Revelation
Thoughts on the Book of Revelation
Category: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
This past week I finished my first ever verse-by-verse study of the fascinating, yet head-scratching, final book of the Bible. And now that I am an expert, I have decided to share with you what The Revelation is all about. I am, of course, being entirely facetious in claming to be an expert. My study was wonderful in so many ways, and I am less intimidated by its content than before I began, but I understand now better than ever why I was intimidated. It should be treated with the highest regard because of its Subject, and it should be treated with the highest humility because of its may difficulties and challenges.
In this blog category, I do not plan to give a detailed, verse-by-verse, commentary on the book. Rather, I will share thoughts both exegetical and devotional in nature that arise from the text of The Revelation. If you are wanting a study guide to the book, this probably will not be the place to look. And if you are looking for answers to all of your questions, it is definitely not the place. But if you are interested in one man's ponderings on it, you've come to the right place. (For those of you who attend FRAC, you may have already heard that Dwight is planning to tackle this thing during a Sunday school class beginning in the fall. I'm sure he will be happy to answer all of your difficult questions.)
Jesus Will Come Out of Hiding
Category: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
This letter is about The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is going to have a day. On that day He will be uncovered. He will come out from hiding and show Himself. He will bring retribution upon all of His enemies and the oppressors of His people. And He will bring grace, salvation, relief, glory, honor, and joy to those who remain faithful to Him. Today there are many mockers and scoffers who poke fun at our silly notions about Christ being the king of the universe or returning to earth. But a day is coming when the mocking will cease and will be replaced by mourning and teeth-grinding. He will not hide forever. This final book of the Bible captures in graphic imagery what it will mean for the world and the Church.
Consider other passages which speak of the revelation of Jesus Christ:
I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4-8).
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed-- for our testimony to you was believed (2 Thess. 1:1-10).
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:6-9).
Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation (1 Peter 4:12-13).
This biblical finale records in advance the majestic display of the glory of Jesus Christ.
God also revealed previously hidden truth to the apostles. Paul received direct revelations from Christ so great that the Lord sent a humbling agent to him to keep him from growing arrogant because of them (2 Cor. 12:1, 7). His knowledge of the gospel came through such a direct revelation (Gal. 1:11-12). So also was his understanding that the Gentiles were to be the recipients of the inheritance promised by God to the Jews (Eph. 3:3). Paul prays that the church in Ephesus would receive a Spirit (or spirit) of revelation (Eph. 1:17).
So, is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," Christ revealed or a revelation about Christ? Or both? It is both. The coming revelation of Jesus Christ is revealed to its readers by The Revelation of Jesus Christ. As we read The Revelation, we are reading of things which were previously hidden and unknowable by human research (Jesus is revealing them) of the unveiling of the glory of Christ (Jesus is revealed).
It's For Show
Category: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John (Rev. 1:1).
God gave Him...God gave Christ many things. In John 17 we see that God gave His Son: authority over all things (v.2), work (v.4), men (v.6), words (v.8), name (v.11), and glory (22). Now the Father gives the Son this revelation, and it has a specific purpose--to show His bondservants the things which must shortly take place.
To show His servants. The contents of this book are highly graphic. The events which must shortly take place are portrayed in dramatic visual images that may, at first, startle the mind. One of the obstacles (and dangers) that faces a 21st century interpreter is the temptation to view these images in light of their 21st century context. One must take great pains, however, to refuse to give a meaning to any of the objects that it could not have had for the original audience. If these things were to take place soon in the lives of the first recipients of the letter, then they must have been able to comprehend the descriptions of the things. Otherwise, what Jesus showed them would not have been worth seeing.
'Show' (Gr.deiknuo) occurs several times in The Revelation: A voice summoned John to a higher place in order to show him, "what must take place after this" (4:1). John is shown the judgment of the great harlot (17:1). One of the angels shows John the bride, the wife of the Lamb (21:9) and the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven (21:10). He is also shown the river of the water of life (22:1). The original statement of purpose for The Revelation ("to show to His servants the things which must shortly take place") is restated (22:6), and John falls down to worship the angel who showed these things (22:8).
