The Revelation
of Christ.
Revelation one.
1 The
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things
which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel
to His servant John,
2 who bore witness to the word of
God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
3 Blessed is he who reads
and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are
written in it; for the time is near.
The word “Revelation” in the Greek is “APOCALUPSIS.” Hence the title “THE APOCALYPSE,” by which it is often
called. It is from the verb “APOCALUPTO,”
to unveil; from “APO,” away from; and “KALUMMA,” a veil. Hence
“Apocalypses” means a taking away of a veil, as when a statue is unveiled, that
what is behind the veil may be seen. It is not so much a Revelation or
unveiling of the Person of Christ, though it discloses His High Priestly and
Kingly glory.
As it is the
unveiling of those events that shall precede and accompany His return to the
earth. This is seen from the fact that what is Revelation in the Book, was
given unto Jesus Christ, by God the Father, to show unto His Servants the “things which must shortly come to pass.”
When Jesus
was asked just before His death, when the things that He had prophesied against
Jerusalem should come to pass (Mark
13:1-31). He replied in verse 32,
“But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the
angels which are in Heaven, neither (NOT YET) the Son, but the FATHER.”
But after
His Ascension He received from the Father the information that the Disciples
asked for, and before the close of the first century, while at least one of
those Disciples was still living, the beloved John, He sent an angel messenger
to impart to him, and through him to the Churches, the information that is “unveiled” in this Book of
Revelation.
Thus, we see
that the canon of Scripture would be incomplete without this message from Jesus
to His Church after His return to Heaven.
While the
Apostle John is the writer of the Book, he is not the author or composer. The
Author was the Lord Jesus Himself. The Apostle was only a “scribe” or “secretary.” Twice
he declares that the contents of the Book were Revealed to him by an angel. Revelation 1:1; Revelation 22:8.
The fact
that the style of the Book differs so strikingly from the other writings of
John, as the Gospel and Epistles, is the strongest kind of evidence that John
did not compose the Book.
But that it
was dictated or visualized to him. In its subject matter, and in the majesty
and sublimity of its language, which is in harmony with its contents.
The Book of
Revelation differs from all other books, and is supremely above them, thus
revealing its “Divine Authorship.”
In fact, it is the only portion of the New Testament to which Jesus gives His endorsement, and attaches His signature, saying at its close: “I JESUS have sent Mine Angel to testify to
you these things in the Churches” Revelation 22:16.
The Book of
Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him. To show
unto His servant’s things which must shortly come to pass. This He sent by His Angel. Who this Angel was we are
not told, but when John fell to worship him, he said,
“See you do it not: for I am your fellow servant, and of the
brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book?”
Revelation 22:8-9. He must therefore have been one of the old prophets raised
for the purpose. The Book is a PROPHETIC
Book. It is not a history. It does not record the past but reveals the future.
It makes
this claim in the Title: “Blessed is he
that reads, and they that hear the words of THIS PROPHECY” Revelation 1:3;
and four times in the concluding chapter. Revelation
22:7; Revelation 22:10; Revelation 22:18-19. It is the summing up and
consummation of all prophecy. In it all unfulfilled prophecy is fulfilled. It
is the “finality” in prophecy until
Jesus comes back.
There has
been no “new Revelation” since it was written; and all those who claim to have
received new and later “Revelations” are impostors and false prophets.
There is no
place for “additions” or “subtractions”
in the Book. It opens with a “blessing”
promised the reader and ends with a “curse”
upon those who “ADD UNTO” or “TAKE FROM” it. Revelation 1:3; Revelation 22:18-19.
Nothing is
said about understanding the Book,
but blessed is he that “reads,” or
if too uninformed to read, blessed are they that “hear,” that is, listen to its reading. The reference here is
doubtless to the “reader” and “hearers” of the Scripture as read in
the Synagogue in the Apostle’s day.
The Book is
not only a “Prophetic” book, but
also a “SYMBOLIC” book, that is, it
is written largely in “symbolic”
language, that is the meaning of the statement in the Title: “He sent and 'SIGNIFIED' it by His Angel
unto His Servant John.” The
word “signified” means given in “signs” and “symbols” and should be pronounced “SIGN ́-IFIED.”
There are
more “signs” and “symbols” in the Book of Revelation
than in any other book in the Bible, but they are either explained there or in
some other part of the Scriptures.
