The Revelation of Jesus Christ

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:1-2, NIV 1984).

My Musings – “The revelation of Jesus Christ.” So begins the last words of Jesus Christ to His Church.

Purpose – The opening words of the Book indicate that the purpose of the entire book is “to show his servants what must soon take place.” The word revelation is a translation of the Greek word apokalypsis, meaning an unveiling or a disclosure. Specifically, God is revealing something that has always been true, but was previously concealed from man. 

Subject – The preposition “of” in the phrase “revelation of Jesus Christ” is likely used primarily in the sense of being by or from Jesus Christ rather than the sense of revealing something about or concerning Jesus Christ. John is recording a first-person account of things he was shown by (received from) Jesus, or by messengers sent by Jesus.  Yet, in a sense, John’s prophecy is also a revelation of Jesus Christ, not just the revelation of future events being conveyed by Christ.  One cannot divorce the Person from the prophecy, for without the Person there would be no real point to the fulfillment of the prophecy. 

In Revelation Chapters 1–3, Christ is portrayed as a priest ministering to the churches. In Revelation 4–5, He is seen in heaven as the glorified Lamb of God, reigning on the throne. In Revelation 6–18, Christ is the judge of all the earth as the tribulation unfolds and comes to its climax. In Revelation 19, He returns to earth as the conquering King of kings. The book closes with the heavenly bridegroom ushering His bride, the Church, into the glorious Heavenly city.

Time Frame – The revelation was given to communicate to Jesus’ servants (His Church), what must soon take place. The Greek word that is translated as soon means that the action will be sudden when it comes. It does not necessarily mean that the things prophesied will occur within a brief time from when the revelation is given.  Many of the described events, in fact, have not yet taken place. But once the end-time events begin (which could still be a very long time in coming), they will likely occur in rapid succession and with increasing intensity (birth pains). 

Expressions like “soon take place” cannot always be measured in standard units of time as reckoned by man. Rather they must be reckoned by a God who is timeless, having no beginning and no end, and for whom “a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8). What could possibly be a long period of time to Him?  We may speculate about and fret over the timing, but we must not do so over its certainty.  

Author – The book of Revelation is attributed to the apostle John. While this cannot be definitively established, the usage of John without any other clarifying language tends to support this claim. Including a name in this manner represented an appeal to authority, and the only John that would be that well-known from this time period was the apostle. The Holy Spirit used the apostle John to give us three kinds of inspired literature: the Gospel of John, three epistles, and the Book of Revelation. While John does not name himself in his Gospel or in the Epistles, he does append his name to his testimony of what he heard and what he saw in the book of Revelation. The purposes of John’s various works are outlined below.

The angel who carried the message to John is not named, but some believe it was Gabriel, who brought messages to Daniel, Mary, and Zechariah.

My Advice – The book of Revelation records Christ’s last words to His Church. Because of this, one would be correct in concluding that they are important words, not to be ignored or treated lightly. To underscore this point, John concludes with these words: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18–19, NIV 1984). We would do well to heed these words.

Sources:

Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Re 1:4). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 566). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 2, p. 408). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 2464). Peabody: Hendrickson.

Walvoord, John F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 928). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.