Revelation of Jesus Christ
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Important messages
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| Landscape on Patmos; traditional site of John's cave is on the nearest hillside (the large, white building). |
I finished my annual reading through the Bible (twice through the New Testament) a few days ago and have been thinking of what book to study and present on this blogspot through the rest of 2018. Since we went through Daniel's prophecy last year, it is logical to follow with the book of Revelation. So we begin today. If some of you are wondering about the study of Ecclesiastes, we will continue to post articles here intermittently from those immensely important observations of King Solomon.
Contemporaries
and successors of John
Before we look into the text of this book, we will first
consider some interesting and important background. The writer, John, was the
only surviving apostle, at the time he wrote this revelation and he lived to an
extreme age. It was no wonder that a rumor circulated that John would live
until Christ returned! John himself denied that presumption, which was based on
the Lord’s answer to a question, asked by Peter, concerning John’s future: “If it is my will that he remain until I
come, what is that to you?” John explained, “Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, ‘If it is my
will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?’” Basically, He was
simply saying that it was none of Peter’s business.
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| The Isle of Patmos is located near the seven churches of Asia Minor in present-day Turkey |
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| Inscription from 2nd or 3rd Century about Vera, a priestess of Artimus (Diana). |
Domitian was of the Flavius family and reigned after his older brother, Flavius Titus, who was Caesar from 79-81 A.D., after completely destroying Jerusalem en 70 A.D. He was a firm believer in traditional Roman religion, therefore John's honor, as the last surviving apostle of Christ, was a particular threat. Domitian died in 96 A.D., and John was released, along with all the other 'political' prisoners, by the Roman Senate. He spent the rest of his life in Ephesus, dying during the reign of Trajan (53-117 A.D.).
What is important is that it was certainly written after
70 A.D., when Jerusalem was besieged and
destroyed by Titus. The Jews lost
their homeland and were scattered, eventually, among all nations. Therefore,
John could not have been prophesying of that event, but of future ones that
have not been fulfilled to this day.
Because this book was written much later than the rest of
inspired canon, I find writings of contemporaries of John and immediate
successors of biblical characters to be very interesting. They were connected
with the seven churches of Asia, to which the Revelation is addressed. We are
to expect no more inspired writings of inerrant Scripture after Apostle John
died. These are not inspired writers, but church fathers, who experienced
first-hand or second-hand, apostolic doctrine. Because this is so, we lean
heavily upon their interpretation of the New Testament.
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| Rev.13:1 (Amp.) "I stood on the sandy beach." This is the only sandy beach on Patmos. |
Dates concerning the lives of certain contemporaries of
John are not precise, so I present the approximate years, relating to them.
They include Hermas, who authored The
Shepherd, from about 100 A.D. Ignatius was bishop of Antioch, 70-107 A.D.,
when he was martyred. He wrote several letters to the Ephesians, Romans,
Philadelphians, Smyrneans, other churches and to Polycarp. Papias was bishop of
Hierapolis, near Laodicea and Colosse, at about 110 A.D. Polycarp was a good
friend of John. He died by martyrdom at the age of 86, between 148 and 169 A.D.
He was probably the angel of the church
of Smyrna, therefore one of the seven, to whom Christ commanded John to
write a personal, specific message.
Testimonies of people, acquainted with the above and their successors,
involved in the churches of Asia Minor, have much to say about the book of
Revelation. These early writers believed in a literal Millennium. Justin Martyr
(139-161 A.D.) stated that the Revelation was written by John, one of the
twelve apostles of Christ, and quotes from it, concerning the Millennium of the
saints, and a general resurrection and judgment. Melito was bishop of Sardis
and therefore a successor of one of the seven angels in Revelation 2 and 3.
Sardis was severely reproved, yet this bishop ascertains its authenticity.
Theophilus of Antioch (180 A.D.), quoted from Revelation, as did Apollonius,
who lived in Asia Minor in the end of the Second Century.
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| Recent restoration (2016) of John's traditional cave, uncovered doors and windows. |
Many church fathers from the Second and Third Centuries
refer to Apostle John and his revelation. Clement of Alexandria (about 200
A.D.) mentions John’s return from Patmos to Ephesus, where he died. Another,
who wrote of John and Revelation was Origen (about 233 A.D.). I share these names
with you, should you like to further investigate their writings.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Chapter 1
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.
The words revelation
and apocalypse are synonymous,
meaning to uncover. The common modern
usage of the word apocalypse or apocalyptic, relating to imminent
disaster, is taken from the cataclysmic events described in this book. As
always, we must keep our vocabulary in tune with biblical definitions.
John declares from the beginning that this is a
revelation of Jesus Christ. It is the title of the book and there are two
conclusions that we can draw from that statement: 1) Jesus Christ is the
Revealer through whom the revelation is given or 2) He is the prime Subject,
who is uncovered throughout the book. Both are true.
The first book that I wrote, I suppose, somewhere between
1987 and 1990, was entitled, The Christ
of the Apocalypse, and in it, I concentrated only on the portrayal of
Christ throughout, without attempting to look at Revelation prophetically. I may
quote extensively from that writing, as we come to the particular portions in
our study, where Christ is portrayed.
Actually, an angel is sent to show John the signs of
future events and, from the beginning, God has in mind that the book should
become the final addition to the entire scriptural canon. He sends it for all
His servants in all places and throughout the age of the church and the
revelation begins to unfold immediately.
John bares record that this is the inspired word of God,
it is a continuation of the complete testimony of Jesus, which he began in his
Gospel, and he is a trustworthy witness of the things that he saw (see John 20:30-31;
21:24). A sad situation in the church today is, not only a shunning of
prophecy, but an actual ridicule of it and scorning for those, who emphasize
it. God, through John, pronounces a blessing on those, who study prophecy, and
keep it close in their thoughts. They are to be attentive to it and heed the
warnings. The fulfillment begins now, at the time when the inspired writings
come to an end and continue to this day.
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