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38th Street Church of Christ 3904 38th Street NW Canton, Ohio 44718 330-492-5523 Fax: 330-493-7119 |
“Revelation: God's Vision |
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I. Introduction.
A. Let me begin by stating the obvious: “Revelation” is a
strange, and mysterious, book. Its language is like that of
no other book in the New Testament – as it is the only book
of prophecy in that segment of the Bible. That, alone,
makes it worthy of study, but there are other, equally valid
and important, reasons to look carefully at this last book of
the Bible.1. It is part of God’s word. As with all other parts of
His book, it should be studied and can be
understood.2. It can give us a deeper appreciation of the Lord’s
church – in the first century and today.3. It proclaims, absolutely, the victory of good, and
God, over evil, and Satan. It, thus, is a book of
encouragement in a world where the struggle
between good and evil goes on continuously, and
evil still, often, seems to be dominant.4. It describes the glory, and beauty, of the church
triumphant – it is, indeed, “God’s Vision Of
Victory.”B. But, people have avoided studying the book – or, at least,
neglected to study it carefully, because of its use, and
abuse, by individuals – false teachers and outright frauds –
who have used it and its figurative language to “prove”
all sorts of far-fetched and bizarre “doctrines.” Also,
there is that feeling that we really cannot understand the
book, so why even bother to try – or to spend time that
could be used, more profitably, elsewhere.1. God’s intent in “Revelation” was not to confuse, but
to encourage. If this book cannot be understood,
then God has mocked us in giving it to us in the first
place. That is simply not true.2. Admittedly, “Revelation” is not a simple book to
understand, and, admittedly, many of the figures of
speech, and symbols in the language, are obscure to
us – because we lack the inspired knowledge of
first-century interpreters.3. But, I Chapter 1, verses 1-3, there are given sound
reasons to study “Revelation” and to understand its
overall message (READ verses 1-3, Chapter 1).a. This is a revelation given by Jesus Christ
(verse 1).b. A blessing is promised to those who study
it (verse 3).c. It sets forth the Christian belief that God is
in control of all the world’s history and God
will see to it that righteousness triumphs
over evil.d. Its message centers on the Savior of
mankind, and it brings to a climax all the
message of the entire Bible.C. “Revelation” speaks, in figurative language, symbolic,
dramatic, and urgent, to Christians facing trials – even
overwhelming trials. The final end of world battles is not
what the book is about – contrary to a very popular view.
John, to whom the vision comes, tells us at the very
beginning of the book that the message concerns things that
were to take place soon – “. . . the time is near.” (verse 3).1. “Revelation” was addressed, primarily to the first-
century church, to Christians whose very lives were
in jeopardy because of their faith.2. It is presented as a message to “. . . the seven
churches which are in Asia: . . .” (1:11). It draws
heavily from similar writings familiar to the Jewish-
Christian community of the first century.3. “Revelation” is relevant to us, today, in that it is still
part of God’s inspired word, Satan is still at work to
take souls from God and to discourage people in the
church, and, the end of all time has not yet come.
Some of the prophecies remain to be fulfilled –
those of final judgment and the glorification of the
church.II. Background Information.
A. “Revelation” belongs to a class, or type, of writing called
“apocalyptic literature.”1. Although unique in the New Testament, it
represents a kind of writing not uncommon –
especially in the period between the Testaments.2. Its Greek title is “APOKALUPSIS” – a term that
refers to an uncovering or unveiling.3. The Old Testament books of “Daniel” and
“Ezekiel”, along with parts of “Zechariah” belongs
to the same category of writings.4. The idea is not to obscure the writer’s message, but
to make it even more vivid and impressive through
the use of dramatic figures.B. Apocalyptic literature ordinarily appeared in times of
extreme difficulty with the object of conveying a message
that was optimistic. During the period from about 200 B.C.
to A.D. 200 much of this type of writing appeared among
the Jews.C. There are some general characteristics common to this type
of writing:1. It reflects a dark time in human history.
2. It personifies good and evil and pictures them in a
situation of conflict (such as, the Lamb and the
dragon).3. It offers predictions regarding the outcome of the
struggle and the fate of the participants (especially
those representing evil) in the drama.4. The message is conveyed through visions, and
symbolism is employed.5. The message is “sealed” for future generations.
6. “Revelation” shows the first four of these
characteristics; it differs on number 5.
(Revelation 22:10: “And he [an angel] said to me,
‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book,
for the time is at hand.’”).D. What “time” was that? When was “Revelation” given?
