Bible Study – Andrea Hutchinson
Revelation 1 (NIV)
As outside persecution against Christians increased, the first-century church also faced internal issues. We’ve learned that they, like the present day church, struggled with suffering, spiritual warfare, false, heretical teachings, teachers, and spiritual apathy. Christ has promised to return but when? And how? Confronted with these circumstances the first readers of Revelation needed encouragement and exhortation (advise; [w/] language intended to incite and encourage). Revelation was intended to be a promise of divine protection from God’s judgement on the world. On the other hand those who read it were to take it to heart and obey, standing for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus, worshipfully, as the apostle John had, regardless of the sure consequences. The recording of the Revelation of Jesus Christ was to reassure the readers that Jesus Christ controls the course of history.
The human author of Revelation refers to himself as John. He is associated with the seven churches in the Roman province of Asia (modern day SW Turkey) and their suffering, blessing and perseverance. His stand for the Word and the testimony of Christ caused him to be exiled to Patmos (1:9). Revelation is written with prophetic authority, with reference to the OT and Jewish literature, suggesting the writer to be a Jew. There are definite parallels between the Gospel of John and Revelation indicating the likelihood that both books were written by the same author.
Prologue
1 The revelation from 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, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud 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.
Revelation 1 is an introduction, containing greetings to the intended readers and praise to God, as well as a descriptive explanation of the works to follow. Jesus’ Revelation was John’s visions.
Revelation is defined as “unveiling”. Coming from the Greek apokálypsis (ap-ok-al’-oop-sis) meaning ”revelation, unveiling” and is principally used in reference to the Revelation of Jesus Christ (the Word), especially in regard to the manifestation (spiritual) of Christ (His will) previously unknown (because “veiled, covered”). Indicating that the book is written in the genre known as Apocalyptic literature. The Revelation of Jesus Christ was given by God and is about Jesus. In fact the entire book is about Jesus Christ. His servants are the believers. The phrase “must soon take place” indicates that the things must come to pass in quick succession as referenced in Daniel 2:28, 29, 45. Again, John is the human writer of Revelation, Jesus is the divine author, as dictated or shown through His angel.
Standing by the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ are the reasons John was exiled to Patmos (v.9) and are the reasons Christians continue to be persecuted. Everything John saw are the visions that are the Book of Revelation. And it is here in Revelation that he, again, testifies to what he sees and receives from the angel of God, from God.
Blessed (is the one/ are those who) is from the Greek makários (mak-ar’-ee-os) meaning “blessed”; describing a believer in enviable position from receiving God’s provisions and favor – which (literally) extends His grace and benefits. This happens with receiving and obeying the Lord’s inbirthings of faith, which in the Greek translates as rhḗma – to speak – a spoken word, made “by the living voice”. Rhḗma is commonly used in the NT for the Lord speaking His living word in a believer, to inbirth faith. God is happy with the obedient! John ends this prologue with “because the time is near”, expressing that the coming prophesy will come quickly (in the end days), and those who “hear” or receive “revelation” will be prepared.
Greetings and Doxology
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[a] before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
John addresses this prophetic book to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia; this is not Europe, consequently this is, also, not Christiandom. All seven of these churches were quite close to one another, within about a 50 mile square of one another.
He continues to greet them from God the Father, in a most Paul-esque manner, offering grace and peace to them from God; “him who is, who was and who is to come”., speaking to the eternal nature of God, as well as the promise of Jesus’ return. Interestingly, grace is a Christian form of a common Greek greeting, while peace is a common Hebrew greeting. Indicating that these churches are a mixture of Greek and Hebrew believers.
The seven spirits before his throne speaks to the perfection and completion of the Holy Spirit. John used an Old Testament description of the Holy Spirit. The idea of the seven Spirits quotes from the OT; Isaiah 11:2 describes seven aspects of the Holy Spirit
John continues his greeting to include Jesus – God the Son – the faithful witness. Faithful in the Greek translated Pistos – “sure” or “true”. John describes Jesus as the one true witness to God, his Father. First born from the dead means much more than that Jesus was the first person resurrected. It also means that He is pre-eminent among all those who are or will be resurrected. Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren, Romans 8:29.
