Revelation 1:1-8 Unveiling Jesus Christ!

Bible Study Series: Revealing Jesus in Revelation

Revelation Chapter 1:1-8 Unveiling Jesus Christ!

by I Gordon

Ok... a new year and a new series to begin. Drum roll... It is the book of Revelation! Alright, you already knew that! So what do you think when that book is mentioned? To some it is compelling and they spend a lot of their time trying to understand and unlock its puzzles. Others try avoid it like a 5th bout of Covid. For the majority it just stands apart, somewhat mysterious and often placed in that basket labelled 'too hard'. 

It has been well stated that:

"Revelation is hard to understand, but it is impossible to forget."
Dr. Earl Palmer

People have written into the website several times asking if I have any studies, or will do any, on the book of Revelation. Up until now it has been 'no, not really'. I have 'the beginning and the end' series but nothing specifically on the whole book. It is time to change that. Now it is not a small undertaking but personally I have always loved this book. I remember as a very young Christian getting taken into a Christian book shop by my mum where I was told that she would buy me any book I liked. Oh... my lucky day! I didn't have to look long. I found a commentary on Revelation by Tim LaHaye and that was that! Choice made! 

The book of Revelation is an incredible book wrapping up the other 65 books of the Bible and placing the seal on God's revelation to mankind. It touches on so many key themes of scripture, drawing imagery and examples from all over the Bible. But there is one central theme. It is the theme of the entire Bible actually. Do you know what it is? It is the person of Jesus Christ! So as we go through this series, He will be prominent. This book is the revelation from Him and of Him. Never forget that. Now some of the studies in this series may be shorter than usual but by doing so hopefully I can get them out faster. That's the plan! So what are we going to do today? Today is an overview.

• We'll look at the main focus of Revelation and why many Churches, unfortunately, avoid it!
• We'll touch on interpretation and its unique use of numbers and symbols
• We'll explore what 'the' Revelation is - when every eye shall see Him!
• We'll close with an application and what the blessing of this book is

Apoká-what-sis?

Rev 1:1-3 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, (2) who testifies to everything he saw--that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. (3) Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Let me state this once, at the start, and then never, ever, ever again. The book we are studying is called Revelation, not Revelations. Please do me a favor and call it 'Revelation' and all will be well in the universe! : ) While there are many revelations made in the book, it is a singular revelation from Jesus, and, ultimately, about Jesus. He is the revelation. Who He is has been revealed through faith to those that believe in Him but soon that faith shall become sight... and then we will simply bow in stunned awe at this glorious One before us! 

What's in a word?

The word Revelation in the Greek is 'apokálupsis'. Apoka-what-sis? Apokálupsis, from which we get the word 'apocalypse'. When we hear that we think of chaos and the end of the world (and to be fair this book has its fair share of that!) but the primary meaning of the Greek word 'apokálupsis' is not destruction but to 'unveil, disclose, reveal'. That is why I have called this study the unveiling of Jesus! When Jesus came the first time it was an 'appearing' (2Ti 1:10). The next time is the full 'revealing' and 'unveiling'. The first coming was in humility with veiled deity. The second coming is in power with an unveiled revelation of His deity, glory and majesty! So keep this thought in your mind because we will come back here later in this study. 

The revelation given to John is said to be of 'what must soon take place'. This has confused some for they will rightfully say 'well it's been nearly 2000 years since this revelation. That doesn't seem all that soon to me!' The Bible Knowledge Commentary does a good job at explaining what the Greek word means:

The word “soon” (en tachei; cf. Rev_2:16; Rev_22:7, Rev_22:12, Rev_22:20) means that the action will be sudden when it comes, not necessarily that it will occur immediately. Once the end-time events begin, they will occur in rapid succession (cf. Luk_18:8; Act_12:7; Act_22:18; Act_25:4; Rom_16:20).  

Think of it like the first coming of Jesus. There had been 400 years of so-called 'silence' leading up to the birth of Jesus. But once that day came there were a succession of prophecies through His birth, life and especially death, that were fulfilled one after the other. We live in a day when we can see the signs around us of the days of Revelation. Players are being moved into position. When the whistle (well trumpet) goes and it all kicks off, it will do so suddenly and like a flood where the prophecies will be fulfilled one after another! 

