INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION; THE PURPOSE, THE METHOD AND A PROMISE (Rev 1:1-3)

In the first three verses of Revelation John gives us the purpose for Revelation, the method in which it was conveyed to him and a promise to those who read the Revelation.

THE PURPOSE: Verse 1 gives us the purpose for the book of Revelation; to make known to John what would happen in the end times when Jesus returns to earth. Of course n making it known to John, God is also making it known to all of mankind through him. The book REVEALS the future plan for the return of Jesus Christ to earth to judge the earth, to set up his kingdom on earth and to reign here among his people for 1000 years. The language leaves us with the impression that it will happen soon, that the time for Jesus’ return is near. From the context in the many places in the New Testament where this phrase in used and from Jesus teachings about his return I understand this to mean the following; Jesus will be gone for a long time, but when he does return it will happen very quickly and without notice. We are admonished to remain ready at all times for his return since we do not know the day or the hour.

THE METHOD: The revelation was given to John by Jesus through an angel that he sent to John. John was given visions of the future, direct verbal messages from Jesus and the Father, and direct verbal instructions and messages from the angel. We will also see in chapter 4 that John was taken up to heaven in the spirit where he actually saw the visions.

THE ANGEL: In verse 1 Jesus says that he is giving his revelation to John through HIS angel. Who is this angel that Jesus calls HIS angel? We will discover in chapter 10 that this angel is Gabriel. See “angel, a mighty angel of God” in the dictionary of symbology for details.

THE PROMISE: John says that there is a blessing in store for those who read or hear the words of the prophecy and who take them to heart. The implication is that those who do so will be ready when Jesus returns and will receive their reward, eternal life.

THE RECIPIENT AND THE REAL AUTHORS OF REVELATION (Rev 1:4-8)

Verses 4 to 8 tell us who the book is addressed to and who it is from, who really wrote the book.

THE ADDRESSEE: In verse 4 we see that it is addressed to the seven churches in the province of Asia.

These churches are named in verse 11 and in chapters 2 and 3 in seven real letters addressed from Jesus himself to the churches.

THE AUTHORS: There are three specific authors named.

• The first author is he who is, who was and who is to come. This is stated in verse 4 and again in verse 8. He is also called the Almighty in verse 8. From Isa 9:6 we could interpret this to be Jesus. However, the same descriptions are often also used of God the Father. Since Jesus is named as a separate author in verse 5 that would mean that this refers to God the Father in this case. Also we see that seven spirits are said to be before his throne. From chapter 4 verses 1 to 6 we see that there are seven spirits before the throne of God the Father. Thus we can conclude that this author is God the Father.
• The second author is said to be the seven spirits or the seven spirits of God. We will shortly see that the third author is Jesus. If this letter is from the Father and the Son then it must also be from the Holy Spirit. To think otherwise would be contrary to what we know about the triune nature of God. The question then would be, “why is the Holy Spirit referred to as the seven spirits before the throne?” Let’s see what else we can learn about the “seven spirits of God.” In Rev 4:5, we see “seven lamps blazing before the throne of God,” and that they were the “seven spirits of God.” In Rev 5:6, we see that Jesus had “seven eyes” which were the “seven spirits of God sent out into the world.” In Zech 3:9, we see that there were “seven eyes in the capstone,” which figuratively means that Jesus has “seven eyes,” or from Rev 5:6 “seven spirits of God sent out into the world.” Who did Jesus say he would send to believers all over world in John 14:15-21? The counselor, the Holy Spirit. But why is the Spirit referred to as the “seven spirits of God?” Seven is a number that stands for perfection or completeness in the Bible. That may be the reason, or perhaps it is the fact that there are seven continents on the earth and the Holy Spirit was sent to all of them. We see that the Spirit is Jesus living in us and he is the eyes of Jesus in the world. Also, there are seven lamps in the golden lampstand and the symbology seems to represent the Spirit being in the church or in the believers. The fact that the Holy Spirit is referred to as the seven spirits of God may reflect the fact that he is in all seven churches. Others have suggested that it refers to the characteristics of the Holy Spirit, perhaps reflecting Isa 11:2. Isa 11:2 is sometimes referred to as describing the sevenfold Spirit of God. They are six channels described through which a person can become a believer and thus receive the Spirit. They are the Spirits of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and fear of the Lord. These six describe how the Spirit works while the seventh aspect of the Spirit is who he is; he is the third person in the Godhead. I suspect that this is the best answer. The Spirit is one in person, but works in seven different ways to reach individuals with the truth and salvation provided only by belief in Jesus.
• The third author is Jesus Christ, who is clearly named and is also described as the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead (1 Cor 15:20-28), the ruler of the kings of the earth, the one who freed us from our sins by his blood, and the one who has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father.