Jesus is the ruler over the kings. Before the Book of Revelation is fully manifest, Jesus will take dominion over every earthly king. At the present time, Jesus rules a kingdom, but it is a kingdom that is not yet of this world.
In this greeting, with its mention of each Person of the Trinity, we see how the NT presents the doctrine of the Trinity. It simply weaves the truth of the Trinity – that there is One God in Three Persons – throughout the fabric of the New Testament.
5b To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 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.
In 5b and 6 John splits verse 5 and begins a statement of praise to Jesus. Illustrating His love for us in the picture of His washing our sins by his blood through the crucifixion. Building his description of Jesus’ great love for us he continues to tells us of what is to come, the believers being made a kingdom and priests to serve God the Father. John finishes by exalting Jesus in praise.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”[b]
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”[c]
So shall it be! Amen.
John opens here with a description of Jesus’ return.
Look [behold], He is coming: This is a command to look, to check it out. He wants us to witness or observe the coming of Jesus. Jesus said that we should watch and wait for His coming, Matthew 24:42. It wasn’t a supernatural vision of Jesus’ return. This description is based from John’s understanding of OT promises of the Messiah’s return and Jesus’ own words about His return. John knew that Jesus was coming because He said He would. Jesus said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself “, John 14:3.
He is coming with the clouds: When Jesus comes, He will be surrounded by clouds. This will be true literally, because when Jesus left this earth, He was taken up into a cloud and God said that He would return in the same manner, Acts 1:9-11. John didn’t need a special vision to know He is coming with clouds. He knew this from the OT, Daniel 7:13-14 and from Jesus’ own words: “I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”, Matthew 26:64.
And every eye will see Him: When Jesus comes, it won’t be a secret coming. Everyone will know. When Jesus comes again, every eye will see Him. The whole world will know. Again, John didn’t need a special vision to know every eye will see Him. John heard Jesus Himself say, “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:26-27.
Even those who pierced him: Speaks to Christ’s crucifixion. When Jesus comes, it will be a particularly meaningful revelation for the Jewish people, though it was not the Jews alone who pierced Him. We can know that John had in mind the Revelation of Jesus to His own people because this is a reference to Zechariah 12:10. When Jesus reveals Himself to the Jews, the Jewish nation will have turned to Jesus, trusting in Him as their Messiah, Matthew 23:39 and Romans 11:25-26. When they see Jesus and His pierced hands and feet, it will be a painful reminder of their previous rejection of Him. It will fulfill the scene of Zechariah 12:10: “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”
All the peoples [tribes] of earth will mourn because of him: When Jesus comes, it won’t be only the Jewish people who mourn because of their previous rejection of Jesus. Since there will be people saved from all the tribes of the earth, Revelation 7:9, everyone will have a part in this mourning. We will all look at His scars and say “We did this to Him.” Here John quoted Jesus from Matthew 24:30: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” With this John is finished with his introduction …
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
And now Jesus introduces Himself. As the author it is not a surprise that He would introduce Himself. His reference to Himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last letters in the Greek alphabet; the beginning and the end, means He is Almighty. Who is, and who was, and who is to come. Jesus is stating in His Sovereignty that He is guiding history toward His victory over all. Almighty, from the Greek, pantokrator, (pan-tok-rat’-ore), is the title for God translated from the Hebrew, Shaddi. This entire verse is simply and complexly Jesus stating that He is Almighty , Sovereign over all.
John’s Vision of Christ
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.
