Genesis to Revelation: Revelation Leader Guide: A Comprehensive Verse-by-Verse Exploration of the Bible

1

IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD’S DAY

Revelation 1

DIMENSION ONE:

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Answer these questions by reading Revelation 1

1.To whom did God give the revelation? (1:1a)

God gave the revelation to Jesus Christ.

2.Why was the revelation given? (1:1a)

The revelation was given to show the servants of God what must soon take place.

3.How did God make known this revelation given to Jesus Christ? (1:1b)

God sent an angel to God’s servant John.

4.How is John described? (1:2)

John testifies to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

5.What must those who are blessed do with John’s account? (1:3)

They must read it, hear it, and take to heart what is written in it.

6.Who is John’s message for? (1:4a, 11)

John’s message is for the seven churches in Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

7.Who is described as the one who is, and who was, and who is to come? (1:4b, 8)

John is describing the Lord God.

8.Who else is the message from? (1:4b-5a)

The message also comes from the seven spirits who are before God’s throne and from Jesus Christ.

9.How is Christ described? (1:5a)

Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

10.How does John describe himself and his audience? (1:5b-6)

John and his audience are loved by Jesus Christ, have been freed from their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, and have been made a kingdom and priests to serve the God and Father of Jesus Christ.

11.What does John say about Jesus Christ being seen again by the world? (1:7)

John says that every eye will see Christ when he returns.

12.Who is speaking in 1:8?

The Lord God speaks in the first person (I am) and is identified as the Beginning (Alpha) and the End (Omega) of all that is.

13.How does John describe himself with reference to the members of the seven churches? (1:9)

John is their brother and companion. He shares with them the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are theirs in Jesus.

14.Why was John on Patmos? (1:9)

John was on Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

15.As John describes his experience of being in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, what is he told to do? (1:11)

John is told to write a scroll, describing what he sees, and to send the book to the seven churches of Asia.

16.What are the first things John sees in his vision? (1:12-13)

As he turns to see the voice speaking to him, John sees seven golden lampstands and in the midst of the lampstands someone like a son of man.

17.What are the symbolic items of Christ’s description? (1:13-16)

Christ is clothed with a long robe and a golden sash (girdle); his head and hair are white like wool or snow; his eyes are like fire and his feet like gleaming bronze; his voice is like the sound of rushing waters; he holds seven stars in his right hand, a double-edged sword is coming from his mouth; his face is like the full strength of the shining sun.

18.What is John’s response to this dazzling vision of Christ? (1:17)

He falls down in fear as though dead.

19.What two events in the life of Jesus are referred to by Christ in his first speech to John? (1:18b)

Christ refers to his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

20.As a result of these events, what does Christ possess? (1:18c)

Christ has the keys of death and Hades.

21.What does Christ command John to do? (1:19)

John is to write what he has seen, what is now and what will take place later.

22.What does Christ tell John about the seven golden lampstands (1:12-13) and the seven stars (1:16)? (1:20)

The seven lampstands are the seven churches, the seven stars are the angels of these seven churches.

DIMENSION TWO:

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN?

Background. The opening statement places the Book of Revelation in a distinct category in the New Testament: The revelation [or apocalypse] from Jesus Christ. Apocalypse comes from the Greek word apokalypsis, meaning disclosure.

We need to be clear at the outset about how the prophet John understands his apocalyptic encounter. The revelation belongs to Jesus Christ, not to the prophet. God is the source of the revelation to Jesus Christ. In turn, Jesus Christ is the source of the prophet’s experience of this revelation.

Many commentaries on Revelation suggest that the central factor in the book is a blueprint of the future, entrusted as a revelation to John. This exact blueprint is then conveyed in the biblical text by means of mysterious codes and symbols. These commentaries suggest that all one has to do is crack the code to know exactly how current events are mirrored in Revelation’s text.

This approach has done great harm to Revelation’s interpretation. Worse, this approach is really contrary to the belief of Revelation’s writer. John’s theology teaches that Jesus, the exalted Christ, is the center of faith. Not history. Not the future. Not the evil powers being defeated by the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (1:2). But especially, the prophet’s experience is not the center of faith. In fact, John is very much an onlooker or observer of the action started by the Lamb, who was slain (5:12).

Revelation 1:1-3. John describes himself as servant. But what he writes is often called prophecy. A great deal of scholarly debate continues about Revelation’s proper category within the New Testament. Is Revelation an apocalypse only? Is it a prophecy with apocalyptic overtones? Or is Revelation a completely distinct writing with no parallels in or outside of Scripture?

Revelation is certainly apocalyptic. The heightened sense of conflict between the opposing forces of good and evil, the essential pessimism about the possibility of improvements in the here-and-now, the use of animal imagery, the heavy use of numerology and other veiled imagery; all these factors place Revelation clearly in the same class with classical and contemporary apocalyptic writing. But the real home of Revelation is prophecy, as experienced in the early Christian church.

This book grows out of worship and is intended for the use of other Christian prophets (the angels of the seven churches, 1:20). John almost certainly implies the use of the prophecy in worship. His urgent exhortation to read aloud, listen carefully, understand, and keep the words of this scroll (1:3) tells us a great deal about John’s understanding of prophecy. Above all, Revelation is to help the church grow in understanding and obedience. Prophecy tries to help the church understand today’s message from the risen Christ, who is the Word of God and who still speaks. Prophecy does not dwell on previous proclamations of Scripture and their interpretations; nor is it interested in the neat categories of past, present, and future. Rather, prophecy tends to run all these together in the immediacy of the moment of the encounter with the living testimony of Jesus.

We are not used to this world of John’s prophecy, a strange and admittedly dangerous place in which to live, let alone visit. We like things more orderly, neat, and tidy. Revelation is orderly, but in its own way. For example, John alludes to biblical texts and images on almost every line of Revelation but uses only one direct quotation (15:3). Again, events of the final end of the world are spoken of in the narrative long before we would expect them, if Revelation were an orderly, history-centered work. In some ways, the creative approach of Revelation is more like the collage of a music video than a sequential, logical plan of history. This approach makes Revelation difficult for us to understand. But we make Revelation more difficult only if we try to force it into a mold that it does not fit.

Revelation 1:4-7. Revelation’s rich theology about Jesus Christ is one of the most neglected and yet fruitful aspects of the Christian canon. Jesus Christ is described by many titles and actions in this passage. Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus Christ has loved us, freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom and priests.

Revelation 1:8. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega the last. John chooses an interesting way of expressing himself when he writes that another revealed name of God is First and Last. He then expands the name to include time: present, past, and future. If author J. B. Phillips was right, and our God is too small, reflect for a moment on Alpha and Omega as a proper name for God.

Revelation 1:9-20. The participant book points out that audition (hearing as the primary experience) characterizes John’s encounter with God. This focus on the sounds of religious experience reminds us that prophecy was probably purely oral in nature. True, John uses words in the text of Revelation to describe his experience; but even this betrays a certain oral character.

The Greek text of Revelation is the most difficult in the New Testament. The technical grammatical studies of the text are quite complex. Many scholars have despaired of understanding or even dealing with the nearly impossible Greek of Revelation. It is as if the experience of hearing and speaking the testimony of Jesus (v. 9) cannot be contained by written