No one can
understand the Book of Revelation who does not understand the Book of Daniel.
The Prophet Daniel was told to “seal up”
the words of his prophecy until the “Time
of the End,” not the “end of time,” but the end of the “Times of the Gentiles.” Daniel
12:4; Daniel 12:9.
But the
writer of the Book of Revelation was told to “seal NOT” the sayings of the Book, for the “TIME IS AT HAND” Revelation
22:10.
The
symbolism of the Book of Revelation shows that it was written for a “special class,” for those who are
acquainted with the “Word of God,”
and who have “spiritual discernment,”
and not for the carnally minded reader. “The
secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are REVEALED
belong to us and our children forever” Deuteronomy 29:29.
The Book of
Revelation was written to reveal or disclose the purpose of God as to the earth
and the nations, and we are not snooping into God’s secrets when we read and
study it.
4 John, to the seven churches which
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,
5 and from Jesus Christ, the
faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of
the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6 and has made us kings and priests
to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds,
and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of
the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and
who is to come, the Almighty."
9 I, John, both your brother and
companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on
the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of
Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the Spirit on the
Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
11 saying, "I am the Alpha and
the Omega, the First and the Last," and "What you see, write in a
book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to
Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to
Laodicea."
12 Then I turned to see the voice
that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and in the midst of the seven
lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the
feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14 His head and hair were
white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
15 His feet were like fine
brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
16 He had in His right hand seven
stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was
like the sun shining in its strength.
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at
His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not
be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
18 I am He who lives, and
was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
Hades and of Death.
19 Write the things which you have
seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after
this.
20 The mystery of the seven stars
which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven
stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you
saw are the seven churches.
Revelation 1:1-20 (NKJV)
THE
GREETING
REVELATION 1:4-6.
“JOHN, to
the Seven Churches which 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, and the FIRST BEGOTTEN
FROM THE DEAD, and the RULER OVER THE KINGS OF THE EARTH. To Him who LOVED US
and WASHED (Loosed) US from our sins in His own blood. And has made us KINGS
and PRIESTS to His God and Father to Him be glory and dominion forever and
ever. Amen.”
The Greeting is addressed to the “Seven Churches which are in Asia.” By Asia is not meant the great
Continent of Asia, or even the whole of Asia Minor, but only the western end of
Asia Minor bordering on the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. Neither do these
Seven Churches mean that there were only seven churches in that district, for
there were at least three other
churches, that of Colossae, Colossians
1:2; Hierapolis, Colossians 4:13;
and Troas, Acts 20:6-7.
These seven Churches then must be representative or typical
churches, chosen for certain characteristics typical of the character of the
Church of Christ, not only in that day, but on down the centuries until the
Church shall be removed from the earth, and represent seven church periods. Clearly defined in Church History.
In the Benediction it says: “Grace be to you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and
which is to come; and from the Seven Spirits which are before His Throne;
and from Jesus Christ,
who
is the Faithful Witness, etc.,” we
behold the Trinity?
Here Jesus is distinguished from: “HIM (the Father) which Is,
and which Was, and which Is to Come,” but in verse 8, He claims the same Title,
which only proves that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh.
And that He and the Father are one.
It is also worthy of note that the “Threefold Office” of Jesus, as PROPHET, PRIEST, and KING is brought out in the Greeting.
He is called
the “Faithful Witness,” as such he
is a PROPHET. As Prophet Jesus is God’s WORD.
As the “First Begotten from The Dead,” He
carried His own blood into the Heavenly Tabernacle, and thus performed the work
of a PRIEST. As Priest He is God’s LAMB,
As the “Prince of The Kings of The Earth,” as
He will be when
He takes the
Throne; He will be a KING. As King He is God’s LION.
John also emphasizes the fact that Jesus LOVED us before He WASHED (Loosed)
us from our sins in His own blood, and that He has made us “Kings” and “Priests”
unto God, and that we need no human Priest to stand between us and God.
THE
ANNOUNCEMENT
REVELATION 1:7.
