Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/alphon_1/7251/revelatn.001

Text File | 1992-11-04 | 18KB | 387 lines

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                              TO THE GLORY OF GOD
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                    THE BOOK OF REVELATION

CHAPTER.1.

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS.


Over fifty years ago, Dr. C.I. Scofield said in his notes on
Revelation in the Scofield Reference Bible, "Doubtless much
which is designedly obscure to us will be clear to those for
whom it was written as the time approaches."  That time is at
hand, and many things are clearer than they were in Dr.
Scofield's day.  It is my hope that these notes gathered form
writers new and old, plus the leading of the Holy Spirit,
will further clarify these things for  `those for whom they
were written', - which could well be this generation.

THE VALUE OF STUDYING REVELATION

1.  A special blessing is promised to those who read this
book (Rev 1:3).  There is blessing in reading any portion of
God's Word, but this is the only book than promises special
blessing for those who read and hear its words.  Keep in mind
too that the book closes with a re-statement of this blessing
for those who, in addition to reading and hearing the Word,
also keep it (Rev 22:7).

2.  It reveals God's Plan for the future.  A keen interest in
future events is a universal desire of man, particularly in
days like ours when world conditions are so uncertain.  Many
people anxiously ask, "What does the future hold for me?"
The student of the book of Rev. need not be taken unaware as
these events unfold, for it is possible through the study of
this book to know God's future plan.

AUTHOR:  The message was given to John, who faithfully wrote
it down.  He is identified by name five times in the book (
1:1, 4:9, 21:2, 22:8).  John was the Beloved Disciple, the
brother of James, and son of Zebedee.  The ageing apostle
recorded in Revelation the hope of the Church and of Israel
in the message that was revealed to him.  He experienced a
series of breathtaking visions.  While there has been some
discussion regarding John being the author, most conclude
that he did author the book of Revelation during the reign of
Domitian.  A host of early church fathers, such as Irenaeus,
Origen, Tertullian, Clement of Rome, and others agree with
this conclusion.

DATE:  although there has been a lack of agreement concerning
the date for Revelation, the majority of Evangelical scholars
conclude that it was during the latter portion of Domitian's
reign (C.95-96 A.D.).  Domitian was persecuting the
Christian community and the practice was to send them in
exile.  John writes this epistle form exile in Patmos.
Patmos was a rock quarry island about six miles wide and ten
miles long, approximately twenty-five miles off the coast of
Asia Minor, due west of Miletus.  It was an ideal place for
confinement of political prisoners.  It is probable that John
laboured in the rock quarries alongside of the rogues and
slaves of the empire.  They often had to chip out materials
for pagan temples and state edifices.  Admist this
persecution and these agonies, the Lord was uniquely revealed
to John ( 1:1 , 10-12).

THEME:  it is called `the Revelation', being derived from the
Greek work apokalupsis.  The term is a combination of kalupt
meaning "to unveil," and apo, meaning "from".  Hence, the
meaning "to remove the veil" or "reveal."  What is revealed
in the apocalypse is preeminently the glorified and enthroned
Christ.  Visions following this prophesy the course of the
age beginning with the Great Tribulation and culmination in
the eternal kingdom.

SPECIAL SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDYING THIS BOOK:

1.  Follow the golden rule of interpretation:  When the plain
sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense;
therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual,
literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate text,
studied in the light of related passages and exiomatic and
fundamental truths, clearly indicate otherwise.  This rule
provides basic guidelines for properly interpreting the many
signs and symbols in the book.

2.  Locate the scene of activity:   Hopeless confusion will
be generated in the study of Revelation unless one keeps
firmly in mind whether the scene under discussion takes place
in heaven or on earth.  The action should also be followed
closely, for sometimes a scene in heaven results in activity
on the earth.  For example, Chapters 4 and 5 are scenes in
heaven, Chapter 6 a scene on earth.

3.  Understand that the book is not written chronologically.
It is impossible to understand this book properly if one
expects it to fall into chronological sequences.  This is
particularly important in the events of the Tribulation.  The
student of the book of Revelation should memorize immediately
the fact that the seal judgments of chapter 6 comprise the
first quarter of the Tribulation and the trumpet judgements of
chapter 8 and 9 comprise the second quarter of the
Tribulation.  The bowl judgments of chapter 16 comprise the
last half, or three-and- a-half years of the Tribulation.
Everything else has to be studied in the context of the
period with which it coincides.

ON OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION:

Since the book of Revelation is the "Revelation of Jesus
Christ", it should not seem strange that an outline of the
book should revolve around the person, work and future plans
of Jesus Christ.

1.  Christ and the Church Age (chapters 1-3).
     A.  Introduction - (1:1-8)
     B.  The Christ of the Churches (1:9-20)
     C.  Christ's message to His Churches (2,3)
         a.  the church of Ephesus  (2:1-7)
         b.  the church of Smyrna  (2:8-11)
         c.  the church of Pergamos  (2:12-17)
         d.  the church of Thyatira  (2:18-29)
         e.  the church of Sardis (3:1-6)
         f.  the church of Philadelphia  (3:7-14)
         g.  the church of Laodicea  (3:14-22).

