Revelation 1: part 2

 

• Rev 1:9,  John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

• John is identifying with the persecution of the people he is addressing

• He points out he is writing this from Patmos

• A rocky island off the coast of Turkey where prisoners were sent sometimes sent to work in mines 

• He was probably too old to do hard labor so he may have been exiled here.  Perhaps it was a sort of house arrest

• It saw he was there because of the, “word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

• Rev 1:10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

• Some dispute over the meaning of the Lord’s day

• Some believe it was a Sunday and John was in prayer

• “In the Spirit” could mean a communion John experiences with the Holy Spirit while in prayer

• Prayer is time we spend with God.  It is in prayer that God often lets His will for us be known.

• Some believe the Lord’s day is a reference to the Second Coming, aka, the Day of the Lord.

• Isaiah 13:6, Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

• God took John away in the spirit to show him in person the things that will happen in the Day of the Lord.

• Rev 1:11, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

• Here are the seven literal churches this message was sent to but again, the messages are for our churches as well

• The writing of letters to churches is how we got most of our New Testament

• When the churches received these letters, they knew they were important and would preserve and copy them.  We have found thousands of these handwritten copies called manuscripts.

• In this case, we are reading words spoken verbatim by God

• The scene is similar to the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai, when the Lord spoke the Commandments audibly to them.

• Exodus 20:18-19, And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

• John has a similar reaction when he saw Jesus in His glory

• Rev 1:12-13, And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

• John recognizes this Person to be Jesus.

• Jesus is walking in the midst of seven candlesticks.  Other translations use the term, lampstands.

• The significance of the lampstands is explained later in the chapter but it’s important to notice that Jesus is walking among them.

• Rev 1:14, His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

• White hair has been historically recognized as a symbol of wisdom.

• Jesus’ hair was pure white, perhaps indicating that He possesses all wisdom.  There is no one wiser.

• Also, by comparing His hair to wool could be a reference to Jesus as the Lamb

• The eyes of fire represent His piercing gaze

• Jeremiah 17:10, I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

• There is no hiding from God.  

• Rev 1:15, And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

• His feet burning in a furnace makes me think of the coming judgment of God

• Isaiah 63:3, I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury;

• Rev 14:19-20, And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

• His voice as the sound of many waters

• Water can be soothing or fearful

• The sound of waves or a babbling brook can lull us to sleep

• The sound of a mighty waterfall fills us with awe

• Rev 1:16, And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

• And he had in his right hand seven stars

• Jesus explains this in a moment

• and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword

• Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

• Ephesians 6:17, And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

• I believe the sword going out of His mouth clearly represents His speaking with the authority of God

• and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

• In His glory, Jesus literally outshines the sun

• Revelation 21:23, And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

• 1 John 1:5, This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

• Rev 1:17-19, And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

• John’s reaction was similar to the people of Israel.

• Jesus, even though He is the Almighty and is dreadful in His appearance, still reassures John with a gentle touch and the words, Fear not.

• We should always remember that God is not aloof.  He is bigger than all of our problems, yet He is still genuinely concerned about us individually.

• Rev 1:20, The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

• The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches

• Jesus is the Lord of Hosts.  The Host is the army of angels always at Jesus’ command

• 2 Kings 6:16-17, And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

• and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

• Remember above that Jesus walked in the midst of the lampstands

• The oil used in first century lamps represents the Holy Spirit.

• Jesus is walking with His church even as they go through their persecution.  Just as He was in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

• Matthew 28:20, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Revelation Chapter 1: part 1

 

• The Persecution of the church

• The Romans believed in a pantheon of gods.  The Christian view of monotheism was a threat to Roman religion and so the Romans persecuted the Christians for treason and apostasy.  

• At Circus Maximus, Christians were fed to the lions

• In 64 AD, a great fire destroyed much of Rome and Nero blamed the Christians.  This began a state sponsored persecution of Christians

• The Zealotes led an uprising and temporarily regained control of Jerusalem.

• In 70 AD, the Roman army sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple - literally brick by brick as Jesus had prophesied

• 1 Corinthians 7:25-28, Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

• A typical tactic of the Romans was to torture a person’s spouse and children in order to coerce that person into renouncing their faith.

• The Jews

• Acts 9:1-2, And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

• Christians were facing persecution from all sides - Jews and Romans

• It was to this persecuted Church that Jesus gave His revelation

• Rev 1:1-3, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

• We often think of the Apocalypse as a catastrophic and dreadful event that will happen in the future.  

• Jesus gave this revelation to be a blessing to its readers.

• Jesus had warned His disciples about this persecution

• Matthew 10:34-36, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

• When a Jew became a Christian, he became the enemy of his family

• When a gentile became a Christian, he became an enemy of his family.

• This still happens today.  Some people are reluctant to come to Christ because they know it will alienate them from their families and friends.

• The world has always hated Christ

• John 3:19-20, And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 

• John 15:18-19, If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

• We are either for Christ or we’re against Him.  We need to decide which side we’re on.