 So, the author of the book of Revelation is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Verse 7 goes on to present a prophecy of Jesus Second Coming and to tell us that “he will be coming with the clouds and every eye shall see him (Dan 7:13-14), even those who pierced him (Zech 12”10); and the peoples of the earth shall mourn because of him (Zech 12:10-13).” The clouds that Jesus comes on may be the Shekinah Glory, the Holy Spirit which is described as clouds in Ex 16:10; Jesus comes bathed in glory so to speak, bathed in the Holy Spirit.

JOHN’S LOCATION WHEN THE LETTER WAS WRITTEN AND JESUS’ INSTRUCTIONS

(Rev 1:9-18)

In verses 9 to 11 we see that John was exiled on the Island of Patmos, a rocky island about 6 x 10 miles in size off the coast of Asia Minor (Turkey today). It was a place where criminals were sent by the Romans as punishment. John tells us what his crime had been; he has been proclaiming the word of God and giving testimony to the truth of Jesus’ gospel. While there John was told directly by Jesus to write down on a scroll what he would be shown and told, and to send it to the seven churches.

John turns around to see who is speaking to him and he sees seven golden lampstands and someone “like a son of man” standing among the golden lampstands. This is obviously Jesus. We are later told in verse 20 that the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches. We are next given several descriptors of he who is standing among the seven churches:

• He was like a son of man,
• he was wearing a long robe that went down to his feet and had a golden sash around his chest,
• his head and hair was white as wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire,
• his feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of rushing waters,
• he was holding seven stars in his right hand, which are described as the seven angels of the seven churches later in verse 20,
• out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword, and
• his face was like the sun, shining in all of its brilliance. John fell at Jesus feet, and Jesus placed his right hand on John and told him to not be afraid. Jesus then presented several other descriptions of himself.
• He was the first and the last,
• he was the living one, the one who was dead but is now alive for ever and ever, and
• he held the keys to death and Hades.

NOTES ON REV 1:14-15

Rev 1:14, “His eyes were like blazing fire.”

• Their glowing brilliance provides the true light to the world. The seven spirits of God sent out into all of the world are also called the seven eyes of Jesus in Rev 4:6. Believers in Jesus provide the light and eyes of Jesus in the world through the Spirit of Jesus which is within them.
• The eyes of Jesus purify like fire. They can see the difference between pure and impure.
• The eyes of Jesus are warm like fire; they provide warmth to the world. Without them, without the Spirit in believers, the world would lack for warmth; it would be a very cold place indeed.

