Today we embark upon a remarkable journey through
the book of Revelation! Perhaps no other
book of the Bible sparks more intrigue and curiosity among people than this one.
Part of the reason for that is because
people have always been obsessed with the end of the world. Revelation is a book that answers a lot of
those questions. But Revelation is also
a book that can spark a lot of controversy and confusion. Many believers, though they’re curious, are
intimidated by its contents. This is a tragedy because the book of Revelation
was meant to be understood by the church.
I’m going to argue that its original audience understood this book and
that it is still meant to be understood by the church today.
Now I find that when approaching material that can
leave you feeling lost in the woods,
it’s important to set your bearings
so that you will not only make sense of where
you are but also end up where you
need to be. This is precisely what happens
in this book’s introduction. In Revelation 1:1-8, John wrote to
introduce the book of Revelation to seven churches in Asia Minor. In writing this introduction, John helps
believers to set their bearings before making their way through the book itself. We are going to take our time through this
book’s introduction and make sure that we set our bearings properly before we
begin navigating through its contents.
My prayer is that God would give us grace throughout this series to hear
and heed the heart of Revelation’s message.
[1:1] 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, [2] who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony
of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. [3] 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. (Revelation 1:1-3 ESV) What
are some of the bearings that we must set in order to clearly hear the message
of Revelation?
I.
The Book of Revelation is Written to Reveal, not
Conceal or Confuse (1a)
The first phrase of the book yields both the
book’s title and part of its purpose: “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (1a). The Greek word for “revelation” here is “apokalypsis,”
which means “a revelation, a disclosure, or an unveiling.” The idea is that of curtains being pulled
back to reveal something. So what is being revealed?
II.
The Book of Revelation is Written to Reveal Jesus
Christ (1b)
What’s being revealed is “Jesus Christ” and “the
things that must soon take place.”
We’ll get to the second item in a minute, but notice up front that this
book is primarily about Jesus. That means that an important question to ask when
studying this book is “What do we learn about Jesus or from Jesus in this
text?”
III.
The Book of Revelation is Considered a “Mixed
Genre” (1,3,4)
Since we have just mentioned the Greek word, “apokalypsis,” this is a good time to
also mention that the book of Revelation is considered a “mixed genre.” It is first a piece of apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of
literature that communicates its message through grand visions and images that
are symbolic in nature. It normally gives a symbolic glimpse of the
future given in order to call people to persevere through their present
situation. Revelation is also a piece of
prophetic literature (3), much like
the work of Old Testament prophets like Daniel and Ezekiel. Finally, Revelation is an epistle, or letter,
written to seven real churches in Asia Minor (4).
IV.
The Book of Revelation is Written to Reveal the
Things that Must Soon Take Place
(1c)
What does that mean? There are basically five approaches to
understanding when the things written in Revelation will take place. First, there is the preterist approach,
which basically states that the events
and visions of Revelation depict events that occurred in the first century. The strength of this approach is that it
seeks to interpret the book in terms of what it meant for its original audience. A weakness with
this approach is that Revelation takes us all the way into the new heavens and
earth, which did not happen in the first century!
Next is the historicist
approach, which states that the events
and visions of Revelation depict events that span all of church history. This one is sometimes called the “newspaper
approach,” because essentially what happens is that people read what is happening
in the newspaper (or has happened in history) into the book of Revelation.
The strength of this approach is that it rightly seeks to live as though
the return of Christ is imminent.
Another approach is the futurist approach, which states that the events and visions of Revelation
depict events that will occur at the end of history. The strength of this approach and the
previous one is that they rightly takes into account that Revelation is about
the end of history. A weakness of this
approach and the historicist approach is that they often overlook the fact that Revelation had an original, first-century
audience that understood its
contents. For example, no first century
believer would have thought of nuclear bombs, helicopters, bar codes, or computer
chips when hearing this letter read to the congregation!
Then there is the idealist approach, which states that the events and visions of Revelation only give us principles and ideas that
are true at any time in church history.
They would say that Revelation’s content merely symbolizes the great
conflict between God and Satan and encourages believers of God’s sure
victory. A strength to this approach is
that is rightly seeks to distill the main
message of many difficult portions of
the book without getting lost in the details.
Some things are not clear in the book of Revelation, so it is important
to remember to major on the major and
not the minor. A weakness of this
approach is that Revelation, though largely symbolic in its descriptions, does
describe real events.