2.  Christ and the Tribulation  (chapters 4-18)
     A.  John caught up to heaven (4)
     B.  Christ receives glory in heaven (5)
     C.  The seven seals- the first quarter of the
         Tribulation (6)
         a.  revival under the 144,00 Jewish witnesses (7)
         b.  the preaching of the two witnesses (11:1-14)
     D.  The trumpet judgments - the second quarter of the
         Tribulation  (8,9).
         a.  Israel persecuted by Satan (12)
         b.  The beast (Antichrist) and the False Prophet
         (13)
         c.  Ecclesiastical Babylon destroyed by the kings of
         the earth (17)
     E.  Heavenly visions.
         a.  vision of the little scroll (10)
         b.  vision of the glorious appearing of Christ
         (11:15-19)
         c.  Satan cast down to the earth (12:7-12)
         d.  vision of the martyrs secure with Christ; doom
         pronounced on the beast worshippers (14)
         e.  vision of the coming bowl judgments (17)
     F.  The seven bowls- last half of the Great Tribulation
         (15,16)
         a.  the commercial city of Babylon destroyed by God
         (18)

3.  Christ and the Future   (chapters 19-22)
     A.  Christ's marriage to His Church (19:1-10)
     B.  Christ's glorious appearing (19:11-21)
     C.  Christ's millennial kingdom (20:1-11)
         a.  Satan bound a thousand years (20:1-3)
         b.  Resurrection of believers (20:4-6)
         c.  Satan loosed to test man's will (20:7-9)
         d.  Satan doomed (20:10)
     D.  Christ's judgment of unbelievers (20:11-15)
     E.  Christ's creation of new things
         a.  New heaven and earth  (21:1,2)
         b.  New conditions for men (21:3-8)
         c.  New Jerusalem (21:9-27)
         d.  The new Paradise  (22:1-7)
     F.  Christ's last message (22:8-21)


INTRODUCTION:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to
show unto his servants things which must shortly come to
pass:  and he sent and signified it by his angels unto his
servant, John, who bore witness 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 in it;
for the time is at hand.

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:  Grace be unto
you, and peace, form him who is, and was, and who is to come,
and from  the seven spirits who are before his throne; and
from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first
begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the
earth.  Unto him that loveth us, and washed us from our sins
in his own blood, and hath made us a kingdom of priests unto
God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and
ever.  Amen.  Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye
shall see him, and they also who pierced him, and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.  Even so.
Amen.  I am  Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, who is and who was, and who is to come the
Almighty.  (Rev 1:1-8).

The Subject of Revelation:  :Revelation of JESUS CHRIST... "
The word `revelation' is a translation of the Greek word
apikalypsis, which means `unveiling.'  It is not a new word
in the New Testament, for it occurs eighteen times ( Luke
2:32, Gal 1:12 etc).

THE REASON FOR THE REVELATION:  "to show unto his servants
things which must shortly come to pass".  Again we see that
the emphasis of the book is on future events.

THE SOURCE OF REVELATION:  it is important that we keep in
focus the true source of the book of Revelation.  It did not
originate with John but came to him through a fourfold
sequence of transmissions: God - Christ - angel - John - to
the church.  The true source of the book of Revelation is
God.

THE SAVIOUR OF REVELATION:  Right here in the introduction we
have the first of many descriptions of Jesus Christ in the
glory and majesty befitting His person and nature.  In our
Lord's first coming, He was `despised and rejected of men; a
man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief' (Is.53:3).  In His
next coming, He will be adored and worshipped, for He will
come `with power and great glory' (Luke 21:27).  The book of
Revelation presents the Lord Jesus more magnificently then
any book in the Bible.  For a true picture of the whole
nature of Jesus Christ, one must understand Him as He is
revealed in this book.  Verses 5,6, and 7 describe the past,
present and future work of Christ Jesus the Lord.

Verse 8.  " I am Alpha  and Omega, the beginning and the
ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is
to come, the Almighty."

In this verse and also in verse 11, Christ is speaking.  In
verse 4, "which is, and which was, and which is to come,"  is
applied to THE GODHEAD.  The same description applied to
Christ and God, the Father!  Thus the DEITY  of CHRIST is
blazoned forth.

"Alpha" is the FIRST letter in the Greek Alphabet.  "Omega"
is the LAST.  In Zechariah 12:10, we read "They shall look
upon ME whom they have pierced."  The word "ME" is
exceptional.  In the original it is not a pronoun.  It simply
consists of the FIRST AND LAST letters of the Hebrew
alphabet- Aleph and Tav.  Thus Christ is the A and the Z to
the Greek, the Gentile and also to the Hebrew, the Israelite.
He is ALL  the ISRAELITE NEEDS and ALL the GENTILE NEEDS.

THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCHES:
Rev 1:9-11

The Seven Churches:  the seven churches of Asia selected by
Christ in verse 11 are worthy of close scrutiny.  We will
treat them individually when we come to chapters 2 and 3 for
there is a world of meaning contained in these messages.
Opinion is divided as to the extent to which the teachings
gained in the study of these messages can have four
applications.

1.  The Seven Churches of John's Day.
Obviously, these were literal churches with which John was
familiar, for much of his ministry had been conducted
throughout that area of Asia.  The question that naturally
comes to mind is: why of the hundreds for churches located in
cities all over the world by this time ( about 63 years after
the day of Pentecost) were these seven churches selected?  It
is suggested that they also represent the seven basic
divisions of church history.

2.  The Seven Basic Divisions of Church History.
A study of history reveals that the Church has gone through
seven basic periods or stages.  These will be dealt with in
detail in subsequent chapters.

3.  The Seven Types of Churches That Exist Today.
Although most of these phases of church history are now
concluded, nevertheless their influence still carries over
from stage to stage, and some trends are still in existence
even in our own day.

4.  The Seven Characteristics That Can Exist in Any Church or
Christian.
This suggestion is merely the practical application of the
messages to these churches on a personal and individual
basis.  As we come to them, we can readily see that these
seven churches comprise seven methods of attack by Satan upon
the Church or individual Christians within the Church,
demanding that we take unto ourselves that whole armour of
God ( Eph 6:10-18) and `resist the devil'.

THE VISION OF THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCHES:

This vision of Christ is graphically descriptive, not only of
Christ in His glory, but of His relationship to the Churches
of His day and churches of all ages.

THE TEN CHARACTERISTICS OF CHRIST ENVISIONED BY JOHN:  as
John turned to see who it was that spoke to him, he saw seven
golden lampstands and a personage in their midst.  He lists
ten details of that personage that are most descriptive.
Notice that only the stars and the lampstands are interpreted
for us.  Nothing about the person of Christ is interpreted.
One might ask, `Why is this true?'  It is because the Holy
Spirit has interpreted these details on other occasions in the
Holy Writ.  As we contemplate this fact, we recognize the
basic principle of Bible Study that we should compare
Scripture with Scripture.  We shall take each of these
characteristics of John's vision and note their meaning form
the Scriptures.

1.  "....one like the Son of man" indicates that this person
was not grotesque creature of the Supernatural world; rather
He was manlike in His appearance.  "The Son of man" is one of
the most frequent titles Jesus applied to Himself.  It is
used of the Messiah in all four gospels and also in Daniel
7:13.

2.   "...clothed with a garment down to the foot."  This was
typical of the long robes of the high priests as they
ministered in the Holy Place in the Temple.

3.   "...girded about the breasts with a golden girdle"
refers to a symbol of strength and authority common in the
ancient world.  The average working man wore a short tunic of
loose-fitting clothes.  Only those in authority wore a
girdle.

4.   "His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as
snow" conveys the thought of antiquity and  reminds us of the
vision of Daniel 7:9-13, where Christ is called the `ancient
of days'.  The whiteness here of course, also speaks of the
righteousness of God, who is form everlasting to everlasting.

5.  "...his eyes were like a flame of fire."  The Greek
construction is literally "His eyes shot fire," indication
that Christ was indignant over something; as we progress with
the vision, we find that He was indignant over the
indifference, in some cases, of the apostate churches.
Whenever the Church of Jesus Christ is not what it should be,
we can be sure it arouses the indignation of the Christ.

6.  "...his feet like fine bronze".  The bronze speaks to us
of judgment.  It reminds us of the brazen altar of the
Tabernacle, where sin was judged.

7.  "...his voice like the sound of many waters."  This
simile can best be illustrated by Niagara Falls.  When you
come to the edge of the great falls, all other sounds are
eliminated from your hearing as you are engulfed by the
deafening roar of the turbulent waters.

8.  "And he had in his right hand seven stars."  The Lord
Himself interpreted to John the meaning of the seven stars.
In verse 20 we find that `the seven stars are the angels of
the seven churches.'  The meaning of the Greek word
translated `angels' is literally messengers.

9.  "...out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword."  Eph
6 refers to the Word of God as `the sword of the spirit.' Heb
4:12 tells us that the Word of God is `sharper than any two-
edged sword.'  Evidently the spoken Word of Christ will go
forth as a sharp sword against which there will be no defense
in the day of judgment.  Thus we can see that there will
really be no battle with the Antichrist, for he will be
indefensible against the very presence of Christ at His
coming (Rev 19,20).

10. "...his countenance was as the sun shineth in his
strength."  This speaks of the divine nature of Christ and
reminds us of the event that took place on the Mount of
Transfiguration, where Christ `was transfigured before them;
and his face did shine like the sun, and his raiment was as
white as the light' (Matt 17:2).  For just a moment during
His earthly ministry, Peter, James, and John saw Jesus in His
divine glory, as John saw Him here in this vision.  Let there
be no doubt about it:  This is Jesus the Christ, the divine
Son of God.  AMEN!