Revelation Chapter One
jame...@btinternet.com
REVELATION CHAPTER ONE
Revelation 1:1-3, “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: Who
bare record 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 therein: for the time [is] at hand.”
With the above words, John commenced to describe how he received the
collection of prophecies which we know as the Book of Revelation. God
gave to His Son foreknowledge of certain future events which were in
turn told to John. As we study the introduction as above, two questions
naturally come into our minds:
(1) As the word Revelation means an “unveiling” or “making known,” why
is the Apocalypse unanimously looked upon as the most difficult part of
the Bible to understand ?
(2) If the prophecies given to John were to have been
fulfilled "shortly,” that is soon after 96 AD when John received them,
Why is it that most people think that they are still awaiting
fulfilment, even though over 2000 years have elapsed since John’s day?
The answer to both problems is given in verses 1 and 2 where John
wrote: “And He (Christ) SIGNIFIED it (i.e., the prophecy) unto his
servant John who bare record . . . of all things that he saw.” That is,
Christ gave the prophecies to John in signs and symbols. For example in
verses 12 and 13, we read that in his first vision John “saw seven
golden candlesticks, arid in the midst . . . one like unto the Sort of
man . . . and in his right hand seven stars.” Now this was an Old
Testament scene of the High Priest tending the candlesticks (or lamp
stands) and supplying them with oil , etc., in the Holy Place of the
temple. Yet in 70 AD the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and the
actual candlesticks or lamp stands were carried to Rome by Titus as
part of the victor’s spoil. Hence in 96 AD when John saw the
candlesticks in his vision they were symbolical. We read in verse 20
that Christ Himself told John what they represented: “The seven
candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”
Therefore John’s first vision represented Christ as Israel’s High
Priest of the New Covenant, looking after His church and supplying His
Body with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Likewise throughout Revelation
wherever John records what appear to be Old Covenant temple services,
they symbolise the Christian church of the New Covenant in her worship
of God.
As another example of such symbolism, in Revelation 1:20 John was told
that the “seven stars” he saw in his first vision were seven “angels”
or “rulers” not stars literally. Therefore likewise the “sun, moon and
stars,” and often the “heaven” described in the visions of Revelation
are symbolical of similar ruling powers over the “earth.” When John
saw these heavenly bodies darkened or fall, it symbolised the fall of
certain rulers from their government over the lands of Bible
prophecies. If we were to interpret those constellations John saw in
his visions as meaning the literal sun and moon, etc., this would
necessitate that the solar system be destroyed numerous times to fulfil
John’s visions, which of course would be a physical impossibility.
Also to interpret the “earth” as meaning the whole earth from pole to
pole would in many cases make the prophecies of Revelation fantastic
and utterly beyond reason. The “earth” of these prophecies is
interpreted for us in Luke 2:1, “And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree front Caesar Augustus, that ALL THE WORLD
should be taxed.” Now obviously in this case “all the world” did not
include say the millions of India and China, but only the lands ruled
by the, the Imperial Roman Empire. Similarly, the “earth” in the
prophecies of Revelation which was written during the days of the very
same Roman Empire is that territory ruled by Rome. This is also the
same when the interpreting the prophetic latter day prophecies of
Daniel concerning the toes and feet of the image.
With the above observations in mind, perhaps the reader can now realise
why Revelation is so little understood. The symbols used must first be
interpreted before the prophecies make intelligent reading. It is like
anyone picking up a foreign newspaper which is absolutely
unintelligible until the individual learns the vocabulary of the
particular foreign language. Likewise the symbols in Revelation must be
first understood. A literal interpretation makes its prophecies
contradict one another; makes them grotesque and utterly impossible of
fulfilment, and hence of no inspiration or help to the Christian
church.
Here also is the answer to our second question, why nine out of every
ten people will tell you that the fulfilment of Revelation is almost
all future. As they have read nothing in the history of the last 2,000
years literally fulfilling the strange visions recorded by John, they
conclude that the latter must still be future and have to do with awful
judgments at the end of the world. Yet such futurist views directly
contradict the very purpose for which the Apocalypse was written, “to
reveal and SHOW to Christ’s servants” things to take place “shortly” or
from 96 AD onwards. What a terrible nightmare the Book of Revelation
was to most of us in our childhood days and even now listening to
Futurist preachers! It is much easier to imagine all kinds of grotesque
fulfilments rather than take time to study History which is His Story.
In this context even the Praeterist view of the History of the Roman
Empire would make more sense than the Futurist view. When however the
strange symbols are interpreted in the light of history all becomes
clear. The nightmare goes, and Revelation is seen to be what it claims
to be, a fore-view of Christendom from John’s day to the second advent,
and even beyond.
