiah. 11:2. These spirits of God are the Holy Spirit
in His completeness. Jesus is described
as being a faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of the
kings of the earth.
“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. 1:7.
John praised Jesus and told of His return when He will come in the
clouds and that every eye will see His returning. Everyone will mourn over Him. It will be a day of judgment when Jesus will
pour out His wrath on the earth. The
Lord said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega… who is, and
who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” – Rev. 1:8. God declared that
He existed in the beginning, now and at the end. I love this verse!
How
will you be ready when Jesus returns?
John
was exiled on the island of Patmos because of His testimony of Jesus. John was filled with the Spirit and heard a
voice like a trumpet which told him to, “Write on a
scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira,
Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
- Rev. 1:11.
John
saw Jesus and described His hair, eyes, feet, voice, hand, mouth, and
face. Jesus was walking in the middle of
the 7 lampstands. The 7 lampstands
represent the 7 churches. They are lamps
that hold the light of Christ. They must
show His light to the world. Jesus was
holding 7 stars in His right hand, which are the angels of the 7 churches. (Rev. 1:20) These angels are probably angels who watched
over the churches. Some believe these
stars are the pastors of the churches who lead and watch over the people.
John was in awe of Jesus. Can you image? How wonderful it will be when we see Him for the first time? John fell to his feet in worship of Jesus. Jesus told him not to be afraid. He was the First and the Last, the Living One, was dead and now alive for ever and ever, and that He held the keys of death and Hades. (Rev. 1:17-18) Having the keys to death and Hades means He has the power over them. He proved that because He rose from the dead. John was told to write down everything and not leave anything out. “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” – Rev. 1:19. This is the key verse that unlocks the door to the entire outline of the book.
What
will you do when you see Jesus?
Will
you be afraid or will you be in awe of Him?
How are
you ready to meet Him?
Will
your life be pleasing to Him?
Next
week we will study Revelation 2 – the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,
and Thyatira. Hope to see you here.
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