Soon (Gr. en taxos). In at least some of its occurrences, it means "swiftly" or "taking a brief period of time" without concern for when ("whenever this happens, it will be swift"). Other occurrences appear to be more concerned with how soon the event will take place. Here in Rev. 1:1, however, the emphasis is on a different syllable.
Unlike the other New Testament epistles which are intended to be digested audibly, this letter is to be consumed visibly. Granted, that is too strong a disjunction to claim, for the very images that are to be seen are communicated through the words that are heard. But the point is that the standard exegetical processes for dissecting the sixth chapter of Romans will fall short of if applied to the iconic exhibitions of Revelation. When Paul speaks of baptism in Romans 6, he wants us to think about baptism. But when Jesus stands before John with eyes like flames of fire (1:14), we should be not be worried that our Lord's eye's are burning. Rather, we should be looking at the burning eyes and searching out what it symbolizes or what meaning it is trying to convey.
"Then" for Daniel Is "Now" for John
Category: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Indispensable to understanding The Revelation is a knowledge of the content of many of the books of the Old Testament. The number of quotes and allusions to OT texts, especially the Psalms and the prophets, is vast. Any attempt to interpret this book ought to include a regularly opened concordance.
One such quote from the OT is the phrase a] dei/ genesqai ("things which must take place"). This phrase occurs in the Greek translations of Daniel 2:28, 29, and 45. The phrase is a direct quote, but the time referent is different. In Daniel, the vision is of things which must take place "in the last days" (v28) and "after these things" (v45); in The Revelation it is of things which must take place "shortly." John is telling his audience that the time for fulfillment of Daniel's vision is now.
Dan. 2:28: "Things which must take place in the last days."
Rev. 1:1: "Things which must take place shortly."
What was Daniel's vision that was being fulfilled in John's day?
Daniel 2. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, began having the kind of troubling dreams that keeps a person up at night, so He summoned his magicians and sorcerers and asked them to interpret the dreams for him. But instead of the normal routine of the king describing the dream and the magician making up some amphibology that might pass as a plausible explanation, on this occasion the king demanded that the sorcerers first declare the dream itself. And they had better be accurate in their description upon penalty of death. It's as if the king said, "I have a number in my mind between one and five trillion. Tell me the number or you're a dead man." The magicians and sorcerers protested that no man on earth could do such a thing, thus provoking the king's wrath to execute all of the wise men of Babylon (2:1-13).
In steps Daniel to save the day for these imposters. He asked the living God to reveal the dream to him, and praised Him for His grace and power in so doing. Then Daniel approached Nebuchadnezzar with the dream and its meaning as shown by God (2:14-30).
Nebuchadnezzar had seen an enormous statue with a head of gold, a breast of silver, a torso of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of a mixture of iron and clay. Then he saw a stone fall on the statue's feet smashing them into pieces--the whole figure was pulverized. The stone then turned into a great mountain filling the whole earth (2:31-35).
Daniel explained to the king what the vision meant: He--Nebuchadnezzar-- was the head of gold, ruling the world of his day with great might and power. After the Babylonian empire, another would arise (represented by the silver breast), and another after that (the bronze torso). Then a fourth kingdom as strong as iron would crush and shatter all others, but because of its weak feet, it would not stand forever (2:36-43).
This brings us to the extremely important declaration of 2:44-45:
"And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy."
Daniel explains that in the days of the "Iron Kingdom" God will establish His eternal kingdom. It will not be overcome by a future kingdom, in fact it will crush all others and reign forever. Nebuchadnezzar had watched the inauguration of God's eternal kingdom, and Daniel described the vision, "things which must take place in the last days" (LXX).
It was revealed to John that the fulfillment was no longer far off in the future, it was now. The 'last days' had arrived. [This is consistent with Peter's announcement that the outpowering of the Spirit promised by God in Joel, which would take place "in the last days," was fulfilled in the first century (Acts. 2:16f.).]