We naturally ask the question why did Christ use such signs and symbols
to represent the Christian church, nations and rulers, etc., when He
gave John those visions concerning the future? The purpose of
Revelation was (1) To provide a guide of the vocation of the church in
the world, so that suffering saints would be comforted by the
realisation that God had foreseen their tribulations; (2) To inspire
them by giving them visions of their final resurrection glory when
their persecutors would be judged and destroyed; (3) To also at the
same time veil the actual time and season of the second advent so that
Christians would always have the everpresent hope of the near return
of Christ. All those aims were achieved in the wisdom of God, by the
use of symbols which could only be understood as the fulfilment of the
prophecies in history gradually interpreted the symbols.
This plan is referred to in Daniel 12:9, where Daniel complained that
he could not understand the weird symbols he had seen in his visions;
the answer came back to him “the words are closed and SEALED till the
time of the end.” Although Daniel’s prophecies would be read, their
symbolic language would seal their message until that time in God’s
purpose. John however in Revelation 22:10 was told, “SEAL NOT the
sayings of the prophecies of this book fur the TIME is at hand.”
Therefore in John’s day, 96 AD, the "time of the end” or the “last
days” had arrived in which the events of the Christian dispensation
would gradually unveil and unseal the prophecies of Daniel and
Revelation.
Then again such symbolic language could only be understood by
Christians who searched the scriptures for certain keys which also
helped to decipher the symbols. Unbelievers would not obtain those keys
so that such symbolic language protected the saints from unnecessary
persecution which they would have experienced if the Bible had openly
condemned such political powers as say the Roman Empire.
Chapters 1 to 5 of Revelation contain John’s description of how it came
about that he received the prophecies recorded by him in the succeeding
chapters 6 to 21.
Chapter 1 is purely introductory and describes John's first vision how
that (in 96 A.D.) he was an exile “ in the isle that is called Patmos
for the . . . testimony off Jesus.” (Verse 9.) While at prayer he was
given a vision of the Day of the Lord which includes the whole
Christian dispensation. Many say this event was on a certain Lord’s
Day, meaning Sunday, but I disagree. Suddenly John heard a voice
commanding him, “What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the
seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus . . . Smyrna . . .
Pergamos Thyatira . . . Sardis . . . Philadelphia and Laodicea” (Verse
2). John turned in the direction of the voice and saw (in his
vision) “seven candlesticks, and in the midst . . . one like unto the
Son of man,” Christ then spoke to John and revealed His identity as the
resurrected Son of God triumphant over death: “I am He that liveth, and
was dead . . .” In verse 19 we read that Christ. then instructed John
to write down “ the things which are, and the things which shall be
hereafter.”
However before John saw any further visions, Christ gave him seven
special messages, one for each church. Presumably the prophet was to
add a copy of these special messages to the book of visions he was
about to receive, record, and send to the various churches. These seven
messages are recorded in Rev. 2 and 3.
Chapters 4 and 5 are John’s record of his second vision in which he saw
a scene in. heaven with God giving to His Son a “book” or scroll
actually, containing the special series of prophecies Christ was in
turn about to pass on to him.
Chapter 6 and onwards is John’s record of the visions he saw as Christ
broke seven seals by which He was able to unroll the “book” in seven
stages; as each seal was in turn broken, more of the scroll was
unrolled revealing to Christ further knowledge of the future which he
then translated into action before John's vision. The latter wrote down
exactly what he saw.
However, before going on to study those detailed prophecies which are
recorded in Rev. 6 to 22, let us examine Christ’s seven special
messages to the churches as in Rev. 2 and 3. (To be Continued)
REVELATION CHAPTER ONE
Revelation 1:1-3, “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: Who
bare record 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 therein: for the time [is] at hand.”
With the above words, John commenced to describe how he received the
collection of prophecies which we know as the Book of Revelation. God
gave to His Son foreknowledge of certain future events which were in
turn told to John. As we study the introduction as above, two questions
naturally come into our minds:
(1) As the word Revelation means an “unveiling” or “making known,” why
is the Apocalypse unanimously looked upon as the most difficult part of
the Bible to understand ?
(2) If the prophecies given to John were to have been
fulfilled "shortly,” that is soon after 96 AD when John received them,
Why is it that most people think that they are still awaiting
fulfilment, even though over 2000 years have elapsed since John’s day?
