Author: John
Date: About 95 AD
Language: The Greek here is very different from the Gospel & Epistles.
Written like Hebrew thought
but in the Greek language.
The introduction takes in only the first 3
verses of chapter one. However, as part of our on-going study, we have already looked at Genesis, Exodus, parts of Isaiah,
Ezekiel, and Daniel as preliminary background for our Revelation study
Eschatology = study of the end times – end things –
concerning the future or eternal destiny of humankind
Many passages in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation have eschatological
significance.
Some
passages are more obvious to us than others.
Ex. 15 – The Song of Moses – Celebration of God’s
deliverance of His people Israel from the bondage in Egypt. Let’s look at this passage closer.
Moses sings for joy. This is a celebration because of the deliverance at the hand of God.
God brought forth salvation for His people, Israel. This is the theme of the book of Exodus – salvation.
Vv. 1-3
– There is song of praise to God for this magnificent deliverance.
Vv. 4-5
– a note of the helplessness of the enemy in the presence of God.
Vv. 6-7
– acknowledgement of God’s power in this great salvation
Vv. 8-10
– creation is in the hands of God – even chaos is controlled by God
Vv. 11-12
– Holiness belongs to God alone – none like Him – power & control
V. 13
– everything is motivated by His love – unfailing love – He is love
Vv. 14-16
– Dread, fear, awe, terror – describe the awesomeness of God
V. 18
– God is King forevermore
That
will play a significant part in our study of Revelation as you will see.
Greek – style and grammar issues.
Gospel of John and Epistles (1, 2 & 3 John) are written if very high Greek – perfect – grammatical
precision. Revelation is choppy, with idioms and slang, imperfect grammar, etc. Some think it’s because of a different author, and some think it’s because
of a different style of literature. Whatever the reason, this is still the canon
of Scripture and God’s word to them and to us.
Apocalyptic – literary style – symbolism, strange occurrences,
mystery and awe – common during the writings between testaments (apocryphal books) – Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel –
in the O.T. Revelation in the N.T. May be why it is written in Hebrew thought, since it’s older literary style?
Examples of Apocalyptic:
Is. 6:1-8 Ezek. 1:4-28; 10:1-2, 6-14 Daniel 2:27-29; 31-35; 36-45
Views of the Revelation:
Preterist View – everything mentioned in Revelation is for and to the church then (1st Century
Christianity only).
Historisist View – an inspired forecast of the whole of human history.
“They see its symbols as setting out in broad outline the history of western Europe and as stretching right on
until the second coming of Christ.”
Futurist View – Except for the first few chapters, the book is concerned only with happenings a the
end of the age.
Idealist View – the book is purely poetic with no reference to the church of it time or of the future.
It seems that none of these
views holds the answer to the Revelation. We must start with the situation of
the church to which it was written. We “must keep this situation in mind
throughout our study if we are to make sense of this difficult book.” (Morris, p. 21).
Revelation – have you read it before now? Did it make sense to you? Is it scary to think about or promising? What about the imagery? To whom was this
letter written? By whom? What was
the purpose? Is the symbolism for then or now or future?
“John was a pastor (assuming John the Apostle), writing with a passionate concern that ordinary men and
women should understand what he had been charged to tell them, and, rightly or wrongly, he must have believed that they would
be able to understand. ... what did these early Christians know about this book which we do not know?” (Caird, p.3).
Rev. 1:1-3 – Answers some immediate questions.
This is a prophecy, so the
meaning is in the prophecy not necessarily related to the prophet himself. (Was
it John the Apostle? Or another John? Does
it matter?)
First word in Greek = apocalypse
= revelation. Revelation of Jesus Christ not a prophet or angel. Revelation to show the people things that must “soon take place.” God gave this revelation to Jesus Christ to show His servants these things – no secrets to the faithful. God wants us to know things not live in fear of things. We are to fear God only and therefore have no reason to fear anything else or anyone else. The enemy is already defeated by Jesus. He sent an angel to
tell John the revelation and how to document it for the people.
Those who read and understand
this revelation will be blessed (happy) not scared. God reveals His plans for
His people and against those who are not His people and never will be. There
is a parallel between the people of that day and the future that God intentionally builds into the revelation so we can be
encouraged about what the future holds for the believer in Jesus Christ.
The time is near (kairos) the appointed time. (Rev. 1:3 & 22:10). Not clock time or insignificant time,
but God time, special time, the appointed time, the time we have been waiting for in God.
Momentous time ordained by God.
Backdrop:
The church spread slowly into
the Roman province of Asia – slow growth
Small group of believers in
Jesus Christ – new life – new hope – freedom
The promise – trust in
Jesus – He gives life and peace and will come again
The powerful Roman
Empire is the enemy of God – against monotheism, etc.
Jesus will return and make
all things right and usher in God’s Kingdom forever
Endure until then – And
they waited, and they waited, but - nothing happened
Were they deceived? Did they make a mistake? What will they do now?
Jesus came and died for them
so they could have the promise of eternal life
He was raised and went to be
with the Father in Glory
He will return to get them
and establish His Kingdom and be their King
Emperor worship was now required
– even in Asia
Christians would not yield
to this sin
Persecution to the point of
death soon followed
Where was the ‘real power’
– Rome? – the Emperor? – Jesus?
To this small, persecuted group
John writes…
The Revelation is not some
intellectual puzzle we are to put together.
It was not written to a relaxed,
mega-church of Christ like in the USA,
but to this small, persecuted, frustrated and frightened group of believers.
They didn’t know what
to make of their situation – not what they hoped for.
John writes to meet their needs
– to encourage – to support them.
The future belongs to God alone
– not the Emperor – not Rome – not any human
– not angels – no, not even Satan – only to God.
John constantly takes the reader
behind the scenes throughout this book.
The symbols used to bring his
message, no matter how bizarre, are “drawn from the contemporary Roman Empire”
and understood by its first century church. However, the principles presented
there are just as relevant and “are of permanent validity.” (Morris, p.23).
They are just as meaningful to us today and those in the future as they were to the early persecuted church.
The symbols and imagery have
meaning in themselves. They are to convey ideas not be translated into items
or entities of today.
Rev. 1:1-3 - Prologue
v.1 - revelation – apocalypse – unveiling of something hidden – revealing
- of Jesus Christ –
His – not human, not angelic – something God gave Him –
He is revealing it to us through John
- Prediction –
rather than record of history – the things that will happen
- soon – prophecy
is not subject to chronos (clock/calendar time) but certain to happen –
this is repeated over and over in this book and may be an inclusion with 22:6 (soon
- 2:16; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20)
Kairos – the appointed
time – God event time, in His control, His time
v.2
- John “sees” –
pay attention to all that John saw – he saw the Word and the testimony of God not just dreams or visions
- signs – portents – plagues later – many signs are
seen
v.3 - Read aloud – this book/letter was to be read aloud in the churches
it addresses – John intends this book to be read as sacred, as Scripture, as the very words of God
- prophecy – John
labels it what it is – God’s word to them/us – this book is a divine revelation
- Hear and Obey this
Word – this book is a call to action. We can’t read/hear it and not
be moved to do something about it.
