The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:1-3)
The book of Revelation puzzles many who read it. It seems strange and sometimes bizarre. Many avoid the book because the contents elicit fear about the predictions of things to come. However, the book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read, hear, and apply its contents. “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” (Revelation 1:3).
Revelation opens with the last remaining apostle of Jesus, the Apostle John, “in the Spirit the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10). The Roman government arrested and exiled John to the prison island of Patmos for preaching the disruptive Gospel of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:9).
The initial recipients of the book were seven churches in Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:11). To these, the risen Christ addresses individual letters (Revelation 2-3). These churches existed in John’s day, but because of the commendations and reproofs Jesus gives to these churches, some have seen in them patterns of each throughout church history.
John then describes his first glimpse of Jesus as though in a vision. This is not the Jesus John remembers during His earthly ministry. This Jesus is awesome to behold. John says, “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength” (Revelation 1:12-16). The dazzling sight caused John to fall at His feet in awestruck fear, but that tender, familiar voice reassured him of the One he loved. “… Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:17-18).
John saw Jesus in the midst of seven lampstands holding seven stars in His right hand. Jesus explained to him that the seven lampstands represented the seven churches and the seven stars represented the seven angels, i.e., messengers or pastors, of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). The image reminds us that Jesus dwells among His churches and that He keeps and protects the pastors of His churches in His right hand (a position of power). This should also serve as a warning to pastors. Just as Jesus’ right hand protects His messengers, He also has the power to crush the pastor that fails in his responsibility to Jesus’ Bride, the Church.
I do not cover the letters to the seven churches in this study – Revelation 2-3. These were real churches during John’s time and some scholars have seen parallels between those churches and the churches existing through seven distinct epochs of church history. The study of these churches and the epochs of church history they represent is indeed a worthwhile study, but my interest here is to focus on the study of the time of the seven-year Tribulation before the return of Christ to establish His reign on Earth for 1000 years. Therefore, this study will cover Revelation 4 to the end of the book. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
To aid in this study, I have linked all Scripture references to BibleGateway.com. I personally prefer the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, but for those who find the KJV difficult to read (it’s written at a 5th to 7th-grade level), Bible Gateway has a large number of other translations from which the reader can choose to help in understanding.
I have also written a few articles to help with understanding the “big picture” of end-times prophecy. If you are interested, you will find those articles listed below:
With that, I pray that this study will be a blessing to the reader.
Ernie's Musings 