The answer to both problems is given in verses 1 and 2 where John
wrote: “And He (Christ) SIGNIFIED it (i.e., the prophecy) unto his
servant John who bare record . . . of all things that he saw.” That is,
Christ gave the prophecies to John in signs and symbols. For example in
verses 12 and 13, we read that in his first vision John “saw seven
golden candlesticks, arid in the midst . . . one like unto the Sort of
man . . . and in his right hand seven stars.” Now this was an Old
Testament scene of the High Priest tending the candlesticks (or lamp
stands) and supplying them with oil , etc., in the Holy Place of the
temple. Yet in 70 AD the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and the
actual candlesticks or lamp stands were carried to Rome by Titus as
part of the victor’s spoil. Hence in 96 AD when John saw the
candlesticks in his vision they were symbolical. We read in verse 20
that Christ Himself told John what they represented: “The seven
candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”
Therefore John’s first vision represented Christ as Israel’s High
Priest of the New Covenant, looking after His church and supplying His
Body with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Likewise throughout Revelation
wherever John records what appear to be Old Covenant temple services,
they symbolise the Christian church of the New Covenant in her worship
of God.
As another example of such symbolism, in Revelation 1:20 John was told
that the “seven stars” he saw in his first vision were seven “angels”
or “rulers” not stars literally. Therefore likewise the “sun, moon and
stars,” and often the “heaven” described in the visions of Revelation
are symbolical of similar ruling powers over the “earth.” When John
saw these heavenly bodies darkened or fall, it symbolised the fall of
certain rulers from their government over the lands of Bible
prophecies. If we were to interpret those constellations John saw in
his visions as meaning the literal sun and moon, etc., this would
necessitate that the solar system be destroyed numerous times to fulfil
John’s visions, which of course would be a physical impossibility.
Also to interpret the “earth” as meaning the whole earth from pole to
pole would in many cases make the prophecies of Revelation fantastic
and utterly beyond reason. The “earth” of these prophecies is
interpreted for us in Luke 2:1, “And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree front Caesar Augustus, that ALL THE WORLD
should be taxed.” Now obviously in this case “all the world” did not
include say the millions of India and China, but only the lands ruled
by the, the Imperial Roman Empire. Similarly, the “earth” in the
prophecies of Revelation which was written during the days of the very
same Roman Empire is that territory ruled by Rome. This is also the
same when the interpreting the prophetic latter day prophecies of
Daniel concerning the toes and feet of the image.
With the above observations in mind, perhaps the reader can now realise
why Revelation is so little understood. The symbols used must first be
interpreted before the prophecies make intelligent reading. It is like
anyone picking up a foreign newspaper which is absolutely
unintelligible until the individual learns the vocabulary of the
particular foreign language. Likewise the symbols in Revelation must be
first understood. A literal interpretation makes its prophecies
contradict one another; makes them grotesque and utterly impossible of
fulfilment, and hence of no inspiration or help to the Christian
church.
Here also is the answer to our second question, why nine out of every
ten people will tell you that the fulfilment of Revelation is almost
all future. As they have read nothing in the history of the last 2,000
years literally fulfilling the strange visions recorded by John, they
conclude that the latter must still be future and have to do with awful
judgments at the end of the world. Yet such futurist views directly
contradict the very purpose for which the Apocalypse was written, “to
reveal and SHOW to Christ’s servants” things to take place “shortly” or
from 96 AD onwards. What a terrible nightmare the Book of Revelation
was to most of us in our childhood days and even now listening to
Futurist preachers! It is much easier to imagine all kinds of grotesque
fulfilments rather than take time to study History which is His Story.
In this context even the Praeterist view of the History of the Roman
Empire would make more sense than the Futurist view. When however the
strange symbols are interpreted in the light of history all becomes
clear. The nightmare goes, and Revelation is seen to be what it claims
to be, a fore-view of Christendom from John’s day to the second advent,
and even beyond.
We naturally ask the question why did Christ use such signs and symbols
to represent the Christian church, nations and rulers, etc., when He
gave John those visions concerning the future? The purpose of
Revelation was (1) To provide a guide of the vocation of the church in
the world, so that suffering saints would be comforted by the
realisation that God had foreseen their tribulations; (2) To inspire
them by giving them visions of their final resurrection glory when
their persecutors would be judged and destroyed; (3) To also at the
same time veil the actual time and season of the second advent so that
Christians would always have the everpresent hope of the near return
of Christ. All those aims were achieved in the wisdom of God, by the
use of symbols which could only be understood as the fulfilment of the
prophecies in history gradually interpreted the symbols.
This plan is referred to in Daniel 12:9, where Daniel complained that
he could not understand the weird symbols he had seen in his visions;
the answer came back to him “the words are closed and SEALED till the
time of the end.” Although Daniel’s prophecies would be read, their
symbolic language would seal their message until that time in God’s
purpose. John however in Revelation 22:10 was told, “SEAL NOT the
sayings of the prophecies of this book fur the TIME is at hand.”
