Monday, November 30 –
We
come to the beginning of a new week, and the last book in the New Testament –
the Book of Revelation. I am grateful
for all of you who have read with me this year.
We have one month to go, and we will have read, and thought our way
through the entire New Testament – thank you.
This morning our reading is from Revelation 1:1 – 8. It’s a short reading, but we should get some
background to help us understand what we’re about to dive into.
The book of Revelation in our Bibles is entitled, “The Revelation of Jesus
Christ”. While written by the Apostle
John, the book is a series of revelations given by the Lord to John. The book was written by John while he was banished
to an island – Patmos (1:9) – by the Romans. It was near the end of the first century when
the Emperor Domitian unleashed a series of edicts ordering the arrest and
banishment of Christian leaders and other Christians who would not declare
their worship of the Emperor as a god. Domitian’s
persecution was not the first against the church, but it was the first that was
Empire-wide in scope. John writes the revelation he receives to the church – “I,
John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the
patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account
of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9).
The
book of Revelation is prophetic and belongs to a genre of writings called “apocalyptic”
(from the Greek “apokalupsis”, which means “revelation”, or “an
unveiling” – sort of like pulling the curtains when a play is going to
begin. Revelation will either dazzle
your imagination or leave you wondering “what in the world is happening?” The book has mysterious images, extensive
symbols, and lots of Old Testament prophetic references that fit into dramatic
language – but what is it all about? The
book of Revelation was written by John, having received the revelation from the
Lord (chapter 1), and was written to seven churches in Asia (modern-day Turkey)
(chapters 2-3). Beginning in chapter 4,
the drama shifts from the earth to the heavenlies. John sees a picture of the heavenly throne,
the heavenly host, the glory of God, and the lamb of God – Jesus (chapters 4
-5). The book can be divided into seven visions
– there are lots of sevens in Revelation – seven churches, seven spirits, seven
seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls, and in between plenty of dramatic pictures.
Seven was the number of days God created
everything in creation. Seven often
appeared in the Bible, and almost always it meant something was “completed”,
“whole”. The revelations are from the perspective of the
heavenlies and are meant to both encourage believers and remind them that no
matter how the kingdoms of the earth persecute the church, God’s church,
Kingdom and justice will prevail. Yet,
there is not a fundamental agreement on what the book of Revelation is revealing.
It’s
important to recognize that Revelation has many allusions to Old Testament
scripture, much of it prophetic. The nature
of prophecy is the tension of the “now”, and “not yet”. It is the past prophecies that John sees
being revealed in his present-day context.
Yet, it would be a mistake – in my opinion – to think John was looking
down twenty centuries of time to see the ultimate fulfillment of heaven on earth
in the future. He wrote to a church (universal)
that was undergoing immense pressure from the Empire, and what he sees is both “now”
applicable, and also future – in the final resolution of Christ’s victory over
all evil – a time he knew would come, but not when it would come. To those
early-church believers, the book was a source of comfort as Rome unleashed its
fury to try to destroy the church in the first three centuries. It is this that forms the beginning words of
the revelation –
“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, 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, who bore witness to the word of God and to the
testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 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 (1:1-3).
The
revelation comes from Jesus via his sent angel.
It is not John’s revelation, but a revelation which God gave John “to
show his servant the things that must soon take place” …” the time is
near”. The church is on the earth,
and Satan has unleashed an all-out war against the church – an attack against
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus as the Son of God. None of it has escaped God’s eye. It is Jesus who is sovereignly in control of
all that is going to happen. One could
say the book was a “Revelation about Jesus Christ” as he is the central figure
for the church and the heavenly warfare. As to the warfare, Jesus had predicted
this in a small way when he told the disciples, “Upon this rock, I will
build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew
16:18).
The
letter – and it is a letter – begins in a typical first-century manner: “John to the seven churches that are in
Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus
Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings
on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and
made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen” (1:4-6).
We
know that at the end of the first century there were more than seven churches
in Asia, but seven often means completeness, and so the letter is for all the churches.
After reminding us that we came into the
church through grace to receive God’s peace, he speaks of the seven spirits who
are before God’s throne – an Old Testament illusion to the Holy Spirit (Isaiah
11:2-3). Lastly, he brings Jesus to the forefront
– “firstborn of the dead, ruler of kings of the earth, the one who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his blood”. If only we could remember all of that. Jesus, our Savior, is Lord of all creation,
sovereign over everything including the things we often think control us –
rulers and death. The imagery again
comes from Old Testament prophetic pictures (Psalm 89:27, 37). The Spirit, the Son, and the Father who has
called us into the Kingdom of His Son, making us a priesthood of all
believers. In the greeting is a Doxology
of praise to the Trinity of the Godhead, who are sovereignly over all things
past, present, and future.
“Behold,
he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who
pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so.
Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who
was and who is to come, the Almighty” (1:7-8).
Two
Old Testament images are spoken to remind us that the present time is always
being fulfilled by past promises (Daniel 7:13, Zechariah 12:10). Nothing in Revelation is a coincidence, chance,
just happened to be. Jesus came in the first Advent as the incarnation
of God. At that time, he came in
humility, born to a peasant couple, in a manger. When he comes again, he will come so that
every person shall see him, and many will “wail” for they know that divine
judgment has arrived, and there is to more time to repent. John says “Even so. Amen” …” yes, let it be
so”. To those who have put their trust,
their faith, in Christ as Savior and Lord, he is “alpha and omega” – the
first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – “the beginning and the end”. Jesus
is eternally “the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the
Almighty” (cf. Exodus 3:14).
Here
we are at the beginning of this majestic letter. Yet we are immediately reminded, even as the
first-century church was reminded – the rulers of the earth are not in
control. They think they are, but it is “Almighty
God” is overseeing everything in his creation.
We live with the tension of the now and not yet, and at times it seems as
if God has left to take a nap. God has
sovereign control – even in the “not yet”.
He is going to return one day to judge with justice and bring the promise
of eternal life to his people who have put their faith in Christ alone. God sovereignly is in control – always has
been, always is, always will be.
Peace
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