The Revelation of Jesus Christ

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This is a sermon given as the introduction to a brief sermon series on the first three chapters of Revelation. The message provides some introductory information regarding the proper understanding of apocalyptic literature, then focuses on the first phrase of Rev. 1:1, which was used at the title of this message.

Written Excerpts:

Rev. 1:1 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:

Introduction:

[Many years ago] A clergyman took a seat in a dining car on a train traveling along the Hudson River. Opposite him was an atheist who, seeing his clerical collar, started a discussion. "I see you are a clergyman." "Yes," came the reply. "I am a minister of the gospel." "I suppose you believe the Bible." The clergyman, orthodox in his views, responded, "I certainly do believe the Bible to be the Word of God." "But aren't there things in the Bible you can't explain?" With humility the minister answered, "Yes, there are places in the Bible too hard for me to understand." With an air of triumph as though he had cornered the preacher, the atheist asked, "Well, what do you do then?" Unruffled, the clergyman went on eating his dinner—which happened to be Hudson shad, a tasty fish but noted for its bony structure. Looking up, he said, "Sir, I do just the same as when eating this shad. When I come to the bones, I put them to the side of the plate and go on enjoying my lunch. I leave the bones for some fool to choke on." (from, Illustrations Unlimited.)

I think this little story kind of expresses my thoughts when I think about the book of Revelation. There are many things in this book that I do not understand and I could really get discouraged if I got too “bogged down” trying to figure out every symbolic detail used by the author. I need to remember that, even though I do not understand a lot of the material, I still need to pay earnest attention to the parts that I may be able to understand, and not allow the rest to get me “all choked up” and so frustrated that I neglect to study like I should.

I may have said this some time previously, but I think I have tended to avoid preaching out of Revelation for the simple reason that there is so much I don’t understand. However, I don’t think that is pleasing to the Lord. I obviously believe that it is part of the inspired Word of God, and therefore, it is provided for our instruction and edification.

A few months ago, I had just finished reading through the Bible again, and as I was reading Revelation I felt that God was leading me to do a short series of messages dealing with the first three chapters of this book. I don’t know if we will continue any farther than that or not, but we will at least examine the messages that John wrote to the seven churches that were in existence during the first century.

Today, as we begin the series, I want to start off by looking at some important introductory matters. As I just mentioned a moment ago, the series will primarily cover the messages that Christ told John to give to the seven churches. But, before we examine those seven messages to the churches, I want to talk to you today about some important themes in general that John is giving us in this book of prophecy.

For the rest of our time today, I want to speak about three general themes: Who or what this book is about; Why it was written; and How we should relate to it.

I.     Who or What is this book about?

It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. (That’s the simple answer.) But what does that mean?

Verse one starts out like this, “The revelation of Jesus Christ….”

The little preposition “of” could have two meanings. It could mean the revelation that belongs to and therefore comes from Jesus, or it could mean the revelation that consists of Jesus or is about Jesus. Most authors that I know of understand it in the former sense – i.e., the revelation that comes from Jesus.

(Albert Barnes) The word rendered Revelation— ᾿Αποκάλυψις, whence we have derived our word Apocalypse—means properly an uncovering… It would apply to anything which had been covered up so as to be hidden from the view-as by a veil…. It comes then to be used in the sense of disclosing or revealing by removing the veil of darkness or ignorance. (Notes on the New Testament Explanatory and Practical.)

It is an unveiling or disclosing of “the things which must shortly come to pass.” (KJV – v. 1) i.e., “What must soon take place.” (NIV)

Adam Clarke understood this phrase to mean, “the commencement of the events predicted; as if he had said: In a short time the train of these visions will be put in motion….” In other words, “Very soon, all the events referred to in this book will begin to transpire.”

So, in reality, the book was written by John under orders from the angel that was sent from Jesus Christ in order to open up and disclose events and happenings that had previously been hidden from their understanding.

Now, having said that, I also happen to believe that there is a real sense in which the revelation (unveiling, disclosure) does consist of Jesus himself. The book shows us pictures and insights of Jesus that we have not seen before.

Listen to these words written as part of the introduction to the book of Revelation in The Student Bible (Zondervan Publishing House): “Revelation gives us a unique picture of Jesus Christ, and the New Testament would be incomplete without it. The Gospels describe Jesus’ life on earth from four different viewpoints. The letters [epistles] discuss the deep significance of the resurrected Christ and what he accomplished. But Revelation shows Jesus Christ from a new perspective: as the mighty ruler of the cosmic forces of good….”

Consider the images of Jesus that we are provided in Revelation: In the very first chapter we see an image of Jesus that is both glorious and terribly frightening. It is so overwhelming, that the very disciple who “leaned on Jesus’ chest during the Last Supper” and was known as an intimate friend, is now falling (collapsing) before him like someone who has died.