John strongly identifies himself here as brother and companion in the suffering with and to his readers. Urging them to remember of patience and endurance that they have in Jesus. He says, much like he apostle Paul said, that there would be many tribulations for the believers before the coming of the kingdom. Acts 14:22. He tells them that he was exiled on Patmos, a prison island that was like a jail without bars. A rocky, desolate island about 10 miles long and 6 miles wide. The immediate suffering of John was related to this exile. Even though he was exiled to silence the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus, John continued his witness in the writing of Revelation. The Greek word translated testimony here literally means witness and is the basis for the English word martyr.
10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 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.”
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
The Lord’s day: this is the only mention of the Lord’s day in the NT. It is believed to be the first day of the week. The day Christians gathered to worship and celebrate the Lord’s Supper, because Jesus rose from the dead on that day. It is not the same term used for The Day of the Lord in the OT.
John hears Jesus’ voice and describes it as a loud trumpet and here John is commanded to write what he saw. He would be commanded to write eleven more times in the book.
John describes his state, of spiritual exaltation as he received the visions of the Apocalypse as in the Spirit. Each of the seven churches in the province of Asia received the entire Book of Revelation and an individual letter from Christ. The lamp stands represent the seven churches named in verse 11.
13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
In these verses we have John’s vision of Jesus. Jesus was there in the midst of these lampstands, as the Son of Man, a figure of glory that is a reference back to Daniel 7:13-14. Though the title Son of Man sounds like a humble title, in light of the Daniel passage, it is not a humble title at all. It speaks to Christ being fully man and fully God. The lampstands being reference to the churches, His people, the title also speaks to the time that Jesus walked among us, a picture of His love and familiarity. The long robe and golden sash is indicative of the glorified Christ, in the dress of high priest, Exodus 28:4. The description of “white” on his head, like wool and as snow, are reference to the “Ancient of Days” in Daniel 7:9. The description shows the purity and eternality of God the Father and God the Son. The eyes of fire illustrate both His righteousness as well as His judgment of the impure. Feet like bronze glowing in a furnace refers to judgment again. They speak of someone who has been through the fires of judgment and has come forth with a refined purity. It also speaks to Jesus’ power and His treading all things underfoot. And his voice like the sound of rushing waters speaks of the power of Jesus’ voice during the vision. Think of the sound of a mighty waterfall.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
The seven stars are explained in v.20. they represent the angels of the seven churches. The sword John saw coming out of His mouth was a fierce and long battle sword according to it’s description. It was symbolic of the judgment power of the Word. Jesus had the same glory as in His transfiguration here. Making it very difficult to look upon Him. Like when His face shone like the sun in Matthew 17:2.
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. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
John was completely overwhelmed by this awesome vision, even though he was an apostle who knew Jesus on this earth. Try to imagine this, even the three years that John spent with Jesus on this earth did not prepare him to see Jesus in His heavenly glory. Here Jesus seems to comfort John and tells Him not to be afraid. When Christ speaks of Himself as First and the Last; as the Living One; as once being dead, and then alive for ever and ever! He is telling John of His eternal existence, His becoming man and dying on the cross and His His glorious resurrection, to comfort him. The keys of death and Hades represents Christ’s victory and authority.
19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 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[e] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Finally Jesus commands John to write, again, and expands and clarifies His earlier command. “What you see, write” and “The things that you have seen” refer to the vision of vs. 10-18. What is now and what will take place later possibly refers to the present state of the churches in Asia followed by the visions he will soon see. The use of later in combination with the vision of “One like the Son of Man” echoes Daniel 2:29,45.
Note that each church had its own angel, and Jesus held these angels in His hand. Some believe these angels are the pastors of these seven churches represented by Jesus’ explanation of lampstands. This idea is based on a literal understanding of the ancient Greek word translated angel, aggelos, (ang’-el-os) which literally means “messenger,” and certainly pastors are “messengers” to churches. Others think the angels might be literal angels over each congregation. Some suggest that the angels are not literal beings at all, but they just represent the prevailing spirit of each church. There are strengths and weaknesses to any of these interpretations, but from Jesus’ explanation in this verse we do know that in some way, these angels are representatives of each congregation.
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