I know that there are mixed emotions held by many evangelicals concerning the book of Revelation. Some fear it and avoid it altogether, namely, due to the nature of the book; they think it is a book of doom and gloom, without really understanding what the book is about. Some people are excited; they find the book intriguing. Other’s are a mix of emotions; they are both excited, fearful, and nervous.
However you feel about the book of Revelation, it’s okay. If you fear it, good. If you are excited about it, good. If you are mixed in your emotions about it, good. In reality, we should be fearful and excited, not only about the book of Revelation, but the whole Word of God.
But what I want you to understand is this: the book of Revelation is not all the gloom and doom that you might expect. It is actually a book of inspiration, and encouragement, and hope, and joy, especially if you know Christ.
We are going to do an introduction to the book of Revelation by looking at verses 1-3. We are going to discover what the word “revelation” means, who wrote this book, who this book is concerning, what this book is concerning, who it’s for, and why we need to know it.
Point 1: First, notice this is not A revelation, but THE revelation.
Looking at verse 1 it states, “The revelation…” It does not say, ‘A revelation…’; although, the NLT translates this verse as, ‘a revelation’. You may ask, what is the difference? There’s a difference – one implies more than one, the other implies one. Many people, when they refer to this book, they refer to it in the plural – Revelations. It’s not Revelations, implying more than one; it is Revelation, meaning one. It is not a revelation among many, it is the one and only revelation. Which means the book of Revelation, which is 22 chapters long, is one revelation being unveiled at one time opposed to several different times, and that there is not another like it in the world.
Point 2: The next thing we need to understand is what the word revelation means.
Looking at verse 1 it states, “The revelation…” The word “revelation” by our English definition very simply means to reveal or to disclose or to unveil or to uncover. So, we must understand that this book, which is the 66th book of the Bible, consists of 22 chapters, is a book that reveals something, discloses something, unveils something, and uncovers something.
Point 3: Therefore, we need to understand WHAT this is a revelation of.
Revelation 1:1 states, ”The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” This is the revelation or revealing of “the things that must soon take place.” That implies this is a book that reveals things about the future.
In fact, Revelation 1:3 says this is a book of “prophecy”, meaning this is a book that foretells and proclaims future events. But, what kind of future events is the question. And we get our answer from the word “revelation”.
The Greek word for “Revelation” is apokalypsis, so this book is a revealing and foretelling of the apocalypse. Or, you could say, Revelation is a book disclosing how the world will come to an end. Or, you could say, Revelation is a book uncovering and proclaiming the catastrophic and cataclysmic destruction that will happen at the end of the world.
However you say it, what you must understand is this: the book of Revelation is a proclamation and declaration and foretelling and uncovering of a series of judgments and the outpouring of God’s wrath on the wicked that will come upon the world at God’s appointed time. And I think that is what most people fear about this book. People, as much as most people are fascinated by end time events, they fear what the Bible has to say about the end of the world.
Point 3: We also need to understand WHO this revelation is about.
Verse one states, this is “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” That means this book is not only about how the world will come to end, but this book is also about revealing Christ.
Now, you may ask, what does this book reveal about Jesus? In general, we will deal these things more specifically later, it reveals five things about Jesus: First, it reveals Jesus’ full identity as the Lamb of God, the Alpha & Omega, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the King of Kings, the Lord of lords, the Lion of Judah, and the Son of God. Secondly, it reveals details about Jesus’ final victory over evil. Thirdly, it uncovers details about Jesus’ second coming. Fourthly, it discloses details about the establishment of Jesus’ kingdom. And lastly, this book unveils the reality of eternal life with Jesus, namely, for those who believe in him and have fully surrendered to his Lordship.
Point 4: We also need to understand WHO is doing the revealing.
We read in verse 1 that “God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.” In other words, God the Father gave the revelation of his plan to Jesus, who, in turn, revealed it to another in order to be written down. So, you could rightly say, God the Father and Jesus, who is God the Son, are both doing the revealing. Which means, for Jesus at least, he is both the Revealer of this revelation and the One being revealed in this revelation.
Point 5: We also need to know WHO Jesus is revealing all this too, for our reading and benefit.
Revelation 1:1 says, “He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.” So, this Revelation was revealed by God to Jesus, and then from Jesus to the apostle John, who recorded this revelation in written form.
Now, you might not know much about John, so let me tell you six facts about the author. First, John was one the original 12 disciples of Jesus; so he was an eyewitness to the life of Christ including: Jesus’ teachings, Jesus’ miracles, Jesus’ transfiguration, Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus’ resurrection and Jesus’ ascension. Secondly, the book of Revelation is one of 5 books John recorded that makes up the New Testament. John wrote the Gospel of John, the letters of 1 John, 2, John and 3 John, and this revelation, which is often referred to as a book, but more aptly should be called The Revelation to John. Thirdly, John is known as the disciple that Jesus loved and was given the responsibility to take care of Mary, Jesus’ mother, after Jesus’ death. Fourthly, John was considered an evangelist and pastor for a time at the church in Ephesus, after Jesus ascended into heaven. And lastly, John is the only disciple who was not killed for his faith in Christ. But, it is not because there weren’t any attempts made. Once the Roman Emperor Domitian had John boiled to death in oil, but as the story goes, John didn’t die; in fact, he came out without any burns. Another time, the Roman government forced John to drink poison, but again, John did not die. So eventually, because the Roman government could not kill him, because it was not God’s appointed time for him, the Roman government banished John to the Island of Patmos, which is off the coast of present-day Turkey. And two years later, after the emperor Domitian had died, John was permitted to return to his church in Ephesus, where he died at the age of 80.