From our passage you will see that there is a progression given of how we received this book: God gave it -> Through Jesus -> To an Angel -> To John who recorded it -> And I wrote on it -> And you read it! Thankfully this is not a game of Chinese whispers so nothing was lost in translation! Well... nothing up until John recorded it anyway... and the next person in the progression promises to do his best! 

Just as a side note, I'll draw your attention to the fact that John says that this book is the 'words of... prophecy'. Now that may seem self-evident but there are some that just see this book as a allegorical message of good versus evil through the ages. Nope. It is prophecy and it's words will be fulfilled as clearly and accurately as the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament were with Jesus' first coming. 

Interpretation, Numbers & Symbols

Rev 1:4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 

This letter was initially written and sent to seven churches in Asia. John was passing on grace and peace from the One who is, was and is to come... and the seven spirits before the throne. Straight away we see two 'sevens' mentioned. If I were to ask you how many times in Revelation seven is mentioned, and you said 'um I'm not sure but maybe in 31 different verses', you would go immediately to the top of the class! I'm not going to say them all but as we go on we'll read about seven... churches, spirits, lampstands, stars, seals, horns, eyes, trumpets, angels, peals of thunder... seven heads, kings, bowls, plagues,,, ok you get the message. God likes this number seven. Now prominent numbers have meanings in scripture and seven speaks of completeness or divine perfection. But here is an important point - as you read this book don't get to the place where you just spiritualize it all away as if it is merely symbolic. Yes we will read of 'seven' many times but there are still seven of them. The seven churches are still seven churches. The seven seals and seven trumpets are exactly that number. And for that matter, the 1260 days or 42 months are exactly that length. The 144,000 is actually 144,000. The 1000 years is 1000 years. Don't spiritualize these numbers. They are exactly what they say they are. 

This topic of interpretation is an important one as we read this book. The very first verse says:

Rev 1:1 NKJV 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.

You will see that it says that Revelation was sent and signified it by His angel. This word in the Greek is 'sēmaínō' meaning 'To give a public sign or signal.' That is, there are many symbols used in this book. I'm sure you know that! There are a couple of reasons why God did this:

1. To protect the Church - The church, and John himself, were getting severely persecuted under the Roman rule of Domitian in the later part of the first century. Church tradition states that John himself had been placed in boiling oil even before his exile of the island of Patmos². So if Revelation was written in a way that directly threatened Rome the letter would have been destroyed and the churches would have come under greater persecution. Therefore symbolism was often used as a means of protecting the church.
2. To encourage study - The understanding of Revelation is kept for those that study God's word and understand the symbolism throughout the entire Old Testament. It is like Jesus' use of parables - to keep the unbelievers from seeing while reveling great truth to those that have eyes to see! (Mat 13:13-16)

But here is the key point - these signs and symbols are not open to anyone's imagination. Prophecy is not to be interpreted that way. 

2Pe 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. (21) For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Prophecies uttered by men came directly from God and thankfully He gives the method of interpretation so that we do not become fanciful in our interpretation. Scripture interprets scripture and that is how we will approach this book. What we will find as we go on is that the signs and symbols are interpreted elsewhere either in Revelation itself or, in many cases, in the rest of God's word. In fact Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum lists over 500 references in Revelation to the Old Testament as an appendix in his book 'Footsteps of the Messiah'³. 

"What is new in Revelation? And how much of it is really old? Although the Book of Revelation has no direct quotations from the Old Testament, it has about 550 references to it and most of the information found in its first twenty chapters is also found in the Old Testament. Only the last two chapters deal with things totally new."
Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum

Though it is filled with signs, the Book of Revelation is accessible to those who have an understanding of the first 65 books of the Bible, and especially an understanding of the first 39 books of the Bible, the Old Testament. The Book of Revelation is rooted in the Old Testament. It contains more than 500 allusions to the Old Testament, and 278 of the 404 verses in Revelation (that is almost 70%) make some reference to the Old Testament.
Pastor David Guzik

So again... as we move forward I will try to point out the many references and pointers back to the word of God and we will remain on safe ground if we let scripture interpret scripture. 

