Revelation Introduction Part 1

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Revelation Introduction #1

Introduction: We, as a brotherhood of believers, have neglected Revelation. It is certainly not the only book in scripture we have neglected, but it is certainly in the top five least studied books by the individual Christian. When is the last time you decided to devote yourself to understanding Revelation?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 plainly tells us the danger of neglecting any of the writings of scripture. When we do, we miss a key part of what God wants us to know about himself and what we need to know   to survive the attack of Satan and our world culture and attain eternal life.

Most of our lessons will be on Sunday evenings where there will be opportunities of questions, but as appropriate, there will be some on Sunday mornings. I hope you will dedicate yourself to knowing this book with me. My goal is for you to become comfortable with reading and rereading this great letter to the churches so that you are thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1. What Kind of Book Is Revelation?
   1. The challenge with any book of the Bible is reading it correctly. When any part of the Bible is read with preconceptions, the message will never be discovered. The religious world, including us, is loaded with preconceptions about this book. Therefore, our purpose this morning is to allow John to explain to us how we ought to approach the reading of this book.
   2. How does John describe this book?
      1. Verse 1: “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” God is revealing (not hiding) a message. The message follows a chain of revealing from God to Christ to an angel to John, and then to “servants” of God.
      2. Verse 3: the book is referred to as “prophecy.” We must issue a warning: prophecy is not just “foretelling,” but “forth-telling.” We should not immediately think that God is about to reveal the history of the world till the end of time. This prophecy is intended to be read aloud to the church in the context of worship. It is intended to give comfort, instruction, and warnings as well as events that will affect the Christians of the first and second centuries. Note 1:19 “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.” 
      3. Verses 4-6: the book is also intended to be a “letter.” John introduces the letter just like so many letters that Paul has written. It is a personal letter to seven churches. 
         1. This is made plain in verse 11: “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches.” This applies to everything written in the book – all the visions and revelations are to be given to the seven churches. Therefore, it is misleading for us to refer to chapters 2-3 as the seven letters to the churches. Instead, the whole book of Revelation is one circular letter to the seven churches.
         2. In 22:21, we see that John’s ending also fits into the pattern of New Testament letters: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen.” 
         3. Further, this letter is not just information or prophetic utterances, there are commands to keep in the letter. Verse 3 pronounces a blessing on those who “keep” what is written in the letter.
         4. We should also not think that this letter is only for 7 churches. The seven churches are to be seen as a composite of all churches and Christians. In fact, at the end of every one of the seven individual messages are the word, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” We must give careful attention to the words given as if they were placed in our mailbox yesterday and appreciate that though the letter is not written to us, it is written for us. 
2. What Is the Purpose of “Revelation?”
   1. Revelation (apokalypsis) from which we get our word, “apocalypse.” When we think of apocalypse, we think of end times or judgment. You have also probably heard of “apocalyptic language/literature.” We would say that Daniel and Ezekiel have a lot of apocalyptic language. 
   2. However, our connotation of the word is misleading. The word simply means “to reveal,” to made something known that was unknown. For example, when Jacob came back to Bethel where he had dreamed of the ladder and angels of God ascending and descending, he built an altar, “because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.” Paul also used the term in Galatians 1:16 saying that “God had revealed his Son to me.” 
   3. Thus, the word is not uncommon and speaks of God unveiling that which his people do not know. In this case it is an unveiling of “the things which must soon take place.” 
   4. Let’s be more specific about what God is revealing. It is not that he is just “telling” things that we do not know. Instead, John is taken up into heaven (4:1) in order to see the world from heaven’s perspective. Consider how wonderful that is! We only see from an earthly perspective. If you will, we see things from the dragon’s perspective. We have a false view of reality. But God wants us to see what really is happening! By seeing God’s perspective, we are able to see the earth and its events the same way God sees it. We are also able to “see down the road” concerning what God will do and the end result of his purposes.
   5. Just think, in the book of Revelation we are transported into the very throne room of God. We see him on the throne and we see the Lamb, the Lion of Judah, reigning with him. We see angelic mediators, visions of political powers, coming judgments, and a new creation. In other words, we are comforted to know that everything we see is not out of control, but that God is active and ruling in the kingdoms of men, watchful for his people, and assuring a victory to come for the saints.
   6. Consider also another critical purpose: God assures the Christian of victory in the end, but it is important that each Christian “conquer” in order to be victorious. These words are used at the end of each of the seven messages to the individual churches. Further in Revelation, God will boldly  call out those who have compromised with Satan and his empire-based prostitute.
3. The Symbolism of Revelation
   1. Verse 1: “He sent it and signified it through his angel to his servant John” (KJV, NKJV, ASV, HCSB). This word signified comes from the same word used in John’s gospel in referring to the “signs” Jesus gave to prove he is the Son of God. You will remember that a sign is not just a miracle, but a picture-miracle. In other words, it is a miracle that is to be interpreted as a message beyond what is seen in the supernatural event. And so in Revelation, pictures are given to cause us to see more clearly the events and peoples that  are part of a great war taking place in heaven and on earth.
   2. As a parallel, it is like reading poetry that does not directly state the point but uses picturesque language to move our emotions and making an imprint on our hearts. It is like watching a Chinese parade. In so doing, you do not concentrate on the minutia of the pictures, but look at the message. For example, Satan is a dragon and his allies are beastly creatures that come out of the sea and the earth.
   3. Consider that our minds soak in thousands of visual pictures of our present culture. Those visual pictures frame the way we believe things are. But God brings us to see a heavenly reality with pictures that are counter-images to the false messages that we see in the daily pictures we get on this earth. In so doing, God tears away the present veneer so that we can see the ugliness of the Dragon’s world. 
   4. For example, Rome in the first century was a picture of glory that was exalted through its architecture worshiped in its temples throughout Asia. But John sees her as a prostitute, a seductive whore and scheming witch who uses her power and wealth to deceive the world into giving her honor and worship. How does that compare to a Lamb that was slain in order to ransom people for God? 
4. Revelation for Us
   1. In concluding our preparation for the book, we must not read this as if all that is being said applies exclusively to the first two or three centuries in which Christians were persecuted. In other words, do not read the book as history as if the message of the book is over and done with. Consider, we would not read any other book of the Bible that way, and God never wrote any book that did not have a timeless message and application. We need to place ourselves in the midst of this historical symbolic story because the Dragon is still alive, and his allies, the beast and the false prophet still wield their power. 12:17 – “the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” 
   2. In Isaiah 24 there is given a picture of a “world-city” with whom God will one day conquer and destroy. In that world city are all who will not confess their allegiance to King Jesus and who practice the deception of the Dragon and the Beasts. That world city still exists and the battle is still on. Therefore, we should not remove ourselves from the message of this book.
   3. To confirm this, see Revelation 18:24. Speaking of Rome as Babylon, when an autopsy is done on her, “in her was found the blood of the prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.” Wow! This clearly goes beyond Rome and represents all who follow her pattern. The message is relevant until the end of time!

Berry Kercheville