You may wonder, at what point did John receive and write this revelation from Jesus? We’ll discuss this more in detail at another time, but according to Revelation 1:9, John wrote and received this revelation from Jesus during his two year exile on the Island of Patmos, which was probably around AD 95-96; so this is a letter close to 2,000 years old.
You may also wonder how much of this revelation John recorded? Do we have all the revelation that Jesus revealed to him? The answer is yes. If you’ll notice, verse 2 states, “who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.” So, John testifies that everything that was revealed to him he faithfully recorded. Not one detail in this revelation from God and Christ was spared.
Point 6: We also need to know WHO this revelation is for.
Verse one reads that God gave this revelation to Jesus for Jesus “to show his servants.” So, this is a revelation by God, given to Jesus, to reveal it to John, for Jesus’ servants. I want to know who are the “servants” John is referring to? There are two audiences intended for this revelation.
Specifically, the first audience are seven actual churches, which we will eventually study, and these churches are: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
But, in general, this revelation is intended for those who have believed in Christ by faith. It’s for those who have surrendered to his Lordship. It’s for those who willingly live under the authority of Jesus. It’s for those who are slaves to Christ.
It’s so we who have believed in Christ and follow Christ can confidently know details concerning the end of the world, the identity of Jesus, God’s redemptive plan for the world, God’s judgment on the world, Jesus’ second coming, his final and triumphant victory over evil, and the Kingdom of God. In return, that should give every believer who is following Jesus in this sin-stained world the confidence they need to remain faithful.
This also means that one day, every person who has rejected the gospel, and has not believed in Christ nor surrendered to his Lordship, shall sadly be overcome by these events. One day, Christ will return, and they who are not servants of Jesus will miss it. One day, God will pour out his wrath and judgment on the world for its wickedness, evil, godlessness, and rebellion, and those who are not servants of Jesus will have to endure it. So, if you are a follower of Jesus, this revelation is for you. And, if you are not a follower of Jesus, you should listen real carefully to this revelation, consider your ways, repent of your sins, believe in Christ, and surrender to him.
Point 7: We also need to understand that the book of Revelation is a book of blessings.
Revelation 1:3 states, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” In total, there are seven pronounced blessings in the book of Revelation, two of them are here. But before we understand what those blessings are, we need to understand what John means with the word “blessed”. Here, in the Greek, it means, to be happy or to be envied. And the reason for such happiness and envy is because of God’s favor.
The first blessing is for “the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy.” So, anyone who reads the words of this prophecy or revelation, God is going to bless. Anyone who teaches the church the words of this book shall receive God’s favor.
The second blessing is for “those who hear, and who keep what is written in” this prophecy. Which means, not only is the one who teaches this book blessed, but the blessing of this book is also received by those who hear these words and do them. Which also means, if anyone merely listens to the words of this book, but does not apply themselves to obey it, that person or persons shall not receive God’s favor. God does not want us to simply hear his Word, he desires that we obey his word. So, if you want the blessing of God in your life – hear what the Word of God says, and do it.
You may ask, what blessing or favor is that? Many people, when they think of being blessed by God or favored by God, have their minds set on wealth, family, or possessions. But, in the Bible to be blessed or favored by God has a much fuller and deeper meaning. It’s not talking about material things; it doesn’t take being a child of God to have wealth, family, or possessions.
So, what kind of blessing is John referring to then? The kind of blessing John is referring to is a spiritual well-being. To be blessed by God in the way John is referring to is to receive a deep state of joy-filled contentment that cannot be shaken by poverty, famine, sorrow, affliction, persecution, war, tragedy, sickness, disease or anything else this world might bring.
You may wonder, how can teaching or hearing the words of this revelation lead to joy and contentment when I am faced with poverty or grief or sickness? The reason is this: by hearing the words in this revelation you know God’s plan for the future. This world is filled with violence, scandal, political division, war, sickness and many other tragedies. Many people watch the news and wonder where this world is heading. Or, they ask, what is this world coming to? Well, if you know the words of this revelation, you can have peace in knowing.
The Christian doesn’t have to ask the question where this world is headed – we know. The Christian doesn’t have to wonder what this world is coming to – we know. The revelation given to John by Jesus unveils what this world will come to, it uncovers where this world is headed, it reveals how God is going to intervene, and how God will conquer the evil that exists. Therefore, in the face of all that is happening in the world, those who hear this revelation and obey it, can have peace, and assurance, and joy, and contentment for the future.
Point 9: Lastly, as John closes out his introduction, he does so with a plea.
Revelation 1:3 states, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” John is pressing his readers to hear and obey the words of this book, because “the time is near”, which is his way of urging his readers to be ready at all times. And I want to encourage you in the same way – be ready because the time is near!
You may see that and want to ask, what time is near? John is referring to the time for the Last Judgment and the establishment of God’s kingdom. We do not know when these events will take place, but we do know they will happen. Therefore, we must always be ready. Because when Christ returns, it will occur in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet sound, and in a moment we least expect, and then, it will be too late.
So, let me close by summarizing this introduction. First, this is a revelation that was revealed by God to Jesus, and from Jesus to John, who wrote this revelation down, while exiled on the Island of Patmos for two years. Secondly, the book of Revelation is a revelation and prophecy, foretelling and revealing God’s plan for redemption, God’s judgment on the world, Jesus’ full identity, Jesus’ second coming, Jesus’ final victory over evil, and the reality of eternal life with him. And lastly, it is a revelation and prophecy given for our blessing. It is given to us so that, no matter how bad and evil this world will become, we can have assurance and joy-filled contentment. We can be inspired and encouraged because we know how things are going to end, how God is going to intervene, and that a day is coming when God shall conquer evil once and for all.