1. Scholars have differing views as to the time of the
giving of “Revelation.” Some date it as early as
A.D. 64 (prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in
A.D. 70), some as late as A.D. 95 or 96.2. Based on the words of Revelation 17:10-11, a
dating could be placed between A.D. 69 and 79,
the reign of the Roman emperor Vespasian, with the
prophesy of the “eighth king” being a reference to
the emperor Domitian (reigned, A.D. 81-96). The
“seven kings” were, thus, Caesar Augustus
(27 B.C.- A.D. 14), Tiberius (A.D. 14-37),
Caligula (A.D. 37- 41), Claudius (A.D. 41-54),
Nero (A.D. 54-68), Vespasian (A.D. 69 -79), and
Titus (A.D. 79- 81). There are, then three short-
lived rulers (Otho – Galba – Vitelius), who followed Nero during a time of civil war at Rome, who are not included in this list.a. The five who had “fallen” were Augustus
through Nero.b. The one who “has not yet come” (of the
seven) would be Titus (A.D. 79-81), who,
the test says, “. . . must continue for a short
time.”c. “The beast that was, and is not, is himself
also the eighth, . . .” This could be Domitian
(A.D. 81-96), who, like his predecessor
Nero, persecuted the church.3. Toward the end of his reign, Domitian demanded
the title “Lord and God”, and erected statues of
himself all over the empire to be the objects of
worship. Christians, who refused to participate in
this idolatry, were liable to arrest, economic
boycott, and even death. (READ,
Revelation 13:4-10).4. An argument for the later writing date, of A.D. 95
or 96, comes primarily from historical and
sociological circumstances that are reflected in
“Revelation.”a. Irenaeus wrote, in the late second century (100’s), that “Revelation” was produced “toward the end of the reign of Domitian.”
b. Eusebius, a fourth-century (300’s) church
historian, includes the tradition that the book’s writer, John, returned to his home at Ephesus following Domitian’s death
(A.D. 96). His exile came as a result of the persecutions. The writer says he “. . . was on the island that is called Patmos . . .” (1:9) when he received the vision.E. That brings us to authorship. The writer refers to himself
only as “John.” (Hence the title of the book in the Greek
text, “APOKALYPSIS IOANNOU.”). Again, the over-
whelming consensus, in the early church as well as since
that time, has been that the apostle John is the writer.1. The writer could, possibly, have been some other
respected person in the first-century Asian church,
another person whose name was “John.”2. Our conclusion as to authorship is primarily based
upon the testimony of the early church, references
to the writer in Revelation 1:1, 4, 9, and the fact
that this person was, obviously, a highly regarded
and respected member of the church. The apostle
John was well-known to the saints in Asia Minor
(his home was at Ephesus) – thus God used him to
receive the vision that would, in turn, be readily
accepted by the churches.3. Another argument in favor of the apostle is the tone
of authority with which the “Revelation” closes
(22:18-19).III. The Seven Churches And “Revelation’s” Structure.
A. “Revelation” was a unique circular letter written by God
and transmitted through Christ to seven churches in Asia
Minor (modern Turkey). An even more precise title could
come from the first verse: “APOKALYPSIS IESOU
CHRISTOU” (“The Revelation of Jesus Christ . . .”).
Also, 1:4, 1:11, and the entire second and third chapters,
clearly establish who is addressing whom – Christ to the
seven churches.1. We do know that there were more than these seven
congregations of the church in Asia in the first
century, but the symbolic number “7”, which
represents completeness or perfection, at least
implies that the same type of message was to go
to all the churches there.2. These Christians were about to experience a
severe crisis of hostility and persecution – from a
variety of sources, Jewish, Roman, and pagan.3. John’s vision calls them to an uncompromising
faith in Jesus under all circumstances, even if such
faithfulness to Jesus results in martyrdom.B. “Revelation” is in the form of a two-part drama, with the
climax coming in chapters 12-14. Technically, we refer to
this as a “chiastic” structure.1. Revelation 1-11, part one of the drama, is more
generic – Satan and evil versus God and good.2. Revelation 12-22, part two, focuses more attention
on Satan, Rome, and the church.3. The ultimate message of “Revelation” is that Satan
uses nations (or empires) to carry out his evil
purposes and attacks on what is good and in God’s
purposes. But, in the end, through Jesus’ victory on
the cross and the tomb, God and His church will
survive and triumph over Satan and his allies and
attacks.4. God’s eternal purpose for His creation meets its
decisive victory over Satan in the person of Jesus
Christ.C. “Revelation” is, indeed, a “Vision of Victory.”
IV. Conclusion.
A. The apex of “Revelation” comes in 12:10-11 (READ).
The saints have conquered Satan through the blood of
Jesus, and their faithfulness to Him. Salvation, and
victory, belong to God.B. Today, we may not face martyrdom as a Christian, but
we still do all face crises in our lives and the temptations
posed by contemporary society. There is still the question
of compromising our faith – and faithfulness – in Jesus.
Jesus promises, through faith in Him, and by resisting
temptations, He will transform the crises into great
victories.C. No one can deny the difficulty of studying “Revelation.”
But, it is worth the effort because of what it gives to us in
the way of encouragement and certainty. Hold on – be
faithful – God and His people win.