“Behold, He
is coming with clouds; and every eye will SEE HIM, even they who PIERCED HIM:
And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
This refers to the Second Stage of Christ’s Coming, the “Revelation” or “Appearing.” The First Stage of His Coming, the “Rapture,” is not mentioned in the
Book. This will fulfil Zechariah 12:10,
“They (the Jews) shall look upon Me (Jesus) whom they have PIERCED.” This
is a positive view that the Book of Revelation deals mainly with the events that
follow the “Rapture” and precede and attend the “Revelation” or the coming to the earth of the Lord.
It is difficult to imagine the grief and remorse that will
fill the hearts of those Jews who shall witness the return of the Lord to the
Mount of Olives, when they shall see in His hands and feet the “PRINT OF THE NAILS,” and He shall be
Revealed as the One they crucified.
Like Thomas they will cry, “MY LORD AND MY GOD.” John
20:24-29. The Prophet Zechariah (Zechariah
12:9-14) describes it as a time of great “BITTERNESS” and a day of great mourning in Jerusalem, when families
will separate themselves from their neighbours and mourn every family apart.
And not only shall the Jews mourn because they rejected Him when He came the
first time, but the nations of the earth will WAIL when they realize that He has come back, not as a Saviour, but
a Judge to punish them for their iniquities.
I. THE THINGS WHICH YOU HAVE SEEN.
THE VISION
REVELATION 1:9-20.
“I John, both your brother, and companion in the
tribulation, and Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the Island that
is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I
was in the SPIRIT on the LORD'S DAY, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of
a Trumpet, saying, I am ALPHA and the OMEGA, the FIRST and the LAST: and, what
you SEE, write in a book, and send it to the Seven Churches which are in Asia.
to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira,
and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And
having turned, I saw
SEVEN GOLDEN
LAMPSTANDS.
and in the
Seven Lampstands one like the
SON OF MAN,
clothed with
a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
His Head and
His Hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His Eyes like a flame of
fire; His Feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace; and His Voice
as the sound of many waters. He had in His Right Hand “Seven Stars”; out of His
Mouth went a sharp two-edged Sword; and His Countenance was like the sun
shining in its strength.
And when I
saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His Right Hand on me, saying
to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the FIRST and the LAST:
I am He who
LIVES, and WAS DEAD; and behold, I am ALIVE FOR EVERMORE, AMEN; and I have the
KEYS of HELL (Hades, the Underworld), and of DEATH (the Grave). Write the
things which you have SEEN, and the things which ARE, and the things which will
take place AFTER THIS (after these).
The Mystery
of the 'Seven Stars' which you saw in My right hand, and the 'Seven Golden
Lampstands.' The 'Seven Stars' are the ANGELS (Messengers) of the 'Seven
Churches': and the 'Seven Lampstands' which you saw are the SEVEN CHURCHES.”
The Apostle John addresses the Churches as their brother and companion in TRIBULATION.
This does not mean “The Great
Tribulation,” for that is not for the Church but for Israel and is still future.
When John wrote the Book of Revelation in A. D. 95-96 the
Christians were undergoing a persecution under the Roman Emperor Domitian, and
as a result of this persecution John had been banished to the Isle of Patmos, a
small, rocky island in the Aegean Sea 30 miles off the west coast of Asia
Minor, and opposite the city of Ephesus.
John was the pastor of the Church at Ephesus at the time of
his exile, and it was to that Church that the first Message to the Seven
Churches was addressed. John was banished for “the Word of God, and his testimony to Jesus Christ.”
He tells us
that he was “in the Spirit on the LORD'S
DAY.”
There has been much confusion as to what is meant here by
the “Lord's Day.” Some hold that the
“First Day of the Week” or the
Christian Sabbath is meant, others that John meant the “Day of the Lord.”
Both the Old and the New Testament speak of the “Day of the Lord.” Isaiah 2:12; Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1; Joel 3:14; Ezekiel 13:5; Malachi 4:5;
Acts 2:20; Acts 2:2. Corinthians 1:14; 1. Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10.
The term applies to the “Day of the
Lord’s Return” and includes both the Tribulation and the Millennium.
(See the
Chart on the Prophetic Days of Scripture).
The Christian Sabbath was never called the “LORD'S DAY” until after the Book of Revelation was written and got its name from that
source. It is always called in the Gospels and Epistles the “First Day of the Week.”