Rev 1:15, “His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace.” (See Num 29:8-9, Jn 3:14-15, Rev 2:10-11)

• Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.
• Just as the bronze snake was lifted up on wooden pole, Jesus was lifted up on the wooden pole. Both were to save those who believed from death.
• The snake represented sin which was lifted up. Sin was defeated or crucified on the wooden pole. Anyone who looked upon this and accepted it could no longer be defeated by the bite of sin.
• Because Christ was lifted up sin was defeated and we can have eternal life; we no longer face the second death.
• Gen 3:15, Satan bit Jesus’ foot, pierced his feet on the cross, but Jesus crushed Satan’s head; took away all of his authority.
• Bronze stands for judgment in the Bible; here we see it represented as judgment by fire. Jesus will judge the earth by fire as he sets foot on Mount Zion at his Second Coming.
• Heb 2:14-18, because Jesus walked a mile in our shoes, and lived the perfect life for us that we cannot live ourselves, we will not face judgment if we accept his substitutionary life.
• Ex 30:17-21, There was a bronze basin in the sanctuary. The high priest had to wash his hands and feet, ceremonially cleansing himself of sin, before he could come into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies.

THE MYSTERY OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS AND SEVEN STARS (Rev 1:20)

Jesus continues speaking to John in verses 19 and 20. He solves the mystery of the seven golden lampstands and the seven stars for John, as we described above. The seven golden lampstands were the seven churches and the seven stars were the angels of the seven churches. Stars are often used as symbols for angels in the Bible. There is certainly debate among Bible scholars as to whether the seven stars are really angels assigned to the seven churches or whether they might be the pastors of the churches, or simply seven messengers for the seven churches who would carry the letters from John to the actual churches. Since stars so often represent angels in the Bible, I certainly expect that is what the seven stars represent.

Now, what about the seven golden lampstands? Is this symbology involving lampstands explained somewhere else in the Bible. First, we understand that the seven golden lampstands, the seven churches, were to provide the light of God into all of the world. There is a picture being painted in Zech chapter 4 of one lampstand surrounded by two olive trees. This chapter is looking ahead to and discussing “that day,” or the Second Coming. The lampstand is flanked by the two olive trees, which seem to represent Israel and Judah (see Jer 11:14-17), who provide the fruit from which the oil is made to keep the fires of the seven lamps in the lampstand burning, Rev 21:12. The lampstand here has seven lights or seven eyes. We see in Rev 4:5 that the seven lamps blazing before God were the Holy Spirit. Since the seven lamps are in the golden lampstand the symbology seems to represent the Spirit being in the church or in the believers. It is the Holy Spirit who provides the oil, the mechanism, the inspiration for the lampstand, the church, to be the light of Christ in and to the world. Remember, this chapter is looking ahead to “that day.” In Zech 4 we may be seeing Israel and the church standing together in heaven in “that day.” The picture of the lampstand in Zech 4 may also represent the seven nations which were originally in the holy land when Israel conquered it. This is sometimes used to represent all of the gentile nations on earth. There is a much more extensive study of the symbology of the lampstand and the olive trees at the end of the symbology dictionary. See symbology of the lampstands and olive trees in Zech 3:8-4:4. This is located at the end of the symbology dictionary.

JESUS GIVES JOHN AN OUTLINE OF REVELATION (Rev 1:19)

Jesus gives John an outline for how he is to write the book of Revelation. He tells John to write,

• What he has already seen, which includes the visions of Jesus Christ, who he is and what his instructions are in Chapter 1,
• what was taking place at that time, which includes Jesus letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor in chapters 2 and 3, and
• what would take place later, “in that day,” which includes the descriptions of the tribulation judgments, the Second Coming, the millennial reign of Jesus on earth with his bride, the final judgments of Satan and his followers, and the visions of the new heaven and new earth including the new Jerusalem, all in chapters 4 through 22.

So we see that John is told to write what he has seen (the past), what is now (the present) and what will take place later (the future). The Greek word for “later” in verse 19 is the same Greek word used to begin chapter 4. That confirms the time frame in Revelation for us. Thus the letters to the seven churches were intended to be for the present in John’s time. However, that does not mean that they cannot have application to future churches as well. There certainly seems to be a multiple layer of application in chapters 2 and 3. Thus they seem to have application to (1) the first century churches, (2) the historical churches as they evolved over the centuries and (3) the many churches that fall into each of the seven categories in any particular generation.