Therefore in John’s day, 96 AD, the "time of the end” or the “last
days” had arrived in which the events of the Christian dispensation
would gradually unveil and unseal the prophecies of Daniel and
Revelation.
Then again such symbolic language could only be understood by
Christians who searched the scriptures for certain keys which also
helped to decipher the symbols. Unbelievers would not obtain those keys
so that such symbolic language protected the saints from unnecessary
persecution which they would have experienced if the Bible had openly
condemned such political powers as say the Roman Empire.
Chapters 1 to 5 of Revelation contain John’s description of how it came
about that he received the prophecies recorded by him in the succeeding
chapters 6 to 21.
Chapter 1 is purely introductory and describes John's first vision how
that (in 96 A.D.) he was an exile “ in the isle that is called Patmos
for the . . . testimony off Jesus.” (Verse 9.) While at prayer he was
given a vision of the Day of the Lord which includes the whole
Christian dispensation. Many say this event was on a certain Lord’s
Day, meaning Sunday, but I disagree. Suddenly John heard a voice
commanding him, “What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the
seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus . . . Smyrna . . .
Pergamos Thyatira . . . Sardis . . . Philadelphia and Laodicea” (Verse
2). John turned in the direction of the voice and saw (in his
vision) “seven candlesticks, and in the midst . . . one like unto the
Son of man,” Christ then spoke to John and revealed His identity as the
resurrected Son of God triumphant over death: “I am He that liveth, and
was dead . . .” In verse 19 we read that Christ. then instructed John
to write down “ the things which are, and the things which shall be
hereafter.”
However before John saw any further visions, Christ gave him seven
special messages, one for each church. Presumably the prophet was to
add a copy of these special messages to the book of visions he was
about to receive, record, and send to the various churches. These seven
messages are recorded in Rev. 2 and 3.
Chapters 4 and 5 are John’s record of his second vision in which he saw
a scene in. heaven with God giving to His Son a “book” or scroll
actually, containing the special series of prophecies Christ was in
turn about to pass on to him.
Chapter 6 and onwards is John’s record of the visions he saw as Christ
broke seven seals by which He was able to unroll the “book” in seven
stages; as each seal was in turn broken, more of the scroll was
unrolled revealing to Christ further knowledge of the future which he
then translated into action before John's vision. The latter wrote down
exactly what he saw.
However, before going on to study those detailed prophecies which are
recorded in Rev. 6 to 22, let us examine Christ’s seven special
messages to the churches as in Rev. 2 and 3. (To be Continued)
Welcome to the Historicist-Futurist, Pre-Millennial, A-Millennial,
PostMillennial and Praeterist Prophetic Groups. I believe armies will
soon surround Great Britain, which is the Zion of Prophecy and King
David's Royal Throne, Zechariah 12:3, "And in that day I will make
(Jerusalem) a burdensome stone for all people: All that burden
themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the
earth be gathered together against it." You are invited to introduce
and share your prophetic views on this forum. To see all the messages
the Web site is http://www.egroups.com/community/historicistfuturist. I
have written "Minutes to Midnight," and will send this book free to all
who ask for it. If you have not received it please ask again. Contact
me for it and with any questions you may have at
emeraldisle...@btinternet.com. When you reply to messages
retain or copy my signature as it enables me to find them, but we have
been told to delete the original message using post and copy when
answering. (1) To subscribe use historicistfuturist-
subs...@egroups.com. (2) To unsubscribe use historicistfuturist-
unsub...@egroups.com. (3) To post messages use
historici...@egroups.com. My colleague, Pastor Alan Campbell has
written a fully illustrated book with pictures, charts, and a coloured
map of the British Empire, called "The Gates of the Enemy." If you
would like a copy I will send it free as it is easy to read and shows
how YHWH fulfilled His promises to Abraham. Pastor Campbell's Open
Bible Ministries web site is http://www.1335.com. To contact him use
openbible....@btinternet.com. Jerusalem was delivered by Israel-
Britain after being desolated by the Edomite Turks for 400 years at
1335 on the Hegirah. It was Sunday December 9th 1917, which was also
Kislev 24 5678 on the Hebrew Calendar. This fulfilled Haggai
2:18, "[Consider] now from this day and upward from the four and
twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation
of the LORD'S temple was laid, [consider] {it}." The Covenant People's
Fellowship who published my book are at
http://www.covenant.btinternet.co.uk. Also visit
http://www.ensignmessage.com. Yah describes these momentous days in
which we are living and says in Luke 21:18, "And when these things
begin to come to pass, [then look up], and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh."
http://www.deja.com/~openbible/
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