The One we love...

Rev 1:5-6 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, (6) and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Now look at how John describes the risen Lord. He is:

• The faithful witness - I like that. We hear so much about 'disinformation' in this day and quite often the ones giving disinformation are those warning against it! In fact it can come from those that are meant to be ruling and governing our countries! In contrast Jesus is the faithful witness. He cannot lie. This revelation is from Him and it is true. You can bet the house on everything word that He says! 
• The firstborn from the dead - He also conquered the great enemy that has conquered all others - death! He has risen from the grave never to die again! He is the firstborn from the dead but thankfully He has no intention to be the 'onlyborn' from the dead. He is the first of many and He will share His victory over death with all those that believe in Him! Make sure you are part of that team! 
• The ruler of the kings of the earth - And He is the ruler of all for He is the King of kings. There are many on this planet who think they are the 'big cheese'. They think that they rule and are accountable to no one. Well, Jesus is the King of kings and He will take His position soon. He will ask the Father and the nations will be given to Him as His rightful inheritance. Then, scripture says, things will come crashing down for (and upon) many of the so-called kings of this earth as they will hide themselves in the rocks, petrified at the wrath of the Lamb (Rev 6:15-17).

But what a contrast there is for those that have received His offer of salvation. This scripture tells us they are:

• Those that He loves - It was His love, and the Father's love. that sent Jesus to the cross... despite all that we had done! There is no comparison or greater love than this!
• Those that He has freed from their sins by His blood - He didn't just love us and leave it there. He provided a way to be cleansed and forgiven of all the wrong that we had, and will, ever do!
• Those that are made to be kings and priests - And He didn't just forgive us and leave it there. He gave us a position of kings and priests so that we can serve God in the current age and rule with Him in the next!    

Every eye will see Him... as He really is!

Rev 1:7-8 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."

Here in verse 7-8, right in the first chapter of Revelation, we get a glimpse of the apokálupsis (you know that word now!) of Jesus Christ. Scripture says that every eye will see Him. It makes specific mention of those that pierced Him for this event will be completely tied in with those of Israel who will first look to Him spiritually, and then upon Him physically in their day of salvation. Zechariah⁴ tells us:

Zec 12:10 NIV And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

But what of the rest of the earth? Will they see Him? And if so, how could that happen? I mean if it is night on one side of the planet when He comes, it will be day on the other. If He comes to Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, how will people in my country of New Zealand see Him? Well, think about a couple of scriptures that speak about that day. Because, as the prophet Zechariah says, it will be a unique day. It will not be a normal day in any stretch of the imagination. Concerning the return of Jesus at His second coming, Zechariah wrote:  

Zec 14:4-7 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south... the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.  On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. (7) It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime--a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.

Now combine this with what Jesus said concerning His return:

Mat 24:29-30 Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' (30) At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

So we see that the revelation, the apokálupsis, the unveiling of Jesus Christ will be accompanied by unusual events. In the words of scripture it will be a unique day. There has never been a day like this one! Firstly, the sun is darkened so that it gives no light. There is no moonlight up in the night sky. The stars, in some way, are falling from the sky while the earth sits eerily still in darkness. The nations and peoples are petrified, anxiously awaiting what is about to unfold. God literally turns all the lights off before making the greatest revelation ever! In the darkness, the curtains of heaven are pulled back and Jesus Christ, the King of Kings is revealed! The thick darkness covering the entire earth will be split apart by the piercing glorious light of His coming and every eye can see it. Every eye can see Him! 

This of course, is not how people expected Him. This is not the little baby, born in a humble manager in the obscure town of Bethlehem that they had on their Christmas cards. 

This is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last... the Almighty!⁵ 

And He is coming for judgement upon His enemies and redemption for His followers. 

Conclusion & Application

As we conclude, let's remember that God wants us to read and understand this book. The application of this message is to do just that! Read it. Think about it. Heed it by watching for His return. 

God starts and ends this book with a blessing for those that read and heed its words. But why? And what is this blessing? A few quick points come to mind as we close:

So let us do what God says and read this book! Let us ask God for wisdom and understanding as we do so. 

And let us take to heart it's message. He is coming and we want to be ready.

God Bless.