It is hardly likely that John could have been caught up as
Paul was into the Third Heaven and seen and heard all that he describes in the
Book of Revelation on one Sabbath
Day, and as the Book from chapter 5
is a description of the things that are to come to pass in the “DAY OF THE LORD,” what better
understanding of the “LORD'S DAY”
can we have than that John was projected by the Holy Spirit across the
centuries into the “DAY OF THE LORD”
and had visualized to him the things
that shall come to pass in that day.
This is the rational solution of the question.
When John thus found himself in the “Day of the Lord” he heard behind him a great voice, as of a trumpet, which said: “I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the
Last,” and the repeat of the statement in verses 17 and 18, with the added words: “I am He that Lives, and WAS DEAD; and behold, I am ALIVE FOR EVERMORE,
AMEN; and have the keys of Hell (Hades, the Underworld), and of Death (the
Grave),”
This identifies
the speaker as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. John had his back turned to the
speaker, and when he turned around, he saw one like unto the
SON
OF MAN
standing during “Seven
Candlesticks.”
“LAMPSTANDS” is a
better translation and is so given in the margin of our Bibles. A candlestick
requires a light such as a candle, which is self-consuming, while a “Lampstand” is for the support of a lamp
whose wick instead of burning away is fed from the oil within.
In the Scriptures oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, and as
Jesus Himself interprets the “Lampstands”
as meaning the Seven Churches to whom He was about to send messages, we see
that Jesus looks upon the churches as not the LIGHT, but simply the “LIGHT
HOLDER.”
From the fact that Jesus speaks of “Stars” and “Lampstands”
we are living in the NIGHT of this
Dispensation, for “stars” and “lampstands” belong to the night.
THE
VISION OF THE GLORIFIED SON OF MAN
The Vision that John saw was that of the GLORIFIED “SON OF MAN.” When Jesus
ascended, He took up with Him His HUMANITY,
and we now have in the Glory the “MAN
Christ Jesus” 1 Timothy 2:5.
When Jesus was on the earth He was, as the “Son of Man,” a PROPHET, now as the “Son of
Man” in Glory He is a Priest, and when He comes again it will be as the “Son of Man” to reign as KING. While Jesus is now a High Priest
in heaven, John did not see Him engaged in any High Priestly work.
While He was clothed in a High Priestly robe, there was no
mitre upon His head, nor
The
Prophetic Days of Scripture
A Kingly Crown. The description of Him is more that of a JUDGE. This is positive evidence that
John was transported into the “Day of
the Lord,” and that his vision of Christ is as Christ shall appear after
His High Priestly work is finished and before He assumes His Kingly Office.
This is seen in that He was girded about the breasts, and
not around the waist. The High Priest was girded around the waist, signifying
service, but a girdle or sash over the shoulder and around the breasts is an
insignia of the Superior Office. This is still further Revealed when we study the
SEVENFOLD
GLORY OF HIS PERSON
1. HIS “HEAD AND HIS HAIR.”
His “Head” and “Hair” were “WHITE LIKE WOOL,” as “WHITE
AS SNOW.” Here there is some correspondence to the “Snow White Wig” worn by English judges. This description of Christ
reminds us of Daniel’s vision of the “ANCIENT
OF DAYS,” “whose garment was white
as snow, and the hair of His head like the PURE WOOL” Daniel 7:9.
Daniel refers three times to the “Ancient of Days.” In Chapter
7:13, he distinguishes between the “Son
of Man” and the “Ancient of Days,”
but in verses 9 and 22 he associates the “Ancient
of Days” with a “Throne of
Judgment,” and as God the Father has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and the Father and the Son
are one, the title “Ancient Of Days”
is used interchangeably.
And as the title “Ancient
of Days” is applied to the “Son of
Man” (Christ) at the time He assumes the Judgeship (Daniel 7:9-10), which is not until after the Rapture of the Church,
we have here additional corroborative proof that John’s Vision belongs to the “Day of the Lord.”
The “White Hair”
of the Son of Man refers to His THE
DISTANT PAST, to His patriarchal dignity, not that His hair was made white
by age, for the Eternal never grows old, but it bespeaks wisdom and experience.
2. HIS EYES.
'“His Eyes
were a FLAME OF FIRE.” Those eyes
that had often been dimmed with human tears, and that wept at the grave of
Lazarus, are here pictured as burning with an “OMNISCIENT FLAME.” How often when on the earth those eyes read the
inner-most thoughts of men, and even soldiers trembled before His soul
penetrating gaze, so when He sits as the Judge of men all things will be NAKED and OPEN before Him.