• More Christians should ask themselves if the world hates them?

• If a Christian is never persecuted for his faith, maybe it’s because people don’t see Christ in him!

• John’s message to the churches

• Rev 1:4-6, John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto 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, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

• John calls Jesus, “the faithful witness.”

• The Greek word for witness is martyr.  Jesus was persecuted and killed for His testimony but… 

• He rose from the dead

• He is greater than all the kings of the earth

• His shed blood saves us from our sins

• And He has made us kings and priests!!

• When Jesus faced His own persecution, He was still God!

• When we face persecution, Jesus is still God!

• To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever!  Amen!!

• Jesus has a message to 7 churches

• These are seven, literal churches.  They are named later in the chapter.

• 7 is also a symbolic number in the Bible.

• i.e. Seven days in a week

• “Should I forgive my brother seven times?”

• Jesus answered, “seventy times seven.”

• He was explaining that “seven times” is a euphemism for “all the time.”

• The message was sent to seven, literal churches but they are intended for all the churches.

• Rev 1:7,  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

• Christ’s message to the churches is not one of defeat but of victory

• Christ has not returned yet and those who pierced Him have all died.

• This is a message to all the people of the earth throughout all of history

• When Christ returns, He brings judgment

• All those who have rejected Christ - living and dead - know their time is up

• Rev 1:8, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

• Jesus uses the ego eimi, the I AM.  He lists several.  I AM:

• The alpha and omega - all encompassing

• The beginning and end - the infinite One

• The one who is

• Ego eimi ho ōn

• These are the exact words God told Moses in Exodus when He said, “I am who I am.”

• The one who was and who is coming

• The Almighty

• Jesus here is clearly saying He is THE GOD.

• When Jesus came before, He was the Lamb

• Now He’s giving us a glimpse of the Lion

A Study of Revelation: Introduction

 There are 4 overall schools of thought when interpreting Revelation

1. PRETERIST: A Latin word that means, past.  This is the idea that the events described in Revelation had either already happened or would happen within the generation of John’s writing.

2. HISTORIC: This is the idea that the prophecies of Revelation have been being fulfilled throughout the church age and are still being fulfilled today.

3. SYMBOLIC: This is the idea that events being described in Revelation aren’t necessarily literal events in history.  Instead, they are an allegorical description of the history of the Church and God’s ultimate triumph over evil.

4. FUTURISTIC: The belief that Revelation is a description (albeit a symbolic description) of literal events that will take place at the end of the age.  This is the view held by most protestant churches.  

We need to carefully handle Scripture

• 2 Peter 1:20, Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

• The Bible generally means exactly what it says.  We should let the words speak for themselves.

• When the meaning isn’t clear, we need to be careful not to make people’s interpretation become Scripture.

• Benny Hinn once said Adam was able to fly

• Genesis 1:28, And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

• Hinn claimed that having dominion over something would mean it couldn’t do something you couldn’t do.  Since Adam had dominion over birds, it means Adam could fly!

• The Bible says God gave man dominion.  The Bible doesn’t say Adam could fly.  Hinn’s interpretation of the Scripture isn’t Scripture!

• This is how we should approach Revelation.  We hold fast to the Bible (Sola Scriptura, Bible Alone).  We should never become dogmatic about one interpretation of Revelation as though that interpretation carries the same weight as Scripture!

Psalm 22

v. 1, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

v. 6-8, But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

v. 14-16,  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

v. 17-18, I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

• We clearly see Psalm 22 as a description of the Passion of Jesus

• But I am a worm (metaphor) 

• I am poured out like water, (simile) 

• my heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd;... For dogs have compassed me:

• The language here in Psalms could be described as literary, poetic, symbolic, and/or figurative.  Yet we know they are describing events that actually happened!

• Four important points we can learn from Psalm 22

• It is evidence of the divine inspiration of the Bible

• These are direct quotes and minute details of an event that would happen 1,000 years after the Psalm was written!

• It identified Jesus as the Messiah

• When Jesus made this comment, anyone present would have known this is from Psalm 22.

• We can look at the Psalm and say that it is a poetic description of a real event.  It is literal.

• For 1,000 years, this Psalm was considered to be symbolic

• To David, it might represent the direct persecution he felt by Saul or even his own sons.

• To others, it might represent those times in our lives when we are facing persecution and God doesn’t seem to be present.

• All of these are acceptable ways to understand the Psalm

• Because it literally happened, it identified Jesus as the Messiah

• It is symbolic of those times when God doesn’t seem to hear.

• When Jesus was on the cross and spoke these words, God’s perfect plan was still being fulfilled!

• The Psalm was relevant in David’s day, it was relevant in Jesus’ day, and it’s still relevant today!

• The Book of Revelation is much like this Psalm. It was relevant when it was written, it’s relevant now, and it will still be relevant in the future.

• Revelation 1:19, Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;