A final approach to Revelation’s content is the eclectic approach, which combines essential
aspects of the other views, seeing each as having benefits and flaws. It takes the truth of each view and combines
it, saying that the book addresses the present through parallels with the
future and sees both historical and future fulfillment. I think this final approach is the healthier
approach. Revelation was written to a
first century audience to call them to persevere in the face of persecution,
false teaching, and worldliness by placing their hope in God and His plan in
Christ to wrap up history.
Now as important as all that information is, we
still haven’t answered our question of what John means by “the things that must soon take place” (1). John also says in verse 3 that the time for
these things to happen “is near.” I want to make three points here. First, any discussion of when these things
will take place needs to keep in mind God’s perspective with respect to time. 2
Peter 3:8 clearly alerts us to the fact that God is in now way bound by
time like we are. So “soon” to God may mean something
completely different than what “soon”
would mean to us. Second, “imminent
language” is common in the New Testament with respect to Jesus’ return and
God’s bringing about the end of history.
Consider the following examples: [20] The
God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you. (Romans 16:20
ESV) [7] The end of all things
is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your
prayers. (1 Peter 4:7 ESV) [18] Children, it is the last hour, and
as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come.
Therefore we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18 ESV) In the New Testament, the “last days” are not
merely the end of history but the final period of salvation history that spans
from Jesus’ first coming until His second coming. So I take these things taking place “soon” to simply mean that the 4th
Quarter of salvation history has begun.
I think this is confirmed by the third point that
I want to make about this phrase and that is that it is most likely an allusion
to Daniel 2:28-29. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the
Old Testament) contains the same basic wording seen here in Revelation 1:1. In Daniel 2, God gives Nebuchadnezzar a dream about how God will one
day establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed and will rule over all
other kingdoms. This kingdom will eventually
cover the whole earth and its king will be a “rock” who will be a King of kings and a Lord of lords. If this is an allusion to Daniel 2, then Revelation 1:1 means that the kingdom that Daniel prophesied about
is now and soon coming to fulfillment. I
say now and soon because this is our
current reality: that the kingdom of God has
come in the coming of Jesus and that history is moving towards its final consummation. God’s kingdom is both already here and coming
soon at the same time.
V.
The Message of Revelation is Meant to Be Shared (2)
Verse 1b-2 says also says God made this revelation
known to “His servant John” (the
apostle) by “sending His angel.” This is a common characteristic of
apocalyptic literature, where an angel serves as a guide and interpreter for
the visions seen. John is identified as
God’s “servant” who “bore witness to the word of God and to the
testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.” This means that john has been a faithful witness of the gospel and the
things that God has revealed to him, and it reminds us that the message of
Revelation is meant to be shared. This
is an essential bearing that we must set.
Revelation is not in the Bible to simply spark our intellectual
curiosity. It is meant to move us out of
comfort and into commission. That is
what a grand vision of Jesus Christ will do!
VI.
The Message of Revelation is Meant to be Heard and
Heeded (3)
Verse 3 is the first of seven benedictions found in the book of Revelation (1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14). A blessing is promised here for “the one who reads aloud the words of this
prophecy” and also for “those who
hear, and who keep what is written” (3).
Again, Revelation isn’t written to merely inform you, but to transform you. James
1:22-25 says that we are not to be “hearers”
of the word only, but “doers” of
the word as well. According to James,
when we are “hearers” and not “doers” of the word, we actually deceive
our own selves. Ask God today for grace to hear, head, and speak the message of
this book as we journey through it together.
VII.
The Book of Revelation Must be Interpreted in a
Way that Keeps its Original Audience in Mind (4a)
Revelation was written to “the seven churches that are in Asia.” It is significant that there are “seven” churches addressed (because there
were others in Asia Minor) and that they are called “the” seven churches. This
means that Revelation’s message is not only for the seven churches addressed,
but also for the whole church for all of
history. But what I want to reiterate
here that that these seven churches were the book’s original audience. They
understood this book when they heard it read.
Most every symbol made sense
to them. So another important question
to continually ask in Revelation is “what did this text mean for its original audience?” If we are going to understand what this book
means for us today, then we have to understand what it meant for that audience
then. These churches were being
infiltrated by false teaching and worldliness and were about to face
unimaginable persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire. This book was written to call them to endure
in the face of all of it.
The book of Revelation aims to reveal Jesus in all
His glory in such a way that it changes your life into a disciple of Jesus who
will be His witness in this world in the face of anything, including
death. Ask God to help you be an open
book as we journey through it. There is
great diversity and division over interpreting this book. My prayer is that I would be humble and kind
in sharing my take on it with you, but also that you will see that by applying
sound principles of Bible study, we can understand the main message of
Revelation. This book reminds us that Jesus
is coming again. Are you ready to meet Him today?
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