(The Student Bible, p. 1321) “…Jesus is presented as a king, a child, a warrior on a horse, the Lord of the whole earth, the husband of a bride. Of all the images, however, none is so startling and unlikely as the one in John’s second vision [Chapter 5; i.e., the Lamb].”

Other writers in the NT give us pictures of Jesus that are more tender, compassionate, forgiving, and meek. Now, we see the glorified Christ as one who is sovereign, powerful, overwhelming, and overruling all the forces of wickedness.

This truly is an awesome revelation of Him to whom we will all give an accounting and a reckoning some day when we stand before Him.

II.    Why was this book written?

Revelation was written to inspire hope and faith.

I’ve already mentioned that the word “revelation” comes from the Greek word “Αποκάλυψις”. This is the same word from which we get our English word, “apocalypse.”

(Information that follows comes primarily from The Daily Study Bible Series by William Barclay.)

“Apocalyptic literature is a precise kind of literature that was somewhat popular during the period of history between the OT and the NT. Many of the books that we refer to as the Apocrypha included these Jewish “revelations” regarding the end of time and the Messianic warrior-deliverer.

These authors did not use their own names, but credited their works to the names of great ones from the past, like Noah, Enoch, Moses, etc. They also often used cryptic or coded language because they were writing during the times of oppressive empires and rulers that were not sympathetic to their faith.

Jewish Apocalyptic literature promoted the theme of two distinct ages in history: the present which was totally corrupt and beyond redemption, and the age-to-come which would be a “golden age” of peace and prosperity ushered in by a direct intervention of God.”

The book of Revelation follows a lot of the same characteristics as traditional apocalyptic literature. But there are differences, one of which is the fact that John uses his own name for authorship rather than a false name.

(The Student Bible) “No other NT book resembles Revelation in style…. [Apocalyptic] Authors, writing to persecuted Christians anxious abut their future, predicted what would take place. Often, they used coded language to protect themselves; for example, they substituted a word like Babylon when criticizing Rome, just in case their writings fell into the wrong hands….

“Keep in mind also the condition of the persecuted Christians who first received this book. They needed not a precise calendar of future events, but rather a word of encouragement and hope. They needed faith that, no matter how things looked, God was in charge of history and good would ultimately triumph. Revelation provides this hope, for them and for us.”

What I have just shared with you shows that these writers and others believe that the overall purpose of Revelation was to show to its readers that God was still in control and would ultimately overcome all wickedness and ungodliness. Those who were justified by the blood of the Lamb and written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life” would triumph and receive the reward of eternal life to reign forever with their Victorious Lord.

You have often heard it said, “We know the end of the story… Jesus wins and we (i.e., Christians) win too.” In spite of how dark things may look now or any time in the future before Christ returns, we know that He is coming back and He will conquer, judge and eternally destroy the Devil and all the works of evil.

Hallelujah!

III.   How should we relate to this book?

I believe we must approach the material in this book with a combination of assurance or confidence and mystery, but with the underlying motivation to understand Jesus Christ better than ever before.

I believe that we must approach this book and the material in it just like we do other books of the Bible – we try to grasp its original meaning as understood by the original recipients, but then attempt to translate and transfer that into meaningful applications to our contemporary world today.

I don’t believe we should not become so obsessed with all the details and trying to properly interpret every symbol and mystery so that we miss the larger and more prominent themes.

These themes include: the victory of Christ over every enemy, the judgments of God against all evil and everyone who has rejected Him, and the blessedness of eternal life for the redeemed of the Lord.

Conclusion:

As we come to the close of this message, I trust that we have a new appreciation of the kind of literature that is portrayed in the book of Revelation. We need to remember that Jesus Christ is the primary subject and He will emerge as the Supreme Ruler and Victor over all the forces of evil in this world. He is not only Redeemer, but He is Judge; Conqueror; and Monarch – the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

We need to remember that this book was written for our encouragement and to inspire our confidence in the ultimate victory of good over evil; or we might better say, God over Satan. We need to remember that this message of hope and victory applies not only to the Jewish people who have yearned for the fulfillment of prophecies in a political or national meaning, but the message also applies to every Christian believer that has been faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I urge as many of you that will accept the challenge to read through the book of Revelation several times over the next several weeks. Remember the blessing from v. 3 that I referred to at the beginning of today’s message.

Those aren’t my words; those are the words of Christ to the Apostle John. “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy….” So, read it and read it and read it again.

My prayer is that God will “Open my eyes, that I may see” new and clear truths that I have not noticed before. I pray the same for you.

Let us sing our closing prayer today…

“Open My Eyes, That I May See”