Prologue
Read Revelation 1:1-3
– In what way does the information from the visions in Revelation come to us? Is it primarily literal or by way of signs? (vs. 1)
– What is the sequence of how the information comes to us in Revelation?
– In verse 3, we see a sequence of three? Who then is giving the blessing through the “words of this prophecy”?
– What does reader, hearer, and doer in vs. 3 tell us about where John expected Revelation to be read?
Excursus: The Beatitudes of Revelation
Earlier, we learned that seven is a biblical number that points to God’s judgment. We often associate God’s judgment as only something that is bad. However, for God’s saints, His judgment can also be something positive.
Concerning God’s judgment being a curse, we see Scripture use seven to denote this in Revelation 6:8; 8:5, 12; 11:18; 14:7; 18:2-3, 7-8. In the Old Testament, we see such judgment in Joshua 6:21; 1 Samuel 22:19; Isaiah 1:4, 24:19-20, and 41:19; Daniel 5:19; and Ezekiel 38:22b.
Concerning God’s judgment being a blessing, we see Scripture use seven to denote this in Revelation 1:17-18, 4:7-8, 9:17, and 22:16-17. Elsewhere in the Bible we see such blessing in Genesis 1:28; 1 Kings 4:23; Isaiah 9:6 and 53:5-6; Ephesians 4:11; and Jude 1:25.
Within Revelation, we see many structures, one of which is seven beatitudes interspersing the book. Revelation, of course, declares God’s wrath against the persecuting world. Yet, God also pronounces His blessings to the faithful in His Church. That God pronounces a blessing seven times in Revelation makes it a blessing (what the text literally says) on top of blessing (what seven represents). With such an interspersing, God is encouraging His saints on earth to remain faithful and point them to the eternity that awaits them.
The blessings are pronounced on:
1:3: “he who reads, and they who hear the words of this prophecy, and they who keep those things which are written therein”
14:13: “the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth”
16:15: “he who watches,” faithfully awaiting the Lord’s coming
19:9: “they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb”
20:6: “the one who has part in the first resurrection”
22:7: “he that keeps the words of the prophecy of this book”
22:14: “they that do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city”
——————-
Read Revelation 1:4-6
– Who are the original recipients of the book of Revelation?
The seven spirits: Here we cannot say with certainty what the “seven spirits” represent. The two most likely are:
- The seven chief angels mentioned in Tobit 12:15. We must remember that Tobit was an Old Testament book in the Septuagint, the Old Testament for the first Christians. The non-biblical book of Enoch, which the New Testament book of Jude quotes at length, lists the names of the seven angels as Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel, and Remiel (Enoch 20:1-7). What supports this understanding is that in the other places where Revelation refers to the Holy Spirit, it is in the singular (Revelation 2:7, 14:3, and 22:17).
- The Holy Spirit, with seven representing the seven-fold description of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2:
- The Spirit of the Lord,
- The Spirit of wisdom
- and understanding,
- the Spirit of counsel
- and power,
- the Spirit of knowledge
- and fear of the Lord.
When we consider that John is writing to seven churches, then the Holy Spirit being present in all His plentitude (“the Seven Spirits”) among those seven churches makes sense. If that is what is meant, then this is not only a Trinitarian reference to God, but is also a liturgical, Trinitarian greeting.
– What three descriptions does Revelation use to describe Jesus?
Jesus, the faithful Witness: Prophet. Witness originally meant “testifier.” Here, Revelation points to Jesus as our Prophet, where He testified to God’s truths and brought to us the true knowledge of God. He went into death, faithfully testifying to the truth of God.
- John 18:37: [Jesus answered to Pilate:] “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Jesus, the First begotten of the dead: Priest. This points to Jesus priestly office in His death and resurrection.
- Colossians 1:18: Jesus is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
- 1 Corinthians 15:20: But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Jesus, the Ruler of the kings of the earth: King.
- 1 Timothy 6:15: Jesus is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.
– What does the threefold repetition of Jesus as Witness, First begotten, and Ruler say about Jesus?
– Through His blood, what has Jesus made us to be?
Read Revelation 1:7-8
– What is John describing now? (Matthew 24:30, Mark 13:26, and Luke 21:27)
Exodus 16:10: While Aaron was speaking to the entire congregation of the people ofIsrael, they looked toward the desert, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
Numbers 11:25: Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. He took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied–but did not do so again. [Jesus, as the greater Moses, did something similar in Luke 10:1-20.]
– What is the significance of Jesus returning “with the clouds”?
– Again, we see a three-fold repetition of “him”: 1.) every eye shall see him, 2.) those who pierced him, and 3.) all the tribes of the earth. What does this say about “him”?
– Put this together. What does the three-fold repetition and that Jesus is returning in glory “with the clouds” say about to whom all the tribes of the earth will answer on the Last Day?
– What does vs. 8 explicitly say (again with a three-fold repetition)?
The Liturgy in Revelation (Part 1)
Knowing that he is writing a book to be read within the congregation, John arranged the opening verses in the form of a liturgical conversation. It serves as a model of what happens when Christians gather to worship. Note the dialogue between the reader and the hearers.
4-5a: John: Trinitarian greeting
5b-6: Hearers: doxological response
7a: Lector: prophetic proclamation of Christ’s coming
7b: Hearers: response: Yes! Amen!
8a: God: presents Himself
8b: Hearers: silence
Homework
We now re-read (I hope) Jesus’ end-times teachings in the New Testament. Jesus’ Sermon on Mount is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but we will read only Matthew’s account.
- Read Matthew 24:3-44; 25:31-33, 46
We now learn from the Apostle Paul to build our end-times foundation to help more-fully understand Revelation.
- Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-57
- Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:12
Yet, we don’t want to miss out on what the Apostle Peter has to say.
- 2 Peter 3:1-14
And finally, we read from the Apostle John, who also wrote Revelation.
- 1 John 2:18-22
- 1 John 3:2-3
