Revelation Study Notes – Rev. 1:1-3

As I work through Revelation for a Bible study, I’m putting together some notes. I’ll be publishing them on a regular basis.

In 1:1-3, three themes stand out:

• The book of Revelation is a revelation and a prophesy; we should read it that way
• Revelation is telling us about some things that must soon take place
• The book of Revelation is blessing to those who read it, hear it, and keep it

I’ve using some great resources to help me work through the book. When you see italicized text followed by a name in parentheses, that is a direct quote from that person. Regular text followed by a name in parentheses means I borrowed substantially from that person in developing the idea, but the final statement is mine.

Let’s get started in the text:

[1] The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, [2] who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. [3] Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. (Revelation 1:1–3 ESV)

The book of Revelation is a revelation and a prophesy

A Revelation—we should expect to learn something from it, something that should be pretty clear

The first thing to note is that the book of Revelation is a revelation, an unveiling. It is intended to make things manifest, and so any scheme of interpretation that serves to obscure is an interpretation that should be suspect. This is a revelation. Secondly, it is a revelation of Jesus Christ, of and by Him, meaning that any interpretation that leaves Him out of it should also be suspect. (Douglas Wilson)

Apokalypsis: “Uncovering” or “Disclosure.” a disclosure of truth

A Prophesy—we should read Revelation much like we read other books of prophesy (Mathison): Judgment and Restoration

Joel 1:1: The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:

Hosea 1:1: The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, ain the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

Isaiah 1:1: The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem bin the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Isaiah 1:4-5: Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly!   They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Isaiah 1:10: Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

Isaiah 1:21: How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

Isaiah 1:24-25: I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes. I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.

Isaiah 10:5–7, 12: Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder,     and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few; … When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.

Ezekiel 36:8–11: “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. [9] For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt.  And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. (ESV)

Ezekiel 36:22–28: “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (ESV)

The things that must soon take place

Things that take place: judgment against Israel (Jesus and His kingdom next week)

• Micah 6:2: Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD, … for the LORD has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.
• Ezekiel 5:5-13: Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. … Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I am the LORD—that I have spoken in my jealousy—when I spend my fury upon them.” —
• Judges 3:7-8: And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel –;
• Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: – Psalm 50:3-4;
• You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. – Amos 3:2;
• Ezekiel 36:16–20: The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ (ESV)
• And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” — Luke 13:6-9;
• Matthew 23:34-38 “Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and ascribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate.”
• “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” Acts 28:25-28

Soon

The things he saw are described as things that must shortly come to pass (taxos—speedily, quickly, swiftly). This means that Revelation is largely concerned with events of the first century. These events were upon them, which John tells us twice. These things must shortly take place, and the time is at hand. (Douglas Wilson)

1:1: the things that must soon take place

1:3: for the time is near

1:19: Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this

2:16: Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

3:10-11: I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon.

22:6-7: And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

22:10: “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. (Daniel 12:4: But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.)

22:12: Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

22:20: He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Matthew 24

24:1–4 [1] Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. [2] But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” [3] As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” [4] And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. (ESV)

34-35: Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Judgment in Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 very similar: War; International strife; Famine; Pestilence; Persecution; Earthquake and cosmic upheaval. They are talking about the same judgment, and it will happen within a generation of Jesus’ death (Keith Mathison)

Blessing

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near”

John ends his preamble with a blessing. The blessing promised is for those who read, those who hear, and those who keep. (Douglas Wilson)

14:13: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

16:15: “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”

19:9: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

20:6: Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

22:7: Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

22:14: Blessed are those who wash their robes,3 so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

Maturity of faith

Hebrews 6:1-3: Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. (ESV)

Matthew 28:18–20: [18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

When Jesus gave the Great Commission, the thing he said to do was to disciple the nations, baptizing them, and teaching them obedience. He did not say to teach them to spew facts; he said that our task is the inculcation of obedience. (Douglas Wilson – Hebrews 7)

Obedience of faith

Romans 1:1–6: [1] Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, [2] which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, [3] concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh [4] and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, [5] through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, [6] including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, (ESV)

The Gospel is from God, not Paul or any man. It is not new—though there are new revelations about it is Paul’s day, and was preached by Adam, Abel, Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. The Gospel is about Jesus, who is not only the son of David, but the Son of God; who is not only man, but God; the Messiah and Lord; the same name as God’s in the OT. (R.C. Sproul Romans)

It is through this Gospel about Jesus from God that we have received grace to bring about, for the sake of God’s name, the obedience of faith, not only for ourselves, but in all nations. This is not just any kind of obedience. This is not the obedience of fear. Or of duty. Or of profit. Rather, it is an obedience of faith in the Son of God. Grounded in trusting in God’s character, what He had done, what he is doing. It is an obedience that bears fruit not just in our lives, but in the lives of others. Fruit such as: Gratitude. Humility. Submission. Service. Desire to please. Christ has the authority and power to demand these things. And, in fact, has the authority and power to kill our false obedience and bring us into this true obedience of faith. And He will do this for all that are His. (Bryce Waller)