Revelations 1:1 – 3 “This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.”
Revelations is the last book of the Bible and is probably the one least read! Some people avoid Revelations because they find it frightening or baffling. But skipping Revelations is a mistake because there is a great deal of teaching, guidance, and encouragement to be gotten from this book.
Yesterday I described John’s situation on the Island of Patmos. Exiled to become slave labor in the marble quarries of this bleak island, John found himself receiving marvelous messages from God. Remember that John was the disciple who was closest to Jesus and to whom Jesus revealed many things. As one of the elders in the church, John had served Jesus for many years and was noted for his deep prayer life as well as for his emphasis on love. One other thing that was essential to John: he was very humble. And it was this very humility and this closeness to Jesus that prepared John to receive the visions captured in Revelations.
“This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” David Guzik in Enduring Word Commentaries writes, “The ancient Greek word translated Revelation is apokalupsis (apocalypse). The word simply means “a revealing, an unveiling.” The Book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ in the sense that it belongs to Him, He is the one doing the revealing. It is also Jesus’ Revelation in the sense that He is the object revealed; Jesus is the person revealed by the book.”
Guzik continues, “From the outset, we are given the most important truth about the Book of Revelation. This book shows us the Antichrist, it shows us God’s judgment, it shows us calamity on the earth, and it shows us Mystery Babylon in vivid detail. Most of all, it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ to us. If we catch everything else, but miss Jesus in the book, we miss the Book of Revelation.” (For a really in – depth discussion of this chapter, see Guzik’s teaching on line at: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/revelation-1/
“To show his servants…” Ever since Jesus was taken up into heaven, his followers had been wondering what would happen next and when he would return. Acts 1:9-11 describes Jesus’ ascension. “After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.” But Jesus ascended into heaven more than 60 years ago and none of his followers knew when he would return. Part of the purpose of Revelations was to encourage the followers to be patient and wait for God’s perfect will to be carried out on the earth.
“He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw.” Throughout the Bible, men and women encounter angels. During New Testament times, there were many recorded instances of angels rescuing various disciples. Even today, there is intense interest in angels as evidenced by the popularity of the television program “Touched By an Angel,” and the magazine “Angels on Earth.” While some of us might have difficulty believing in angels, these encounters are very real. What’s so important about John? John undoubtedly had a reputation for honesty and integrity and was someone on whose word people could rely.
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.” In those days, there were many who were illiterate or who might not speak the language in which a letter was originally written. Those of us who work in Northern Ghana have had to become accustomed to being translated into at least one or more languages whenever we are teaching or preaching. John is invoking a blessing on those reading and translating as well as those listening and obeying. Obedience is key; it is not enough simply to listen and then to leave unchanged.
”…the time is near…” Some translations read “shortly,” indicating that when the time for the fulfillment of the prophecy arrives, things will happen suddenly. Revelations is a prophetic book, but the time line of the prophecies is not specific. In Acts 1:7 Jesus told his disciples, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.”
How can we view Revelations? The key word is “obedience.” As we study this book, there may be things that are baffling; however, we should open our hearts and minds to receive those truths that we can understand and to act on them. One Southern lady of my acquaintance was fond of saying that she would “chew up the meat and spit out the bones.” As we learn and obey what we can understand, God will give us more knowledge.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for every book in the Bible. Thank you that you have promised to give us wisdom and understanding if we will ask for it. Please open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts so that we can enjoy studying Revelations and learn what you have for us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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