3. HIS FEET.
“His Feet
like unto fine BRASS, as if they BURNED IN A FURNACE.” In that day those feet that trod the Via Dolorosa of suffering
will be like unto SHINING BRASS,
that shall tread and crush the Antichrist and Satan when He comes to “Tread the WINE-PRESS of the fierceness and
wrath of Almighty God” Revelation 19:15.
4. HIS VOICE.
“His Voice
as the SOUND OF MANY WATERS.” There is
nothing more pleasant or musical than the babbling brook, or more thunderous
than the rush of the force over the falls, and there is nothing more fearful to
the criminal than the words of the Judge as he passes sentence; but how
terrifying will be the sentence when with a strong voice the Son of Man shall
say in the Judgment Day, “Depart from
Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels”
Matthew 25:41.
5. HIS HAND.
“In His
Right Hand SEVEN STARS.” We are told
in verse 20, that the “Seven Stars” stand for the “ANGELS” of the “Seven Churches.” These “Angels”
are not angelic beings but the Messengers or Ministers of the churches. What a
beautiful and solemn lesson is taught here.
It is that the ministers of Christ derive their power and
office from Him, and that He holds them in His hand. If they are false to Him,
no one can deliver them from His power, and if they are true and loyal, no one
can touch or molest, or do them harm.
6. HIS MOUTH.
“Out of His
Mouth went a SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD.”
While the “Sword of the Spirit” is
the “Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17),
and the “Word of God” is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any TWO-EDGED
SWORD, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow (the body), (Hebrews
4:12), that is not the sword meant here.
The “Sword of the
Spirit” is the Holy Spirit’s SWORD,
and He alone wields it. The sword meant here is the Sword of the Son of Man (Christ), and it is the “SWORD OF JUSTICE,”
For the Son of Man, out of whose mouth this sword comes, is
the “White Horse Rider” of Revelation 19:11-15, “out of whose mouth
goes a SHARP SWORD, that with it He should smite the nations.” And that
sword, like the “Sword of the Spirit”
will be TWO-EDGED also, for the
protection of His people, and the destruction of His enemies. This is still
further proof that John's vision of Christ was as He shall appear in the “DAY OF THE LORD.”
7. HIS COUNTENANCE.
“His
Countenance was as the SUN SHINES IN HIS STRENGTH.” This recalls to our memory His appearance on the Mount of
Transfiguration when “His Face did shine
AS THE SUN” Matthew 17:2. And we read of the New Jerusalem that the
inhabitants thereof have no need of the SUN,
for the LAMB is the Light thereof. Revelation 21:23.
And when we recall that the Prophet Malachi tells us that
when Jesus comes back, He will be the SUN
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (Malachi 4:2),
we see that John’s vision of the Son of Man was as He shall appear at the
Second Stage of His Return, the “Revelation.”
Thus, we have in John’s “Seven-Fold”
description of the person of the “Glorified Son of Man” inferred or
indirect evidence that John saw his vision of the Son of Man, not on a Sabbath
Day (or the “Lord’s Day” as we now
call it), but was projected by the Holy Spirit forward into the “Day of the Lord” and saw Him as He will
appear then as the Judge, and the
coming
“SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS”
THE
“KEY” TO THE BOOK
The “Key” to the
Book is its
“THREE-FOLD DIVISION.” REVELATION 1:19.
1. The Things Which You Have “SEEN.”
2. The Things Which “ARE.”
3. The Things Which “SHALL BE HEREAFTER.”
This is the only book in the Bible where the Divisions are
given, and they are here given by Christ Himself.
1. The Things Which You Have “SEEN.”
The Vision of the Son of Man during the “Seven Lamp-stands.” Revelation 1:10-20.
2. The Things Which “ARE.”
The Messages to the Seven Churches, Revelation 2:1-3; Revelation 22. As these Messages were to seven
churches that were in existence in John’s day, and to whom he personally wrote,
the advocates of the theory that John was in the Spirit on a certain Sabbath or
“Lord’s Day,” naturally claim that
John at that time could not have been trans-ported into the “Day of the Lord.”
Conclusion:
That is all folks!
