REVELATION Ep1 Full Disclosure

Just as Genesis is the book of beginnings, Revelation is the book of consummation. In it, the divine program of redemption is brought to fruition, and the holy name of God is vindicated before all creation. Although there are numerous prophecies in the Gospels and Epistles, Revelation is the only New Testament book that focuses primarily on prophetic events. Its title The Apocalypse means “unveiling” or “disclosure” or “revelation.” It is also called The Revelation of Jesus Christ. This means both a revelation which came from Christ and a revelation which is about Christ—both are true.

Revelation 1:1 The 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.
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.
4. 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, (theme of past present and future) 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.” (NB theme of past present and future)
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.”(turkey not Jerusalem)
12. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
13. and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
15. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
16. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
17. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
18. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
19. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
20. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

The Book of Revelation is the unveiling of who and what Jesus is to the church to the world and to eternity. Scholars have viewed these prophecies through four primary lenses. While each perspective seeks to honour the work of the Holy Spirit, I hold the Futurist view in this study because it mentions things that have happened in history, inspires faith in the "here and now" of Christ’s absolute authority over and through His Church and it looks forward to the future Second Coming with a living hope.

1. Preterist - depicting the current Roman struggle against the church and not future prophesy throughout the ages of the second coming of Christ. They say he came in 70 AD when Rome destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. But we see in Revelation 1:7 that John was prophesying the Day of The Lord - the Second Coming and judgement.

2. Historical - The struggle of the church against the world system through the ages.

3. Spiritual - depicting nothing literal or historical at all, but purely symbolical.

4. Futurist - depicting events that would surely take place in the church, the world and eternity, after the time of John, and beginning significantly with the opening of the first of the seven seals in chapters 5 and 6 (also see Ch.4 vs 1 – things to come)
Revelation 4:1… And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

This leads us to take note of the three divisions of time.
Revelation 1.19 write the things that you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
1. Things you have seen - chapter 1
2. Things which are - chapters 2 to 4 – the 7 churches.
3. Things with shall be - chapter 4 onwards.

There are three persons involved in this revelation – Jesus – John – The messenger.
I submit to you that the messenger, or angel that gave this prophecy to John is Enoch, and we will now look at some evidence.

1. Records in Genesis 5 and Hebrews 11 confirm that Enoch is physically in Heaven with God. This creates a theological necessity – Enoch has been given a Divine exemption and is released from the prison of his appointment with death.
Hebrews 9:27 it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
But he is not the only one! There will be a generation of people who will be caught up from the earth to meet Jesus in the air when he returns.
Psalm 102:18 This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD…From heaven the LORD viewed the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner, To release those appointed to death,

2. The Bible link for Enoch
Revelation 1:7 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 - and Jude 14
Jude 14. Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all.
This prophecy of the Second Coming is virtually identical to Revelation 1:7
3. When linked with the messenger’s self-identification in Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
And ch.22:9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets,
The evidence presents this historical figure as being uniquely commissioned to return and declare the unveiling to John.

The Book of Revelation was written about 95-AD by the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos while he was in exile under the persecution of Domitian. The apostle Peter and Paul had been martyred just previously under the persecution of emperor Nero. This dating mainly comes from early church testimony, especially Irenaeus in the second century, who said the vision was seen “toward the end of Domitian’s reign.” Irenaeus lived from 120 to 202 AD, and the future hope of the return of Christ became the dominant position in both Eastern and Western Christianity and still is. Added to this is the fact that the seven churches in Asia Minor that John writes to would logically have been more developed and established at that time.

The book of sevens
Revelation 1:4 - John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be to you, and peace, from him which is, which was, and which is to come - and from the seven spirits which are before his throne. (see also vs.20)

Here there are mentioned seven spirits and seven churches, and of great significance later in the book are
1. The 7 seals
2. The 7 trumpets from seven agels
3. The 7 vials

1. The seven seals - the seven seals are seals of a book of events which are to happen worldwide (ch5.1) Which include the revelation of a conquering church, judgments upon the earth, and signs and wonders in the heavens. These events take place progressively and will be studied in detail later. The 7th seal actually contains another series of events called the seven trumpets.
2. The seven trumpets- The seven trumpets blown by seven angels are also a series of worldwide events that are judgments upon the earth, they are not final judgments but are meant to turn people to God. And the 7th trumpet contains in its blast, the seven vials.

NB The 5th angel releases locust/scorpion spirits which torment people for five months but those sealed with the Holy Spirit are protected – just as Noah and family were protected for 5 months in the ark.

I met up with some close Christian friends from Inverell at a function this week and I shared that I’d be teaching the Book of revelation this coming Sunday, and they mentioned the passages about the scary demonic locusts that had a sting like scorpions (ch.9). They said that some people thought they were symbolic of fighter planes etc. But we agree...