Bible Study: Revelation Chapter 1, Part 1

[Pastor Dave Honey]

Revelation 1:1-2

1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants — things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.

As the Book of Revelation opens, I am reminded that all knowledge comes exclusively from the Father, as illustrated in verse 1; The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God (Father) gave to Him (Jesus) to show to His (Jesus) servants (us!) things which must shortly take place. At first thought, you would think that Jesus Christ, being God the Son would already have this Revelation, but it seems clear that until God the Father gave it to Him, He was without this knowledge. How could this be? You may ask. How could it be that the three Persons of God, or one God in three Persons do not share all knowledge as one God? I can almost hear your eyes roll as you chime in with; "Enough with your redundant chatter already! What's your point?" Great question! But first, another example of how Jesus found Himself in that dreaded "need-to-know" place! In Mark 13;32, Jesus is speaking of His own return; "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Okay, the point is that the dissemination of knowledge, always originates with the Father and ends up with us. In other words, we will always need to look to the Father through His Son to gain understanding, salvation and eternal life! Jesus made clear His position in John 14:6 when He answered Thomas with these incredibly exclusive words! "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." We must first know Jesus before we can access any greater truth in life!

Revelation 1:3

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Verse 3 reveals a very unusual promise, the promise of a blessing! Here we are promised a blessing for simply reading or hearing the words found in this incredible book! This more than suggests that this book contains some of the most important information found in the entire Bible.....the end of the story! Every question ever asked about the future of mankind is answered for us in the twenty two chapters of this wonderful work of prophecy!

Revelation 1:4-8

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Verses 4-8 begin to frame a beautiful picture of, not only the entire church age, but the eternity of the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit! The framework is built on a very special and powerful greeting!

First we are introduced to the "seven churches which are in Asia, Asia Minor, or modern day Turkey. Why seven churches? Well, first I believe that the number seven is the biblical number of completion. Second, and because of the idea of completion, we will see the entire church age as it grows and evolves through the letters dictated to John by Jesus Himself, to each of the seven churches.

Grace and peace to you can be considered the deepest and richest form of greeting of the day! But to receive this greeting from those who are introduced is beyond great! A greeting from Him who is and who was and who is to come, is a big hello from the Father Himself! Included here are the seven Spirits who are before His throne, or the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit as described in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 11:2
2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

And finally from Jesus Christ, God the Son! In His part of this wonderful greeting, we not only see the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the totally undeserved position in which Jesus places us! Revelation 5:10 declares that we shall rule and reign with Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom as priests and kings! Also, The First Epistle of Peter teaches us;

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Verse 7 restates the promise of Daniel found in Daniel 7:13; The Son of Man will come with the clouds of heaven...(clouds of glory). Not just to return, but to be seen by every eye!! This could very well lend itself to the saying that there will be no atheists in Hell!

In verse 8, Jesus introduces Himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, and ultimately identifies Himself as God! What a great and loving God we serve, that He would step out of Heaven, become one of us, identify with us, and die in our place that we may have life eternal, and spend all eternity with our risen Lord and King! Amen!!

Revelation 1:9-11

9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."

In verses 9-11, we are introduced to John, the sole surviving disciple "whom Jesus loved". John reveals his location to us as the island that is called Patmos, and he eludes to the fact that he is there for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Literally that he was banished there by the Emperor Domitian after a failed attempt to execute John in boiling oil! John was literally in the spirit when he heard the voice of the Lord behind him, again introducing Himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Can you even begin to imagine what John is hearing and experiencing? Hearing a very loud voice, more supernatural than natural? A voice he could only describe as a loud trumpet! And then to receive such incredible marching orders! Write in a book all that I am about to show you and disseminate it throughout the entire age you have just entered into! The seven churches, given by name, but representative of the age of grace!

 

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