Consider the impications of this for interpreting Isaiah 2:2, "Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it." If the last days began in John's day, then it was time for the mountain of God's house to increase in size and be filled with people from every nation. And we notice that the imagery of a great mountain in Isaiah's prophecy is similar to the great mountain of Nebuchadnezzar's vision.
The Revelation is an illustrated depiction of the fulfillment of the establishment of God's everlasting, worldwide kingdom.
Understanding John's quote of Daniel takes the pressure off of trying to determine a strict chronological meaning of "shortly" in v1. John's purpose is not to establish a specific future time frame for the things which must take place, but to establish that their fulfillment has come. As Jesus repeatedly announced, "the kingdom of God is at hand," it's here, it's now. And The Revelation is going to describe it for us.
John Says Revelation Should Be Interpreted Symbolically
Category: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
He sent and communicated it by His angel. The visual, graphic nature of this book is also expressed with the Greek word semaino (rendered variously: "signified," KJV; "made known," NIV and ESV; "communicated," NASB). It is part of a family of words which connote a particular way of communicating—through signs. Sema, means 'sign'; a semeion is a sign, or miracle, or portent. John is explaining right here at the beginning of The Revelation that Jesus expressed His message in signs and symbols. We are given at the front the key to unlocking its mysteries. It is a book of signals and representations. Therefore, we ought to beware of a "literal interpretation," and should rather seek to discern the intended meaning being conveyed by each symbol. By its own acknowledgment, The Revelation is to be understood symbolically.
We Must See What John Saw
Category: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw (Rev. 1:2).
John had a testimony. He had seen something that needed to be told, evidence that needed to be presented. He had been granted a magnificent vision about the Son of God and he revealed it faithfully. Such testimony can get a man in trouble as we find in 6:9, 12:17, and 20:4.
All that he saw. Again we find the emphasis on the visual nature of The Revelation. John testified to everything he saw. In order to understand this book, we must "see" what John saw, not for the purpose of trying to recreate the imagery with a brush on canvas, or with Photoshop, but to grasp the message sent through the sights and sounds. John recorded everything his eyes beheld so that we could interpret the symbols. And once more I say, if the interpretive keys to unlocking The Revelation were hidden until the 20th or 21st century (or beyond) then the original recipients had nothing to see in John's testimony.
The Blessing of Revelation
Category: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable, but this book comes with a special benefit attached:
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near (Rev. 1:3).
This benediction is repeated at the end of The Revelation, "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book" (22:7). It is reminiscent of the beatitudes where Jesus pronounces blessing on the poor in spirit, the meek, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for His name's sake, etc.
Three people are blessed: the one who reads, those who hear the prophecy, and those who guard/keep the things which have been written in it. Here is a brief description of each:
He who reads. A public reader (as opposed to a man who is alone down in his study). The Revelation, it would seem, was meant for congregational reading.
Those who hear the words. Those in the congregation who are present to listen to this glorious prophecy.
Those who guard/keep the things which have been written in it. A blessing is promised to all who learn its contents and obey its commands.
If it is only applicable to the seven churches, then how is the blessing available to the 21st century church? On the other hand, if it only applies to those alive when Jesus returns, in what way were the seven churches of the first or early second century blessed by keeping the things written herein?
John identifies this letter as prophecy. Later, we are told that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10). Just prior in v2, John affirms that he "testified to the testimony of Jesus Christ. This is a book about Jesus. Prophecy reveals Jesus. This writing will reveal Jesus Christ. And all who take care to learn about Him through it will be blessed.
The blessing of reading, hearing, and heeding the prophecies of Jesus Christ as depicted in The Revelation comes to those who understand its urgency. If you think that this book is irrelevant, either because its fulfillment is long past or long future, then you will completely miss out on its benefit. In every generation, we must look into John's testimony expecting to find it writing of things which are at hand and beneficial to us.